Saturday, June 6, 2015 10:00 am CDT

Guest User June 6, 2015

65 degrees F Cloudy Wind 2 mph SW

Sunrise 5:26 am CDT Sunset 8:28 pm CDT

Our chick still seems to be doing well.

He was riding on the adult's back a few minutes ago. I assume it is the male with him.

Right now he is swimming and the adult appears to be feeding him.

I was surprised to see how far away from the nest they had moved when I came home last night. Normally they stay closer to the nest at first and then gradually expand the circle of how far they go.

But I may have found out why they have been so far from the nest.

Talking with the neighbor this morning, she said that the eagles have been harassing the loons quite a bit the last few days.

So that could very well explain why they have moved so far away from the nest.

She said she heard the loon calling loudly at one point and went to see what was happening.

The eagle was swooping right down at the loon. It was one of the mature eagles, not the immature eagle who has more often seemed to harass the loons.

She said the loon stood straight up in the water, the chick came off its back, the loon called as he "stood" straight up and pointed his beak up at the eagle that was swooping down on him.

I wish I could have seen it. I have never seen anything quite as dramatic as that.

But apparently our male was going to protect the chick at any cost.

Even at the cost of injury to himself.

So now it makes a little more sense why the loons have moved further from the nest than they normally would have at this point after the hatch.

But we seem to have one very active and healthy chick.

I have seen no sign of them returning to the nest or trying to get up on the nest. Nor had the neighbor.

So I think it is quite obvious that they have abandoned the nest and the second egg.

Their focus now is on the chick!

Last night, when I saw the loons were staying quite far away, I knew I could check to see if the egg was still there without disturbing them.

So I did go out to the nest.

The egg was still there. No predators have gotten it yet.

I picked it up and examined it very carefully. It was intact.

There were no signs of a pip or of the start of a hatch.

I listened to it and there were no sounds. Although I did not expect any after it having sat open to the elements this long. The 28th day for the second egg was on Thursday morning.

I even smelled of it but could not really detect any odor of it being rotten.

I put it back on the nest and maybe will leave it for another day or two to see what the loons do or how they react.

But fairly soon I will probably remove the egg from the nest. It is pretty obvious that it is not going to hatch at this point. And the loons themselves seem to have abandoned it.

In consultation with the DNR, we will see if we can get someone to xray the egg to glean whatever knowledge we can.

The news I would "like" to hear is that it did not develop at all.

The news I fear is that the chick had started to develop and maybe was even near hatching but then died when the male had to make the very difficult decision of did he stay on the egg or stay with the chick and protect it.

No matter which scenario plays out, we will learn more about loons.

If and when I retrieve the egg, I will let you know. And I will let you know any results from any tests that may be done on the egg. That will take some time.

I have been talking to Broadband this morning. They have been so faithful in trying to restore things. But something has changed that they have not even been able to log into the system here or the cam.

But with the loons gone, the nest abandoned and now no hope that the egg will hatch, we have decided that the LoonCam season has come to an end for this year.

We have MUCH to be thankful for.

Once again we have been able to watch our beautiful loons in a way that no one has ever been able to do before.

We have seen two eggs laid.

We have seen the one loon mature a lot this year.

We have seen flowers bloom. And loons do their own gardening and transplanting.

But best of all -

we have ONE BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY LOON CHICK!

Friday, June 5, 2015 3:45 pm CDT

Guest User June 5, 2015

75 degrees F Sunny Wind 3 mph NE

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

I have been away for a couple days.

I have been at the Forest History Center and the Judy Garland Home and Museum in Grand Rapids, MN.

I just got home a little while ago.

The first thing I did was to look at the nest. And there is no loon on the nest.

I do not see any of the loons anywhere in the immediate area. Which caused me some measure of concern.

However, as I scanned the lake with binoculars I spotted one loon far away. Even with the binoculars I had a hard time discerning any detail since they were so far away.

But I kept telling myself that there was a bump on the loon's back that could be a chick. I hoped. But I could not tell for sure.

Then I saw another loon surface and swim toward the first loon.

Then I could see a more pronounced "bump" and movement on the back.

It HAS to be our loon with OUR little loon chick on its back!!

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The second loon swam over and apparently fed the "bump", our chick, a minnow or something.

So that all is VERY good news this afternoon.

The bad news is that the LoonCam is still not live.

I don't have any messages from Broadband Minnesota. But the fact that it is not live is not encouraging.

Until I talk to them, I have to assume that the problems are serious enough that they cannot be fixed remotely. I know that they have been working hard to restore the cam. And the fact that it is still not up does not bode well that we will be able to view it again this year.

I don't want to go out to the nest to check on the egg until I am more sure of how the loons are reacting.

But the fact that the loons are now so far away from the nest tells me that they may have also given up on the remaining egg - which I cannot say with certainty that it is still there until I am able to actually go out to the nest.

Without the cam, I cannot see into the nest itself even with binoculars or telescope.

So I am with you as far as not knowing.

The only advantage I have over you is that I can look and see that the nesting platform is still there and apparently intact. And that there is no loon on the nest or around the nest right now.

I know that you are wanting to see our loons and to know what is going on with them. I am, too! I apologize that the LoonCam has gone down. If any of you have any magic way to prevent lightning from damaging delicate electronics, I am all ears!

At this point it is just one more reminder of the myriad of things that must work together perfectly in order to bring you the magic of the LoonCam.

As I learn more, I will be sure to update you.

Thursday, June 4, 2015 5:55am CDT

Guest User June 4, 2015

60 degrees F Cloudy & Misty Wind Calm

Sunrise 5:27 am CDT Sunset 8:56 pm CDT

A misty moody haze hangs over the lake.

Not rain. Not quite mist. Nor even a fog.

I don't know how to describe it other than that. Just a moody haze that hangs in the air.

The surface of the lake is calm. Just a few ripples. No wind. No waves.

My heart sank when I first looked down at the lake and the nest.

I had at least expected to see a loon swimming near the nest.

Nothing.

Only an empty nest. I have to assume that it was empty all night once again. But neither of the loons nor the chick in sight!

Had something happened overnight to our chick? I didn't want to even think of the possibilities.

And since the LoonCam is still down because of the lightning strike yesterday afternoon, I could not turn to the cam for a closer view. I strained my eyes and looked through the binoculars but I could not find our loons.

Now some of my view of the lake is blocked by trees along the shore. They HAD to be off to the side. DIDN'T they?!

So I walked down to the lake through the long heavy dew-laden grass that needs mowing so badly. Watching all the way.

No, there are no loons in sight.

I call. But no answer.

My heart sinks even more.

I keep telling myself that the loon must be on the other side of the nest. A view now hidden from my sight by the plants growing on the nest. And I cannot go to the camera and look. It is only the frozen picture of our female sitting in the rain yesterday when the lightning too our the LoonCam.

But I look and I look and I cannot a loon anywhere. The Sweet Rocket and the daisies are still blooming amid the mist.

But no loon.

I scan the lake with the binoculars. No loon!

I have this knot in my stomach wondering what has happened to our loons overnight. And especially our chick.

Then I see a loon far off in the distance through the haze.

Is that our male with the chick?

The loon dives. And there is no chick left on the surface of the water.

No! It CAN'T be that we have lost our chick overnight! Can it?!

I don't dare let the thought linger in my mind for fear that it might actually become real!

I look at the nest once again. I see a dark bump. My mind plays tricks on me trying to convince myself that it is the head of a loon right up against the far side of the nest. But I know I must be imagining it.

The other loon that I saw far away has now come closer but is still quite a ways out in the lake. But it is definitely swimming this way. But it can't have the chick. Because when it dove, there was no chick left on the surface of the water.

But as it comes closer, it calls a couple times. Two wails.

I look at the nest again. I don't see the dark lump that I had tried to convince myself was the head of one of our loons. Hopefully the loon with the chick. Could it be? Or are my eyes and my mind just playing wishful tricks on me.

Then a loon actually does come around the corner of the nest!

It WAS a loon back there! And it looks like there is a bump on its back under its wings!

Could it be? I hope but I don't dare let my hope run too far yet. The other loon continues to swim this way and once again wails a morning greeting. Yes. There is movement on the back and the head of a little loon pokes out from under the wing and looks around to see whose morning alarm clock is sounding a wail.

As the other loon continues to come closer, I can now see that it has a little minnow that it is carrying in its beak. It must be our female. Mom bringing breakfast.

She swims up to the mate and the little loon struggles from under the wing. Now he is fully sitting on top of the adult's back. My how he looks like he has grown! She holds out the minnow to him and he eagerly scarfs it down.

In the matter of half a minute a world of despair has changed.

All is well with the world.

Right now the three loons are swimming together. Or should I say that two loons are swimming. One is riding his royal coach and being fed.

But indeed, after a long dark night, once again all is right with the world!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015 5:45 am CDT

Guest User June 3, 2015

62 degrees F Cloudy Wind Calm

Sunrise 5:27 am CDT Sunset 8:56 pm CDT

The sun is just ready to come up on an absolutely calm lake which reflects the clouds in its mirror-like surface and also reflects the male loon as he sits in front of the nest with the chick on his back.

The egg lays alone on the nest.

Once again exposed to the elements all night long. With no loon to cover it or keep it warm.

There are no obvious signs of a chick trying to break out of the egg.

But then at 5:40am, as the male calls the female gets up on the nest, turns and rolls the eggs and settles down on them. Then again turns rolls and settles. And once more.

What's the problem?

She is on time for work! It must have been the other shift that didn't sit on them over night!

Behavior that I have never seen before.

The male has remained close to the nest all night with the chick on his back. By now there has to be a HUGE bond that has formed between the chick and the male loon.

The female left the nest last night at 7:04 pm. And the egg has lain exposed since then.

It is not looking good for a successful hatch for this egg. The 28 day anniversary since this second egg was laid is tomorrow morning at 8:18 am. There is still a chance it might hatch but that chance and that window grows slimmer with each passing hour.

I would have normally expected it to hatch yesterday.

Does the loon know or sense something that we didn't or do not?

Once again we can only wait and wonder.

The male has not let the chick out of his sight since he got off the nest night before last.

But for now, the chick is safely on Dad's back and Mom is once again sitting on the remaining egg.

Yesterday afternoon some of you who were watching saw a pair of fishermen come inside the buoys and stop and fish right up next to the nest.

I am afraid I was not as 'understanding' as I usually try to be.

I had stayed away from the lakeside of the house in order to give the female on the nest the best possibility of staying put if she did not see me or anyone else. The front lawn needs mowing but I thought that can wait for another day or two if she is on the nest.

So I was going to mow some of the other lawn out of her sight.

But when the mower did not start, I remembered that I had run it dry a couple days ago. So I went out in front of the house to get the gas can where I had left it.

To my shock there was a big fishing boat sitting right next to the nest casting their lures up along the edge of the nest.

I waved with both arms for them to move. Both adult loons and the chick were well out beyond the buoys. I was surprised they had not called. I did not see if the female was already off the nest or if they had scared her off. But they obviously had concerned the loons enough that they moved out beyond the buoys.

But the fishermen were so intent on fishing that they did not even see me. I did not yell because I did not want to upset the loons even more.

I started to walk down toward the lake and one of the fishermen looked up and gave me a 'friendly wave'. I once again waved with both arms for them to leave the area.

He called out to me, "Yeah, we see them!" as he turned and pointed at the loons. So he obviously knew that this was a loon nest, that loons were using it and that loons were there with a chick. And yet that made no difference to them. To them it was just a perfect place to catch a fish!

I am glad I didn't say what I was thinking!

I used the standard line that I have used for a while now and I said, "This is federally protected loon nesting area."

His response?

"Well you should have some signs up!"

"What do you think all the buoys and the raft are?"

"I dunno. People put buoys out all the time!"

We have discussed signage in years past. But have decided against it because unless the signs were as big as a freeway billboard, it would only draw people in closer so that "they could read the sign".

My replay to him as I once again motioned for them to move off to the side was, "WOW! Wow!". And I turned to walk away.

I got a kick out of a statement that someone else made on chat about the incident. Some of you may have actually been watching and heard the conversation. One of the viewers said, "You can't fix STUPID! Even with duct tape!"

Well, what none of you could see on the camera as the fisherman and I were having our "conversation", is that the other fisherman in his boat caught a bass. I would guess that the bass had to have maybe been 3 pounds. A nice bass.

And he caught it right next to the nest during this whole "conversation"!

It pointed up the reality of what the chicks face.

The night before when the chick had been frantically swimming around the nest crying as the male loudly called from up on the nest, I sat and watch heartsick. Wondering what if anything I could do.

My greatest fear was that I would see a big swirl of water and a 'swoosh' as our chick disappeared into the mouth of some big bass or northern.

Fortunately that did not happen. But my heart was in my throat for most of that time. We have lost chicks before. Probably to fish.

But seeing him catch that fish from right by the nest was once again confirmation that that fear and danger is very real.

Fish love to hide under docks and other "structure" Waiting for some food to come their way.

And, like I have often said, a little loon chick is the perfect topwater lure! Without hooks!!

This bass was hiding under the nest. Waiting for a meal. That meal could so easily could have been our little loon chick.

Many of you have watched on the cam as the adult loons have approached the nest. And you have actually seen them swim right under the nest. I think they do it for that very reason. To make sure no big 'chick eating' fish are hiding under there waiting.

But for now, our little chick is well. Thriving. And staying safe as he rides on dad's back much of the time.

Dad's back gives him protection from fish below and eagles above.

It's a big scary world out there.

And little loons need to be careful!

Tuesday, June 2, 2015 5:05 am CDT

Guest User June 2, 2015

50 degrees F Partly Cloudy Wind Calm

Sunrise 5:28 am CDT Sunset 8:55 pm CDT

Amazingly, the female has just returned!

She is now up on the nest at 4:47 am CDT and on the second egg as if nothing happened.

The male has had the chick on his back all night long as he circled the nest, staying very close.

He tried doing both - incubating the egg AND protecting the chick.

He made heart wrenching calls over and over. But to no avail. There was no answer.

So finally when he left the nest for the fourth time to take care of the chick, he stayed in the water with the chick on his back for the rest of the night.

It seemed as if he had made the difficult decision to protect the life he knew - the chick - versus the uncertainty of life in the egg.

It was so difficult to watch. And so few options to do anything helpful.

The egg lay uncovered for just under six hours.

Was that long enough to damage it? Only time will tell.

At this stage of development, the chick generates a lot of its own body heat inside the egg. And the temperatures were not extreme overnight - down to 50 degrees this morning.

But was that six hours of being exposed to those temperatures enough to damage the egg?

Once again, more questions and few answers. We can only wait and hope.

It is still very strange to me how the female just left. And the male desperately tried to take care of both the egg and the chick.

Why she did not respond to his desperate cries is a mystery.

Any of his calls could easily be heard around the lake. Especially his loud yodels. But there was no answer.

Yet this morning, when the male wailed several times at 4:30 am, the female immediately answered and came in. And she got up on the nest as usual.

So now we wait to see what today brings.

Until last night my guess would have been that the second chick would have hatched today.

We could use a day without any drama.

AND a second chick!

Minnesota Bound

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