Sunday, April 24, 2016 8:13 am CDT

Guest User April 24, 2016

55 degrees F Thunderstorms Wind E 7 mph

Sunrise 6:11 am CDT Sunset 8:11 pm CDT

Thunderstorms are moving through the area right now.

Lightning. Thunder. Rain.

Rain which we need. It has been so dry for the last few weeks.

Minnesota is not like many states out West where rain showers are few and far between and where you can go for months with no rain. Rain every week is what keeps Minnesota so green. And what keeps our 10,000 Lakes in good shape.

So when we go several weeks without rain in the spring and summer, that is a long time for us to go without rain.

The rain is also good for the loons and for the plants growing on the loon nest.

Yesterday I planted a purple pansy in memory of Prince who so tragically passed away a couple days ago.

Normally I have had "natural" plants on the nest. Plants that occur naturally in a loon's habitat.

The irises that I have planted on the nest are reminiscent of the fleur-de-lis that the French voyageurs would plant at portages in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area which preserves the old fur trade routes of the Voyageurs several hundred years ago. Some of those fleur-de-lis still grow in the Boundary Waters.

On Wednesday night I decided to get some yellow pansies to plant on the nest to give some visual interest to a "gray" nest. And to give you something to watch while we wait for our loons to decide if they are going to use the nest or not.

Then came the tragic news Thursday morning of Prince's death which seems to have caught the attention and touched the heart strings of the world. Normally I do not comment on things other than loons here on the LoonCam. But for some reason after I had planted the yellow pansies it just seemed fitting to plant a 'purple one' as well.

So I went to the local nursery yesterday and got a purple pansy which now joins the yellow ones on the nest, as well as the other plants that are slowly starting to grow.

But I digress.

We are here for LOONS, aren't we?

For those of you who are new or have not followed closely what has happened, let me quickly summarize.

The LoonCam loon nest has been used by loons every year (but one) for well over 10 years.

And we have had phenomenal success with eggs being laid and chicks hatching.

Normally loons use the same nest that they used the year before. Especially if the nest has been successful.

But last summer tragedy struck as the male from the LoonCam pair of loons washed up on a neighbors shoreline, dead!

We still do not know for sure what killed him.

So that has thrown everything into question for this year's nest.

Will the female from last year come back with a new mate? Will a new pair of loons take over the nest? Or will the nest go unused this year?

All of those things are very real possibilities for this year.

There is still a good chance that loons will use the nest this year. It is still early in the season. If they have not gotten serious about nesting in the next couple weeks, then there is reason for concern as to whether they will use the nest this year. But for now there is still great hope that loons will once again use this nest this year.

The good news?

Within the past hour, a pair of loons swam very close to the nest. The did not try to get up on the nest but they were clearly aware of it and interested in it.

This is pretty typical behavior of loons, especially loons searching for a new nesting area.

They will check it out numerous times over a period of time. Seemingly just to see what the area is like and what goes on around it.

Then when they are ready to get serious, things can happen fairly quickly. They will be up on the nest repeatedly and minor nest building all of a sudden becomes serious and the next thing we know they have laid eggs and settled in for the long haul of incubation.

The fact that this pair of loons is aware of the nest and have checked it out several times is encouraging

Will they eventually use the nest?

I can't answer.

Only the loons know the answer to that question.

But we are privileged to have this intimate look into their world. To observe them so closely. To see things that few people have ever had the privilege to see. To observe their behavior 'up close and personal' without ever disturbing them or changing their natural behavior.

What a privilege that is!

Enjoy it.

And share it with your family and friends.

Questions or comments? Email us at LoonCam at yahoo dot com. Because of the volume of email I will not be able to respond personally to each email. But I will eventually read every one and for recurring questions I will try to answer them here in this blog.

Friday, April 22, 2016 2:52 pm CDT

Guest User April 22, 2016

55 degrees F Sunny Wind NE 7 mph

Sunrise 6:14 am CDT Sunset 8:09 pm CDT

A beautiful Minnesota spring day.

Sunshine. Blue sky. Puffy white clouds. A slight breeze. Daffodils blooming. Apricots and cherries in bloom. Crocuses done blooming. Forsythia is fading. Tulips are ready to start blooming. As are apples and pears.

Trees are beginning to turn green and leaf out.

What a wonderful time of year. New life all around.

But one thing could make it even better - LOONS!

They are on the lake. They have visited the nest.

Now we just need them to take ownership of the nest and lay eggs.

Then all will be right with the world once again.

At this point I am not highly concerned that they have not begun nesting yet. It is still early in the season.

However, as I have told you in the past I become very paranoid and concerned at this time of year every year. And most of that is concern that we get YOUR hopes up, we "promise" you loons. What if the loons don't cooperate?! ;-)

It is VERY encouraging that they have already checked out the nest. And have been up ON the nest at least once.

They have told us that they know it is there and that they are interested in it.

Will they be "interested" enough to use it? There is no way of knowing. And even if we did know, we have absolutely no control over that.

So we wait.

And HOPE!

Many of you watched a couple days ago as I went out to the nest to water the plants. We had not had any rain for well over 2 weeks. So I figured that the plants on the nest must be bone dry.

I was surprised when I got out there that they were relatively moist. I think the action of the wind and waves must have been enough to splash water up onto the nest and water the plants 'naturally' even without any rain.

But just to be safe, I still watered the plants and the entire nest.

I also replaced a little of the nesting material that had washed away, but overall the nest seemed to be in very good condition. In light of the reports that I got that there had been 50 mph winds while I was in China, I think it held together quite well.

Maybe this afternoon I will go back out there if the loons are not in sight and plant a couple more plants. I had wanted to put them out when I put the nest out but the ones that I had dies over the winter and no garden stores had any available that early yet.

I just realized I should maybe have gotten a purple plant in honor of Prince! Or the Vikings.

It has been encouraging to hear calls from loons on the lake, especially at night. So they are still here. And there is still hope that they will nest.

But as I have said before, because of the death of the male last summer this year will be very interesting and educational. Will the female come back with a new mate? Will a new pair use the nest? Will the nest go unused this year?

All of those things are possible.

However, in over a decade of doing this there is only one year that the loons have not used the nest. That was just a couple years ago when for some unexplained reason we had a change of mates.

Every other year the loons have used the nest ever since I built it and first put it out.

That alone is phenomenal. From figures I saw a few years ago, only 60% of artificial nesting platforms ever get used. So to have the kind of success that we have had with this nest is very unusual and very gratifying.

I will not be very concerned that they have not nested until we get into the first week of May at least. Even the first week of May will be fairly normal for nesting on this nest.

So settle back and watch. Let us all learn together. Try to keep your concern and blood pressure down and I will try to do the same. Let us all be amazed together.

Monday, April 18, 2016 10:22 pm CDT

Guest User April 18, 2016

69 degrees F Cloudy Wind NE 12 mph

Sunrise 6:21 am CDT Sunset 8:03 pm CDT

The last few days have been 'mid-summer' days, not spring days of April. High temperatures have been in the 80s.

I have just returned from a couple weeks in China. So I have no idea right now what time zone I am in!

Thank you to all of you who have so faithfully watched and documented what has been going on with the LoonCam.

I see that it was down a couple times while I was gone. But thanks to the good folks at BroadBand who I assume are the ones who got it restarted.

I have seen at least one pair of loons on the lake and one single loon. That is encouraging that they are on the lake.

I appreciate knowing that a pair of loons has been up to and even on the nest at least one time. That is also VERY encouraging.

For those of you who may not have followed the LoonCam closely in the past or may have forgotten, in August last summer we had tragedy strike.

The male from the LoonCam last year washed up on shore dead!

We still do not know the cause but hopefully by the end of this summer researchers will have been able to determine the cause of death. When and if I hear anything results of the necropsy, I will let you know.

I do not know what killed him. One of the neighbors thinks it was an eagle. I don't know that for sure but I will give you his reasoning some other time.

If the male had survived, I would fully expect that he and his mate would return and use the nest again this year. They laid two eggs last year and hatched one chick that survived.

The second egg apparently was infertile. That unhatched egg will be a part of a major study at the University of Connecticut to monitor impacts of the Gulf Oil Spill.

But with the death of the male, everything is up in the air and this will be a VERY interesting year to watch to see what happens.

Will the female from last year return with a new mate?

Will another pair use the nest this year?

Or will the nest go unused this year?

There are so many things that we do not know and cannot predict. And we have no control over any of them.

The nest is there ready to be used. But will the loons use it? We can only wait and wonder.

There has been no rain here during the more than 2 weeks I was gone. So everything is very dry and we need rain.

I am sure the nest and the plants on it are very dry with the lack of rain and very warm days. There was 2 inches of snow on the nest when I left for the airport at 2 in the morning a couple weeks ago this last Saturday. But that is the last time apparently that the nest got any water.

We have rain in the area tonight and it it forecast to rain here as well. But so far there is nothing.

If we do not get any rain in the next day or two, I will probably try to go out to the nest to water the plants.

I also want to check everything else on the nest. From what I can see on the cam, it seems to be holding together quite well so far. I am told that we had some very high winds while we were gone. There were a lot of dead branches down and heavy lawn furniture tipped over. So it must have been pretty high winds.

It is always a challenge to build the nest so that all the nesting material doesn't blow off in high winds or wash off in high waves. So far it seems to be intact.

But if the loons are not around it will give me a chance to check on the anchors and everything else on the nest.

There is no reason to be concerned that the loons are not using the nest yet. We still have plenty of time. But I along with you always am concerned until they actually take up residency. The fact that one pair has already checked out the nest is a good sign.

So now we wait.

But it is time for you to tell your friends and family and neighbors to start watching. And especially for you to tell your kid's and grandkid's teachers about the LoonCam. It is one of the most phenomenal educational tools for teachers to use with their students.

The SHOW is about to begin! And it is much better than anything on tv. And we have NO idea what the script will hold for this year.

And you don't want to miss a minute of it.

Friday, April 1, 2016 5:40 pm CDT

Guest User April 1, 2016

39 degrees Sunny Wind NNW 20 mph

Sunrise 6:52 pm CDT Sunset 7:52 pm CDT

WE ARE LIVE!

The LoonCam is LIVE for 2016!!

There is a cold cold wind out of the north that sweeps across the lake. White caps dot the surface of the lake. And waves roll in.

The LoonCam nest is bouncing on the waves.

There were even a few snow flurries earlier this morning!

But the important thing is that the nest is out on the water and ready for loons to occupy it.

The water is bitterly cold. And when you factor in the strong frigid wind, it was not a pleasant day to be working on the nest or in the water.

I had to come up to the house several times to dry off and thaw out. But it had to get done today because I will have very limited access to work on the nest, the cam or the blog for the next couple weeks.

But it is out there and ready for the loons ... and YOU!

It will be SO interesting to see what happens this year.

For those of you who may be new to the LoonCam or who have not been able to follow closely, last year the nest was used by the same pair of loons that has used it for several years. But then in August last year, the male loon from the LoonCam washed up on shore dead.

We still do not know how or why he died. Hopefully we will learn soon the results of tests being done to determine the cause of his death.

But with the male gone it will be interesting to see what happens. Will the female come back with a new mate? Will a new pair of loons take over the nest? Will the nest go unused?

We will only know what will happen by watching to see what happens.

We have done everything we can to provide the nest. Now it is up to the loons whether or not they will use it!

Stay tuned. And keep watching.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016 12:36 pm CDT

Guest User March 30, 2016

43 degrees Rain Wind Calm

Sunrise 6:56 am CDT Sunset 7:39 pm CDT

It is a cloudy, rainy, hazy day.

A haze lies over a quiet northern lake. Shorelines are reflected in muted grays and browns on the surface of the water.

There are seagulls but no loons in sight.

After I posted last Thursday, I did see one loon on the lake on Friday morning. It was out in the middle of the lake and was no where near the nesting area. So was it one of "our loons"? There is no way to tell without an opportunity to see if it has bands or not.

After the ice went out of the lake, I was 'up north' for a Missions Conference for a week. All the lakes in the furthest northern reaches of the state and into Canada were still totally covered with ice. So obviously no loons could make it that far north yet.

In fact, the area up there had well over a foot of snow during the week.

There was no internet access or cell phone service in the area where we were so I was totally out of touch. When I got home I found out that there had been a death in the family and I was asked if I would do the funeral. So it was repacking quick and then heading up to another part of northern Minnesota.

But just before I left on Friday morning I did see the one loon here. So at least one loon was back - or at least 'passing through'. Since I got home from the funeral a couple days ago, I have not seen or heard any loons.

So we are 'close'. But we are not there yet.

Yesterday I worked on the nest and all the technical stuff to get the LoonCam connected. And this morning I have been working with the good folks and technical wizards at BroadbandMN to do more of the many things that must work to bring you the LoonCam pictures.

And I have good news!

With relatively few problems, the camera is working and we have pictures coming from it! We are not live yet but that is a major step forward. There is still a lot more work to be done.

If I get a break in the rain today and tomorrow, I will try to do more work on building the nest itself and more work on the LoonCam and the infrared light. And then hopefully I will be able to put the nest in the water and check once again to make sure everything is working.

When all of that is done, we will once again be able to go live with the LoonCam!

Let your friends and family and teachers know. Spread the word on facebook and twitter and all the other social sites.

It is almost LOON TIME!

Minnesota Bound

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