Saturday, July 12, 2014 5:39 am CDT

66 degrees F     Hazy     Absolutely Calm

Sunrise   5:37 am CDT     Sunset   9:00 am CDT

There is a haze hanging in the air.

The far shore of the lake is softened by a whitish bluish brush stroke from the humidity paint.

There is not a ripple on the lake.  Every detail is perfectly reflected in the absolutely calm water.

That is no ripples except for the line of ripples caused by something swimming out towards the middle of the lake.

A straight line from east to west.

Our loon family is out for their morning swim!

Mom, dad and the two not-so-little chicks.

This afternoon, one of the chicks is already 5 weeks old!  And the other will be 5 weeks old tomorrow afternoon.

Can it be?

Can it have all gone so fast?

It has.  And both chicks seem to be doing well.  They have grown so much.  They are now in their 'teenage' stage.  Their down looking a little more tousled.

They still eagerly accept minnows and fish from mom and dad.  But now they are able to eat fish that are a little bigger than minnow size as well.  The will, however, eat absolutely anything that is offered.

They can now dive with a little more ease but they are still almost totally dependent on their parents to supply their food.  Soon they will start catching more and more of their own food.

But what is that?

There is another single adult loon swimming out on the lake.

And over there to the left is a PAIR of loons.

Loons loons everywhere you look loons.  We are more than blessed.

A couple days ago I was out in the canoe looking to see if I could find the new chick that was hatched on the other nest on the lake.  I was very surprised to see 5 adult loons swimming together.  FIVE!  I never did see the new chick.  But I wondered if it was sheltered under the wing of one of the 5 loons.  Even that did not make sense that they would be swimming with other loons if they had a new chick with them.

I have no explanation.

More questions than answers.

In talking with someone who lives over on that part of the lake a couple days later, he said he wondered if that chick had survived or not.  He had seen the pair of loons but he had not been able to see a chick.

I know that a chick hatched because the remains of the eggshell were on the empty nest.  But we will have to wait to see if we see the chick or not.  Hopefully he is alive and well.  There are SO many dangers in those first few days and weeks for a tiny little loon chick.

This next week the USGS is planning to come up here to the lake.  We are hoping to catch the loons that we banded and put data recorders on  two years ago.  

For the last two years, those data recorders have been recording everywhere the loons have been and what they have been doing.  A WEALTH of information that will add so much to what is known about loons, but especially add to our knowledge about where they are in the winter and what they do.  That whole part of a loon's life has so little knowledge that we know for sure.  And this will add to that big empty space of knowledge.

But we have to catch them first to retrieve the data recorders.  And then the USGS can download the mounds of data and analyze it.  A daunting task for sure.

We know that the male on the LoonCam is the one we banded two years ago.  But the female is new and with any luck, we hope to catch her and band her as well.  AND to band the two new chicks from the LoonCam.

And then we will see if we can catch the other FIVE loons and see who they are.  And band them as well, if necessary.

It will be a LONG night.

We will go out on the lake shortly before midnight and work until the first glint of daybreak appears in the eastern sky.

I don't know for sure which night it will be until the USGS is able to finalize their schedule.  But they are hoping to be up here on Monday or Tuesday night.

In one of the future blogs, I will be sure to give you a report of what we found and how it went.

But for this morning, rest assured that "our" loon chicks are thriving.  Growing.  And getting big.

What could be better than that?!

Questions?  LoonCam@yahoo.com

&copy Copyright 2014    Larry R Backlund

Friday, July 4, 2014 10:28 am CDT

75 degrees F     High Clouds     Wind   5mph S

Sunrise  5:30 pm CDT     Sunset 9:04 pm CDT

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY to all of you!

And for those of you who to not live in the United States, today's celebration of our Independence Day has picnics going on all across the country and people going to the lake.  And then later tonight, the skies will light up with fireworks in all directions.

With all the boats on the lake today and this whole weekend, it will be a busy time for our loons.

What you want to know the most is that our two loon chicks are still alive, healthy, active and growing!

They can now dive with some ease.  I am not sure how deep they can go yet but I have seen them make dives for up to  15 seconds at a time.

They are truly becoming loons.

Just a little while ago I watched one of the chicks rise up out of the water and flap his little wings with his white breast exposed, just like mom and dad.

They look like they are at least 6 or 7 inches long - maybe even more.  It is hard to tell from a distance.

Tomorrow afternoon the first chick will be 4 weeks old and on Sunday afternoon the second chick will be 4 weeks old.  My how the time has flown.  From those tense days of waiting for the eggs to hatch, always wondering if they would hatch.  To those first couple weeks when the tiny chicks are SO vulnerable to so many dangers.  From above and below.

So to now see them at this stage is such a joy and a relief.

They have survived many of the dangers of being a little loon chick.

The greatest danger to the chicks right now is a bald eagle.

And several eagles regularly patrol the lake looking for food.

A large snapping turtle could do damage to the chick, especially its legs.  But even a snapping turtle is becoming less and less of a danger.

But the loons know that the eagles are still danger.  

Whenever an eagle flies over, the loons will start calling.  And the chicks usually hurry to get close to mom or dad for safety.

We had another chick hatch on the lake just this last Saturday!

I was surprised because I had been told that the other pair was nesting.  But I had not seen the nest myself.  I was finally able to get over there last week and sure enough, there was a loon on the nest.  I really thought with the loon still on the nest this late in the season that the eggs would not hatch.

But the one egg hatched this last Saturday.  There was only one egg on that nest this year.

I have not seen that new chick yet but I assume it is somewhere on another part of the lake.

Hopefully healthy and doing well.

With all the boat traffic, it will be much harder for that chick on this holiday weekend.  With him being only a few days old, he is not able to dive at all yet to get out of danger.  Not that a boater would purposely run him down.  But such a small chick is very hard for a speeding boater to even see, let alone avoid.

So if you and your loved ones are out on the lakes this weekend, encourage them to be on the lookout for loons and for tiny little loon chicks that are so vulnerable.  Especially in northern Minnesota and on up into Canada as well as in New England, this is the prime hatching time for new loon chicks.

If we all help our loons, we will be guaranteed that our kids and our grandkids and their kids will be able to hear that haunting call of the loon for generations to come!

Questions?   LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014    Larry R Backlund

Monday, June 23, 2014 11:38 pm CDT

63 degrees F     Clear     Calm

Sunrise   5:25 am CDT     Sunset   9:05 pm CDT

We have now officially entered summer.

And these are the longest days of the year.

But the rain just will not stop.  Today is one of the first days in sometime where we had no rain.  The lake is high.  Rivers are over their banks.  Flooding, mudslides and roads and fields under water are the rule of the day.

We would gladly send some of our water to areas of the country that are battling drought.

But our loons take it all in stride.

They could care less if the lake has risen or if the water is under them or coming down on them from above.

There were several days that I did not see the loons at all.  When I don't, my level of concern always goes up.

But today I have seen them several times.

The chicks seem to be doing well.

They are active and growing.  

They look to be at least 5 or 6 inches long.  And they are ever ready to hungrily gobble every minnow that their parents bring to them.

It was two weeks ago this morning that the second chick fearlessly jumped from the nest into the water.  And they haven't looked back since.  They are now truly birds of the water.

A couple days ago I watched as the chicks are now able to dive.  They are short dives but they are actually able to stay underwater for a little bit.

The more the are able to do that, the safer they will be.  They will be able to dive out of the way of danger.  But they still are not able to dive like an adult loon and they are still vulnerable to danger.

The chicks are now big enough to be safe from most fish except maybe the largest northerns or muskies.  But they still are very much vulnerable to eagles.  There is a reason that loons are so aware anytime an eagle is around.

This week I will be teaching at a "pioneer school" - a one room, old-fashioned country school with six grades.  I very much look forward to spending time with these kids sharing about loons.

As you and your families are out on the lakes this summer, be aware of loons and keep a wide berth.  Give them the space they need.

Questions?  LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014     Larry R Backlund

Wednesday, June 18, 2014 6:54 am CDT

64 degrees     Cloudy     Wind NE   5mph

Sunrise   5:24 am CDT     Sunset   9:04 pm CDT

The loons are doing fine!

About an hour ago, I saw them straight out from the nest.

All four of them swimming together.

The two chicks were actively swimming back and forth.  They have grown so much in just over a week.

They must now be at least 4 or 5 inches long, although it is difficult to judge from a distance.

Last night close to midnight, the loons were calling loudly for almost an hour.

Apparently it was "our loons" calling with yodels and tremolos and wails from this side of the lake.  Only to be answered by another pair of loons on the other side of the lake.  Apparently the other pair that has reportedly nested on a channel over there.

Yodels and tremolos.  Only to be answered by yodels and tremolos from the other side of the lake.

Over and over and over.

It was a symphony worthy of any world class orchestra.

And one that would lull a person into the most restful of sleep and dreams.

Questions?  LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014     Larry R Backlund

Monday, June 16, 2014 6:59 am CDT

58 degrees F     Clear and Sunny     Calm

5:28 am CDT     9:03 pm CDT

It is a spectacular blue-sky Minnesota morning.

A calm lake.

And LOONS!

Does life get any better or more beautiful than this?

A little while ago, I was able to spot one of the loons with both chicks swimming by him.  The chicks have both made it through another night and are active and healthy.

And then the other loon appeared with a minnow.

Right now, both loons are quietly floating together and relaxing on a lake that is calm and serene.  Apparently both chicks have climbed up on their parents backs because I can only see what looks like a 'bulge' which I assume is chicks under the wing.

It was one week ago this morning that the second chick jumped into the water without a moments hesitation, as dad left the nest.  Only 12 hours old and he already knew how to be a loon!

Is it only a week?

It seems so much longer than that.

But our chicks have safely made it through the critical first week of life when they are so vulnerable to so many dangers.

They have already noticeably grown as those of you who were watching yesterday morning saw very clearly.

I was just about ready to walk out the door to go to church when I saw one of the loons approaching the platform.  So I stopped to watch.  He had one chick on his back and the other swimming alongside him.

To my surprise, he jumped up on the nest as the chick on his back was unceremoniously dumped in the water.

It was the male.  He was back on the nest.

I thought he would only be on the nest for a minute or two like he had been in the past.

But he had other ideas.

He sat on the nest and mewed over and over.

The two chicks swam along the front edge of the nest looking and pecking at things on the frame of the nest.  But they did not try to get up on the nest like their dad had done.  He kept mewing.  And sitting.

One minute.  

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

At one point, the female came with a minnow for the chicks and then swam off.  One of the chicks made a half-hearted attempt to get up on the nest.  He splashed as his stunning little white breast pressed up against the nest.  But he gave up after only a few seconds of trying.  That place was not for him.

After watching for over 10 minutes and being late for church, I finally left with the male loon still on the nest and the chicks swimming alongside the nest.

When I came home later in the day, I was surprised to read how long the male had remained on the nest.  According to my notes, he got up on the nest at 10:47 am.  And according to viewers in chat he stayed up there until 11:33 am!  A full 46 minutes.

I hear that there are lots of pictures and even a video or two that you faithful viewers have posted.  I have not had time to check them out but I look forward to doing so when I have some time.  You have done such a great service for everyone to document these behaviors.

Like some said, they wondered if he knew the LoonCam was going off and he came to say goodbye.

Or others who said it was so appropriate for him to do that especially on Father's Day.

Whatever the reason for his behavior, it was such a fitting epitaph to the end of the season on the LoonCam!

He certainly deserves a lot of credit for his faithfulness from the very beginning of nest building all the way through incubation.

And if the female was a young and immature mother, she sure has come a long way in understanding what must be done.  For now she is so faithful and always there caring for their chicks.

This has been a wonderful year.

In spite of lightning destroying almost all the equipment necessary to bring you the LoonCam, we were able to rebuild everything and bring you these marvelous views of our loons.

A great thank you goes out to Minnesota Bound and especially the wonderful people at Broadband Corporation for their tireless work to make everything work!

But the best part of all is that we have 2 healthy active loon chicks!

They still are very vulnerable for the next week especially.

They still cannot dive well, even though they try.  They just pop back up to the surface like a cork.

But they will gradually get better at that and they will get bigger.  They will have more of a chance avoiding danger.

If they survive the next week, the odds go up dramatically that they will grow to full size.  But there are many dangers still ahead for our  pair of little loons.

I will periodically try to update you especially if there is any news.  Or just to let you know that the chicks are doing ok.

Once again, let me say THANK YOU to all of you who have been a part of such a special year here on the LoonCam!  Or as many of you have called yourselves, "loonatics".

That fits for so many of us who have allowed the loons and especially those little chicks to capture our hearts in such a short time.

Questions or Comments?  LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014     Larry R Backlund