Monday, May 27, 2013 11:22pm CDT

 

57 degrees     Cloudy     Wind 7mph SE

 

Sunrise  5:31am CDT     Sunset  8:49pm CDT

 

 

This weekend has been unusually quiet on the lake for a Memorial Day weekend. 

 

Normally the lake would be a beehive of activity.

 

But this year, like the entire spring, the weekend was cold and wet and uncomfortable.  So there was no one in swimming.  There was no one out waterskiing.  There were few pleasure boaters.  All that were out there were fisherman.  And they were very quiet and fewer than normal.

 

So for the loons on the lake, it was a much quieter than normal summer weekend.  But that did not do much to change their behavior.

 

There was a report and pictures of one of them being on the nest early this morning.  But the other loon did not get up on the nest.  And there was no nest building activity.  Normally there is some nest building activity by one or both loons before there is any mating activity.

 

But then the rest of the day, the loons were no where to be seen until tonight.

 

Tonight a pair of loons came to the general area of the nest about 7:30pm but did not even come close to the nest nor did they get up on the nest.  They stayed for a little while before swimming off together.

 

So the behavior is puzzling and shows no urgency to nest and mate and lay eggs.

 

I don't have good explanations for all of this, especially in light of the fact that numerous other loons in the area have been on nest for almost two weeks now.

 

But we will give it another day or so to see what happens.

 

This is a year for the history books for sure.

 

 

Copyright 2013     Larry R Backlund

 

 

Sunday, May 26, 2013 6:34 am CDT

(I am not sure why the system did not accept this post from earlier.)

48 degrees CDT     Partly Cloudy    Wind   5mphE

Sunrise   5:32am CDT     Sunset   8:48pm CDT

It is a beautiful morning.

The sun has just cleared the trees.  There was a call from a loon somewhere out on the lake.

Right now there is a single loon way out in the lake from the nest.  Is this our female from last year that we have been able to identify from the bands?  I do not see another loon with this one so I have to wonder if it might be our female from last year.

The loon shows no inclination to swim in to the nest.

Is there such a thing as too many loons?!

Right now two families of geese are swimming by in a parade after having been up on the neighbors lawn (with all that that means).

Each of the families has 5 goslings.  They are already pretty good size.  So there are some species that have nested some time ago and now have their young ones in tow.

I trust that you and your family and friends will enjoy this Memorial Day weekend.  

And that you will pause to remember what we are celebrating.

Copyright 2013     Larry R Backlund

Saturday, May 25, 2013 11:32pm CDT

 

56 degrees     Cloudy     Wind  8mph SE

 

Sunrise  5:32am CDT    Sunset  8:47pm CDT

 

 

Memorial Day weekend has started.

 

If the sun comes out and it warms up at all, the lake will be abuzz with speedboats and waterskiiers and jet skis.

 

But the chilly, rainy, cloudy weather has kept the traffic on the lake down except for the intrepid fishermen who prefer this type of fishing weather to hot and humid.

 

There have been a number of fireworks going off tonight as well.

 

So the increased activity of the summer season has started.

 

A pair of loons passed by the nest a couple times today.  I have not seen our single female from last year.  Could it be that she has found a mate?  Could it be that her mate from last year has made a VERY belated appearance?  Could it be another pair of loons?  There are at least two other pair of loons on the lake in addition to our single female.

 

I was not able to see if either loon had bands on their legs so I could not identify if these were loons that we banded last year or if it was other loons.

 

As they swam by the nest, they showed no inclination of getting up on the nest.  And then they swam over toward the other side of the lake.  So I am not sure who these loons are or if they are even interested in nesting this year.

  

Without seeing bands, it is impossible to tell if this is our female from last year with a new mate, or her old mate or if, more likely  it is an entirely new pair of loons.  As always, there are more questions than answers.

 

Not the least of which is why her mate has not been here or if it is him, where has be been?  And why would they mate so late especially when other loons are already on eggs on the nest.

 

We are rapidly approaching the time to make a decision about pulling in the nest or not.

 

Even if a pair of loons got up on the nest tomorrow, it usually takes about two weeks before mating and nest building and laying the first egg take place.  That would put us into the middle of June before a nest is established.  And then about a month before the first chick hatches, we are already into the middle of July.  That is a full month and a half later than what we normally see.

 

This is not totally out of the range of dates for loons, especially on wilderness lakes.

 

But this is a very developed and very heavily used lake.  So it is not a good scenario for loons here to be nesting that late.  Not to mention being fair to neighbors who have been so supportive and understanding through the years.  This nest and LoonCam could not exist without the help and support of understanding neighbors.

 

But it is becoming very obvious that this year is going to be the first year that loons have not used this particular nesting platform.

 

I will give it another day or two for you to listen to the sounds of the lake and hopefully sounds of the loons.  Or to see that all too rare sighting of a loon.

 

But I think it is what needs to be done.

 

I am filled with conflicting emotions.  We all wanted to see our beautiful loons on the nest.  We all wanted to see two adorable loon chicks.  So many things that we wanted.  But so many things that this year are apparently not to be.

 

Who would have ever thought that we had such a long cold spring with feet of snow!  Who would have thought that ice-out would be the latest that it has been in over 30 years?

 

Life is wonderfully complex.  And just when we think that we are starting to understand it, we realize that we still know so very little.  There are so many things that are still beyond our understanding.

 

But that is part of what makes life so wonderful and so interesting.

 

So we will continue to watch and listen and learn.

 

 

 

Copyright 2013     Larry R Backlund

 

 

Friday, May 24, 2013 9:10pm CDT

 

58 degrees     Rain     Wind Calm

 

Sunrise   5:33am  CDT     Sunset   8:46pm  CDT

 

 

A gentle rain falls on a northern lake as darkness falls.

 

There are only gentle ripples on the surface from the faintest breeze.

 

Far out in the lake two loons call.  Probably a pair, since one is yodeling and therefore must be a male and the other one is tremoloing and could be either a male or a female.  But I do not hear an answering call from elsewhere on the lake.

 

The male that was yodeling is obviously telling anyone within earshot of him, "This is my territory.  Stay away."  The two calls are too close together for it to be two males.  I think it must be the male and female of one pair.

 

I have not updated you much because there has not been much to update you on.

 

The single loon, presumably our female from last year, still comes to the area of the nest but only rarely.  I have seen no attempt to approach the nest let alone get up on it.  I have not seen another loon with her.  Regretably it is beginning to look more and more like something may have happened to the male from last year. 

 

It was always thought that loons mated for life.

 

Thinking on that has undergone minor changes over the last few years.  While it seems that most loons do indeed mate for life, the bond to a specific territory may also play a role in determining the mate.  Or if one of the loon pair dies, the remaining loon may find a new mate.

 

But whatever the reason, our female from last year seems to be without a mate this year.

 

I have talked to a number of people who have observed loons that are already nesting.  Some of them on eggs for well over a week already.  Some loons in lakes further north than our loons have already mated and are apparently sitting on eggs.

 

Even some loons out in New England who normally nest a month later than our loons have already established nests.

 

I know that this is news that none of us really want to hear.  But the possibility of 'our loons' not nesting on the platform this year may now be approaching more of a probability.  If that is the case, this will be the first time in ten years that loons have not used this particular nesting platform.

But as with all things, we must keep things in perspective.

 

Many nesting platforms are never used.  I have been very fortunate to have had the nesting success we have had for so many years.  This year may be the year that breaks the pattern of success.

 

It is a great reminder of all that we take for granted.  We take for granted that a pair of loons will use the nest.  We take for granted that all the technical equipment needed to bring the pictures to you will work without a hitch and that nothing will fail.  We take for granted that there will be two eggs.  We take for granted that out of those two eggs we will see two beautiful loon chicks burst forth.  We take for granted that those little chicks will grow into healthy, strong adult loons.

 

But nature isn't quite that predictable or kind.

 

The challenges to raise one loon chick to adulthood are immense.  And it is probably good once in a while that we are reminded of how difficult it is.  Even to the point of possibly losing the adult male of a breeding pair.

 

So even in difficult circumstances we learn.

 

I will keep you up to date as we decide what to do over the next few days.

 

Once again, let me tell you how wonderful you all have been and are.  You are so grateful and you take many opportunities to expresss that gratitude.  That is so much appreciated and it makes it all worthwhile.  Even as we consider what to do this year, you have been so understanding and supportive in the midst of difficult choices.

 

I understand your concerns.  I have the same concerns.  We all want to see a pair of loons nesting and two beautiful little black downy loon chicks.  But I also appreciate your understanding of how wonderful the neighbors have been in their support of this 'project' for so many years and have willingly limited their activities while the loons are nesting.  But we need to be fair to them as well so that the support will be there in the future.

 

For now, we listen to the gentle pitter patter of the rain.  The beautiful calls echoing across the lake as the loons call back and forth.  And the very rare sighting of an actual loon this year.

 

For those of you here in the United States, may you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with family and friends as we remember those who have given so much that we may have the freedoms that we enjoy but too often take for granted.

 

 

 

Copyright 2013     Larry R. Backlund

Monday, May 20, 2013 10:05pm CDT

 

64 degrees F     Scattered Thunderstorms     Wind  Calm

 

Sunrise   5:37am CDT     Sunset   8:42pm CDT

 

 

This year has been such an unusual year on so many different levels.

 

First and foremost is the amount of snow late this spring and the unusually cold weather which in turn led to a historically late 'ice-out date' for so many lakes in Minnesota.

 

The late ice-out date then led to a late arrival date for our loons, although they were on the lake even a day before the ice went out.  And then formation of ice again which prevented putting out the nesting platform.  But even with all that, the nesting platform was in the water within a day and a half of the ice finally being gone.  Well within time frames for the loons to use the nest.

 

But for some reason they never came anywhere near the nest.

 

Then part of the reason for that became apparent when I was able to identify a single loon who came into the area of the nest but didn't not get up on the nest.  That single loon was the female from last year's LoonCam nest, as proven by the bands that we placed on her legs last summer.

 

It was good to see that she had returned to the lake AND to the area of the nest.  But puzzling and of concern that her male mate apparently is not with her.  As I mentioned to you, loon researcher Kevin Kenow of the USGS said that this last winter had been a very difficult one for loons with many of them dying.

 

Did her mate die?  We will never know unless someone recovers the leg bands from the male which will confirm that something happened to him.

 

But it would explain why she is alone and has not tried to get up on the nest.  If there is no mate with her, there is no reason to build a nest.

 

A few nights ago, I sat down by the lake and watched her as she peacefully floated in the area but not near the nest itself.  We sat and watched each other.  She seemed calm and at peace and at home.  She was so beautiful.  So healthy and strong.  In fact she was so healthy that I thought it might be the male by the size and strength of her neck.  So it was a surprise when we were able to confirm that it was the female.

 

And her new coat of black and white was stunning in its beauty.

 

No artist, no picture, no designer could do a more beautiful job of creating such a perfect picture of beauty and strength.

 

I have been gone during so much of the last couple days that I cannot add a lot of information on some of what you have seen and heard.  But so far there is no sign that the male has arrived on the lake.

 

I apologize for the 'poor' infrared picture during the night this year.

 

As some of you saw, it worked fine the first few days that we had the camera live.

 

But then as with so many things this year, problems developed.  Apparently the IR light source has actually burned out.  That 'never' happens.  Except it did.

 

Last Friday I spent hours tracing through everything to see if the problem was somewhere else other than the light itself.  But everything else seemed to check out ok.  We had power all the way down to the lake.  I tried several things but to no avail as far as getting the IR light to work.

 

Once again on Saturday night I worked on it until well after midnight.  But nothing.

 

So unless we are able to get a new IR light and get it installed, we are going to have a very dark picture at night.

 

What has amazed me is how much we can actually see with no light on the nest.  What you are seeing is residual heat from the day.  As the nest cools off or we have rain, you will see the picture get darker and darker as the heat dissipates.  But even the near full moon will give us an added hint of light if the rain ever stops.

 

I told someone the other day that I am not superstitious.  But with all the things happening this year - cold, late ice-out, the male not returning, problems with the picture getting to you even though the camera has never stopped transmitting, the IR light going out, etc etc - I keep thinking "2013".  Two thousand THIRTEEN!  And I can't help but laugh to myself.  Superstitious or not.

 

So we will have to continue to do what we can.  You all are so wonderful and supportive.  Thank you for that!

 

One of the very real things that I have been thinking about and struggling with is at what point to we have to pull the nest in.  I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers about that.

 

The neighbors have been so wonderfully supportive and helpful for so many years with the LoonCam.  Without their understanding and support, I could not bring you the LoonCam.  They voluntarily restrict their own activities and usage of the lake as long as the loons are there.

 

But at some point it is not fair to them to not be able to use the lake for their own enjoyment as well.

 

So we take it a day at a time.

 

I will try to keep you up to date on what is happening and everything that we are thinking.

 

Once again I so very much appreciate your support and words of encouragement through the years.  It means a lot to me!

 

 

 

Copyright 2013     Larry R Backlund