Sunday, May 19, 2013 7:32 am CDT

 

64 degrees F     Rain     Calm

Sunrise   5:39am CDT     Sunset   8:40pm CDT


The next few days promise to be stormy with potentially severe thunderstorms tonight.
 
We need the rain.  But let us hope that we do not get anything really severe.

Yesterday the single loon came to the general area of the nest but did not approach the nest, let alone try to get up on it.  As I mentioned to you yesterday, we have now verified that the loon in the area was one of the ones we banded last year.  And it is the female from last year's LoonCam.  So far it seems that she is alone.  I have not seen another loon with her.

If that is true it raises questions about if she will nest this year.

As Kevin Kenow said in the email that I showed you yesterday, it is possible that she lost her mate over the winter.  There is no way to know for sure unless and until the bands and geolocater tag are recovered.  Until that time, there is always hope that he is still around.  

Like Kevin said, it was a difficult fall, winter and spring for loons.  And it is a good reminder of the difficulties and challenges they face that we never see nor think about.  Botulism, eagles, natural toxins, ice, snapping turtles, raccoon, mink ... the list of dangers goes on and on.  So every loon we see is very special.  In the North Country we take them for granted.  Most of the country never has the privilege of seeing and hearing these magnificent birds.

Some of you have asked for a reminder of what the meaning is of the different calls of the loons.
 
There are four basic calls that a loon makes.  I usually refer to them as two 'good' calls and two 'bad' calls.  Now there is no such thing as a bad call but you will see why I call it that in a minute.
The four calls are 
1.  The wail
2.  The hoot
3.  The tremolo and
4.  The yodel

The two 'good' calls are the wail and the hoot.

A loon will give a long mournful call that is called the wail.  It is simply one loon saying to another "I am here.  Where are you?"  They use it to keep track of where their mate is.

A hoot is a very quiet call that loons make when they are close to their mate or to their chicks.  It is an intimate, quiet form of communication.

Both of these calls  usually indicate that a loon is calm and at ease and they are simply talking to other loons.

The two 'bad' calls are the tremolo and the yodel.

I call them the bad calls because they both indicate that a loon is upset and is under stress.

A tremolo is often called the laughing call.  And when you hear it, you can see why.  A tremolo call means that something has upset the loon.  It may be an eagle flying overhead.  It may be an intruder loon in the area.  Or it may be a boat or canoe or someone or something getting too close to the loon and it is showing its concern.

The yodel is the most extreme of the calls.  It is made ONLY by the male.  All the other calls are made by both the male and female.

The yodel often indicates that a male is staking out is territory.  He is saying "This is MY territory and you come over here at your own risk."  Often when you hear a yodel, you will hear an answering yodel from another male across the lake.  He is answering back "And this is MY territory over here."

Here is a website from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that has some good recordings of all the different loon calls.  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_loon/sounds

Now you know how to "speak loon" and when you hear them from now on, they will have a whole new meaning for you.  You will know if they are calm or upset.  You will know if it is a male that is making that yodel call.  And you can be the new 'loon expert' and explain the calls to your family and friends when you hear them.

So enjoy that occasional calls that you may hear since we have not had much action on the nest.  We will soon have to come to a decision about what to do with the nest this year.  But for now we can enjoy the calls, the sound of the water lapping at the nest and an occasional small bird stopping on the nest.
 
And then our heart beats faster when we actually see a loon swim into sight!

Enjoy it all while you can.


Copyright 2013    Larry R Backlund

 

Saturday, May 18, 2013 10:52m CDT

 
56 degrees CDT     Rain     5mph SE
 
Sunrise   5:39am CDT     Sunset   8:40pm CDT
 
 
Today is a perfect day for loons.
 
Cool.  Rain.  Just a breeze instead of gale force winds.  And no hot sun beating down on black plumage.
 
So loons are happy campers in this type of weather.
 
I have not seen the single loon near the nest this morning.  There have been some calls from other parts of the lake but not near the nest.
 
The loon I saw in the general area of the nest that I saw yesterday looked very good and very healthy.
  
I had thought that it must be the male from last year since he looked so healthy and large and strong.
 
But I was wrong.
 
It is the female from last year!
 
It has been a hard winter and spring for loons all over.  As you already know, we apparently lost the single chick from the LoonCam last year, probably to an eagle.  Plus we lost one of the chicks from the other pair on the lake due to entanglement in fishing line on a lake in St Paul last fall.
 
Here is the note that I got from Kevin Kenow from the US Geological Service (USGS) that I got this morning.  Kevin is the lead scientist and researcher on loons for the USGS.  He has done a phenomenal amount of work and research with loons.  Kevin is the person who I worked with 3 years ago when we surgically implanted satellite transmitters in some loons.  And Kevin is the one who led the team last summer that banded 'our loons' and put geolocater tags on them.
 
Kevin and his team do such a great job in their research on loons.  They add so much to the knowledge of these wonderful birds about which so little is known.
 
 
"Hi Larry,
 
It appears that you observed the Loon Cam female (Right= Y/S; Left=Sgeo/R).  It is odd that the male is not with her by now.  Perhaps he was one of the unlucky ones that didn't survive the many challenges faced by wintering and migrating loons this year....avian botulism, sharks, Red Tide, emaciation syndrome, or icing during spring migration.  Type-E botulism was particularly hard on common loons during fall 2012, with an estimated 1,570 carcasses recovered along Lake Michigan beaches.  I received a higher than expected recovery of geotagged loons from the Gulf of Mexico, apparently the result of exposure to brevetoxin (from harmful algal blooms) and shark attack.  A geotagged loon was also part of a late-winter common loon die off along the Virginia coast.  
 
If these weren't enough obstacles, loons were caught up in at least two icing events over Wisconsin during spring migration.  Common loon adult average annual survivorship rate typically rungs at about 92%.  It will be interesting to see if researchers note a drop in return rates to the breeding grounds this year.
 
Best regards.
 
Kevin"
 
We have talked before about the many challenges faced by loons (and other wildlife).  It isn't easy for them.
 
If we needed any more proof of that, this letter from Kevin is a perfect example of what they have to go through.  Things that we never even think about because we are not there to see it.
 
In many ways, all of us are like that - if we don't see it or hear about it, it didn't happen.
 
There is so much that goes on around us every day that we are totally unaware of.
 
We will see what the next few days bring.
 
The fact that so far she is apparently here alone is of some concern.  Normally the male arrives first or as I have seen, they arrive almost simultaneously.
 
We will see what the next few days bring.
 
But for now, we will enjoy what we have.  The beauty of a loon peacefully swimming on a northern lake.  The haunting calls echoing across a quiet lake at dusk.
 
Life is good.
 
 
Copyright   2013     Larry R Backlund
 
 

Friday, May 7, 2013 1:49pm CDT

 
66 degrees     Cloudy Scattered Rain    Wind 8mph NE
 
Sunrise   5:40am CDT       Sunset   8:39pm  CDT
 
 
Some of you may have heard some tremolos just a little while ago.
 
There has been a single loon here today.
 
He was hanging around just inside the buoys but did not approach the nest.  This morning he did a 'swim by'.
 
I thought I saw a band on his leg but I could not be sure.  By the time I had gone back up to the house to get the telescope, he was not raising that leg.  So we just sat and watched each other as he peacefully floated in the area, some distance away from the nest.  And he showed no interest in going over to the nest.
  
Then he let out one wail and dove.
 
When he surfaced further out in the lake, he started a series of non-stop tremolos.
 
I could not see what had frightened him.
 
But he continued to tremolo.
 
Then an immature bald eagle came soaring over the trees.  The loon kept calling until the eagle was well on the other side of the lake.
 
As I continued to watch him through the telescope, I was able to see that he had bands on both legs!  This is one of the 4 adults that we banded last year!  I could also see the data recorder on his leg as well.
 
But I do not see a mate anywhere around. 
 
So the questions of this year continue!
 
There have been numerous calls, in the evening especially, from different parts of the lake.  But none near the nest.  But it shows that there are other loons on the lake.
 
Today is the closest that a loon has come to the nest this year.
 
So we continue to wait and watch.
 
And many of you are such faithful eyes for so many that cannot watch all the time.  Thank you for your service.  I just wish that there was more for you to watch.
 
 
 
Copyright 2013     Larry R Backlund

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:33pm CDT

 

63 degrees F     Partly Cloudly     Calm

Sunrise   5:42am     Sunset   8:36pm

 

This strange year of 2013 continues.

So far there has been no interest in nest by the loons.  This is the first time in all these years I have seen such behavior.  Or lack thereof.

Night before last a single loon came swimming by the nest.  That is the first time I have seen one of the loons even come close to the nest.

He definitely slowed down as he swam by and obviously looked at the nest.  But he did not come up to the nest nor get up on it.  He continued swimming on by.

Some of you were watching last evening as I was out by the nest.  I tried to explain what I was doing but apparently the sound of the wind and the waves drowned out my voice.

I went out to attach an extension to the primary anchor rope.  The extension that I had attached last year had been ripped away by the ice.  There was still enough rope for the water level to come up over a foot.  But if you remember last year we had torrential rains and the lake came up over 17 inches and the nest was in danger of going under.

I did not want to contend with that again while the loons were around so I wanted to attach an extension rope while I had the opportunity.

I was ready to go out and do it when a loon showed up and swam some distance out from the nest.

But he stayed further out in the lake and did not come toward the nest.

After he finally left, I went out and attached the extension rope.  That is when I tried to explain to you what I was doing.

I also made a new 'chick ramp' which should make it easier for the chick to get back up on the nest if he wants to.  You will remember that last year the chick ramp was completely ripped off the nest and washed away.  So this year I am trying another design.

The chick ramp is attached immediately below the camera, just out of view.  Hopefully it might also be a little bit protected from winds from a storm.

The nest has already been subjected to several very windy days with high waves.  But so far it seems to be holding up very well with little damage.

One of the other things I did while I was in the water was to place the swimming raft and a series of buoys.  These all form a semicircle around the nesting platform and are meant to keep boats, kayaks and canoes away from the nest.  So now the area is well marked.

I also tried to explain to you what to watch for as the plants on the nest develop.

The plants on the far side of the nest are a clump of iris and a clump of daylilies.  The iris are on your left and the daylilies on your right.

In the lower left corner of your picture are two clumps of iris.  You can barely see them at the edge of the picture.

Next to the camera and also on the corner to the right, just out of sight, are high willow branches.  They are there to discourage eagles from swooping directly down on the nest.

As many of you know from previous years, I usually say that I become very paranoid for about two weeks after I put the nest out.  What if we go to all the work and the loons do not use the nest.  But every year since I first built the nest, the loons have used it

That alone is an amazing record.

The DNR tells me that barely over half of the nesting platforms put out ever get used.  And this one has been used every year.

With this spring being so different, will this be the first year that the loons do not use the nesting platform?

Only time will tell.

I am not ready to give up yet.  But this year has been so different on so many different levels.  And so far the loons have not shown any interest in the nest.

So once again, we can only watch and wait.

We provide the stage.

The loons write the script!

 

Copyright 2013    Larry R Backlund