Friday, June 14, 2013 9:34pm CDT

Travis Frank June 14, 2013

72 degrees F Partly Cloudy Wind 2mph N

Sunrise 5:24am CDT Sunset 9:02pm CDT

The yellow irises are in full bloom on the LoonCam nest.

Unfortunately, that is the only thing that is blooming on the nest.

There are no loons. There are no eggs. There are no little chicks 'blooming'.

This truly has been one unusual year in every respect.

From the historically late ice-out date. To the failure of the loons to nest this year, even while other loons in the area nested almost immediately after their return.

There were still at least 5 loons on the lake here as of last weekend.

One neighbor witnessed a territorial confrontation between two pair of loons, one of which was apparently the pair that has been hanging around this side of the lake and the nest. In addition, they also saw a single loon on another side of the lake.

But it does not seem to be just our LoonCam loons that have not nested.

The other pair of loons that nested on the lake last year has not nested either. At least not in the same area where they nested last year. A couple people have told me that they have not seen any nesting loons on that part of the lake. A week ago I took the canoe and went looking to see if I could find a nest.

I could not find a nest or any indication that they were nesting in that area of the lake where they had been last year and successfully hatched two chicks. They were the two chicks that we banded last year, one of whom was found on Lake Phalen in St Paul in September, entangled in fishing line. Unfortunately, in spite of valiant efforts by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center the loon succumbed to his injuries.

This may be the pair of loons that my neighbors saw in a territorial confrontation on another part of the lake.

Whatever the truth may be, where last year two pair of loons were nesting on the lake and had chicks by now, this year neither pair of loons appear to be nesting. Who know what the reasons are.

I had one report by someone else that they saw a loon on a nest on the other side of the lake [probably one of the two pair that were in the territorial battle]. So a couple days ago I went looking for the nest where they said they saw the loon. It may be there somewhere. But I did not find it. And I did see a pair of loons swimming out from that area as they preened and fished.

It is something that I will investigate again to see if there is indeed a pair of loons nesting there. But I could not find them a few days ago. If I find something, I will update you on what I find.

The loon pair that has been staying around this side of the lake has periodically come up to the nesting platform. But they have not been up on the nest since Monday morning. And each time it is only the male that has gotten up there. The female seems to be much more wary and she seldom comes to the nest.

The nest is still in the water and available to them if they want to use it. I gradually moved it over a period of many days so that they would always see where it was and so that there were no drastic changes.

But so far they have shown no indication that they are going to lay eggs this year.

If they do not, it will be the first time in 10 years that the loons have not used the LoonCam nest.

One of the other ramifications of the loons not nesting is that we will probably not be able to catch them and retrieve that geolocater recorder tags that we placed on all 4 of the adult loons. Those recorders have documented everywhere the loons have been for the last year.

But in order to retrieve the data, we have to be able to catch the loons. And in order to be able to catch the loons, they need to have chicks that they are protecting.

So it is a disappointment that we may also have to wait to learn where our two pair of loons spent the winter and what the route of their migration was.

So many unusual circumstances. So many questions. So few answers ... yet.

All we can do is to continue to watch and learn.

For now you can be assured that the loons seem to be very healthy and doing well. They are still around. They are fishing and preening and swimming and diving.

They just are not laying eggs.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013 9:30pm CDT

Travis Frank June 5, 2013

53 degrees CDT Cloudy WInd 12mph NE

Sunrise 5:26am CDT Sunset 8:57pm CDT

I haven't given you much news because there has not been much news to give. Unfortunately.

The loons still are not using the nest.

They have visited it a few times but they have not nested. 99% of the time the are away from the nest. Many times nowhere to be seen. They do show some interest in the nest. But not a lot so far.

Because of that, I still have not gotten the nest to where I was thinking about bringing it.

I have gradually pulled it in from its original spot thinking that I could gradually get them used to it being in a different place. But it is taking much longer than I had anticipated. It is possible that the movement of the nest is slowing their behavior - but truthfully I have seen no behaviors that would sugget that was the case. It seems that they are just either very slow in nesting this year or they are not going to nest at all.

This has been one very strange year.

There was an interesting incident this afternoon.

Both loons were near the nest. Not on it. Just near it.

A family of Canada geese came swimming by with 7 goslings. One of the loons dove and went after them. I don't know that he tried to stab them but he came up right next to them. One of the adult geese, I assume the male jumped and started honking and flapping his wings and the rest of the family panicked and tried to get away.

But then surprisingly, the goose took off after the loon as the loon beat a hasty retreat.

Tthe goose quickly swam/flew back to his family and the loon chased him partway.

Tthe loon did the penguin dance 6 or 7 times very excitedly. As if to say "I'm the king!" He did not make any calls. But he was definitely showing that he meant business.

Shortly after this the loons swam back out in the lake.

But there has not been much other activity on or around the nest

So as of now, there is no news of any nesting. Or eggs. Or chicks.

The clock keeps ticking.

Saturday, June 1, 2013 6:53am CDT

Travis Frank June 1, 2013

56 degrees F Partly Cloudy Wind Calm

Sunrise 5:28am CDT Sunset 8:24pm CDT

It is a beautiful, calm early Minnesota morning.

The loon nest has been pulled in part way from where it was anchored and toward a more out of the way spot.

The loons are still not using it or nesting. So the decision to shut down the cam for the year seems to be the right one - actually, under the circumstances, the only decision that could be made.

Will they use it this year?

Hope always springs eternal.

But with every passing day, it looks less and less hopeful that there can be a successful nesting on the platform. I do not see any indication yet that the loons have built a 'natural nest' anywhere else.

But time is slipping by.

The loons are around. They generally stay on this side of the lake but meander back and forth.

I may have some news about the pair of loons but nothing that I feel sure enough yet to talk about. Sorry, I don't mean to tease you but I want to be sure before I say any more. As soon as I know more and can say it more definitively, I will share it with you.

But in the meantime, all we can do is wait and see what else nature has in store for us. Does nature have more surprises in store for us or is this the end of the nesting saga for this pair this year?

Only time will tell.

And time can take so long sometimes!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:45pm CDT

Travis Frank May 29, 2013

66 degrees F Partly Cloudy Wind 3mph E

Sunrise 5:30am CDT Sunset 8:51pm CDT

I have read where some of you have gone through "LoonCam withdrawal" today.

Thank you for saying that. I certainly understand what you are saying.

There is an empty hole where there should be loons.

Amazingly I have seen very little of the loons today. I saw a pair out toward the middle of the lake about midday. But they did not even come anywhere near the nest. It is truly strange behavior that I have never seen before. Especially since at least one of the loons is apparently banded.

Someone asked why I have not identified which loon that was. Well, the answer is pretty simple. As hard as I have tried, I have not been able to see the bands on both legs [other than the female which we identified a couple weeks ago]. I have looked and looked. But they have stayed far enough away that I have not been able to make out what kind of bands the loon had. I could see that it had bands, but I could not tell what they were.

Surprisingly [and questionably] the other loon of the pair may NOT have had bands! Again, I could not get a good view but I did not see any bands. Take that for what it is worth. It is not definitive because they were far enough away that I could not see clearly. If that is the case, it continues to raise questions.

There are so many questions this year.

And many of them we may never get the answers for. But maybe as the summer goes on, we may learn more. Did the female find a new mate? Did the male finally come back? Why after using the nest last year did they not use it this year? Questions questions questions.

There is some research which seems to indicate that a loon pair will use the same nest if it was a successful nest the year before.

Last year, we had one chick that hatched and one egg that did not hatch.

The chick that hatched was such a cute and precocious and independent spirit. He did what HE wanted when he wanted. It was the chick that kept bringing the parents back to the nest, not the other way around.

It was the chick that loved to get up on the nest and sit there for hours.

After a while, the parents seemed to tire of that and they would swim off leaving the chick all by himself.

And then the chick disappeared.

We will never know what happened to him. It was a strange feeling to know he was gone after I had held him when we did the banding. The first time I have ever held one of the chicks from the LoonCam. And then he was gone.

Where did he go? Who knows.

I personally think that an eagle probably got him. And I sometimes wonder if his independent spirit and being alone so much added to the danger.

Now the thought keeps going through my mind, 'Did the parents consider that and unsuccessful nesting season and did that impact on their choice to not use the nest this year?'

And what does their not using the nest this year mean for usage of the nest next year?

Once again, we are not in control of any of it. We can only lay the groundwork. And then stand back and watch. And learn.

Just at dusk tonight, I went out and pulled in the swimming raft and the buoys that mark out the area around the nest. That is when it started to sink in of the finality of this season for the LoonCam.

I have shared with you in years before how every spring I sort of become paranoid before the loons nest. I wonder what would happen if we get everything ready for a 'loon party' and the guests of honor do not show up. What if everybody got all excited about seeing loons and there were none? What if 'we built it' but they did not come?

Well, this year we found out.

Strangely enough, I did not have that same sense of 'paranoia' this year!

I don't know if it was because of the strange weather, the late spring and everything being so different or what it was.

But as I gathered up the 12 buoys and brought them to shore, the reality was there. That there would be no loons nesting on the LoonCam this year.

And there was a certain sadness and emptiness to that.

One of the most gratifying and comforting things in previous years was to drive up to the house when I came home and to look out at the lake and there see the silhouette of a loon on the nest. Faithfully staying and taking care of eggs until they miraculously turned into little black and white loon chicks.

But alas, that was not to be this year.

So we hold on to the thought that the loons know what they are doing.

And for some reason they did not nest this year.

At least on the LoonCam nest.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 7:05pm CDT

Travis Frank May 28, 2013

59 degrees F Cloudy Calm

Sunrise 5:30am CDT Sunset 8:50pm CDT

Before we reach the end of the 2013 LoonCam season, I just wanted to take a minute to thank you and tell you all how special you are.

Your words of gratitude and your appreciation for the LoonCam make it all worthwhile.

And your words indicate how quickly this cam and the loons have worked their way into all our hearts. Even this year when glimpses of the loons have been so few and far between. Which is a testament to just how special and intriguing and haunting these beautiful birds are.

Anyone who has ever heard the call of a loon in the wild as it echoed across a great northern lake, will forever remember that sound and will never forget how it awakens something deep and almost primal within the very core of our being.

It is a sound and a call like no other.

For those of us who live with loons, we sometimes take them for granted and forget how truly special they are. Very few areas of the country ever get a chance to enjoy them in all their black and white splendor or to hear those haunting calls.

So for those of you from other parts of the country and even other parts of the world, thank you for reminding us of how special they are and reminding us to never take them for granted.

Even here in Minnesota, which has more loons than any other state in the Lower 48 [in fact as many loons as ALL the other 49 states put together!], most people in the southern half of the state never get to enjoy loons. So even in Minnesota they are very special. No wonder they are the Minnesota State Bird.

The lake is unusually quiet tonight. So quiet that some of you may think the sound has already been turned off. It has not been. Everything will remain intact up until the last minute.

I am thinking that the camera will go black sometime after midnight, when everything else has gone black.

It is interesting that a couple people have mentioned leaving the nest out and letting the loons do whatever. I have also been thinking how to do that as well.

Someone asked if it would be safe with little kids swimming near the nest. That is something I had not even thought of. But that would be a very real danger to little kids, or anyone for that matter who swam too close to nesting loons.

What I had been thinking of trying is to tow the nest to a spot near shore but somewhat out of the way. It will still be impacted by people and boats and activity. But at least if the loons do want to use it instead of finding a 'natural' area, we can see what happens. Either way they are going to be subjected to a lot of activity.

I will try to update you periodically over the next few months of what I see, if anything.

For whatever reason, this year it was just not to be.

So enjoy these last few hours. I just wish we had a beautiful Minnesota sunset instead of the gray clouds. But even that can be so peaceful.

But I mainly wanted to say THANK YOU, before everyone scatters, to all of you for being so wonderful. And for allowing the loons and especially the LoonCam to become a special part of your life and your day.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Minnesota Bound

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