Thursday, May 12, 2016

Guest User May 12, 2016

57 degrees F Partly Sunny WIn NW 9 mph

Sunrise 5:45 am CDT Sunset 8:34 pm CDT

More days pass without loons on the nest.

There are loons around. One single loon even comes to the vicinity of the nest periodically. But no nesting yet. And no attempt to even get up on the nest.

It is good to hear reports of other loons in other places nesting.

But with each passing day, it is becoming more and more apparent that there will be no nesting loons on the LoonCam nest.

As disappointing as that is, it is not totally unexpected.

As I said in one of my earliest posts this year, it will be very interesting and educational to see what happens this year.

After the death of the male last summer, we knew that things were going to be different. And we knew that if another pair did not use the nest, that there was a chance the nest would go unused this year.

And that appears to be exactly where we are.

So we have made the decision to pull the nest in and allow the gracious neighbors to once again use their waterfront and the lake.

I am leaving in a few minutes to speak the students at a school about loons.

So I think I will wait to pull the nest in until sometime late tomorrow to give the students a chance to check out the LoonCam before it is shut off for the year.

That is not the outcome that any of us wanted this year.

But it is reality.

As we have talked about so many times, we are merely spectators to this great and wonderful spectacle of watching our beautiful loons and the mystery and majesty of life.

Thank you all for your interest and great and gracious support and encouragement. It is wonderful to see the amazing caring "loon community" that has developed and grown through the years.

As they say, there is always "Next Year".

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.

Monday, May 9, 2016 5:05 pm CDT

Guest User May 9, 2016

57 degrees Rain Wind NE 2mph

Sunrise 5:49 am CDT Sunset 8:30 pm CDT

As I write this, it is gently raining.

I knew if I watered the plants on the nest it would bring rain! After I watered the plants the last time, it rained for a week solid.

We are supposed to have rain off and on over the next couple days.

Which is good. We can use it. And especially the fires up north could use a LOT of rain to help firefighters get them under control. It is so sad to see what is happening.

Last Friday night we had smoke that blew in from the fires about 10pm. I have never seen anything like it. It was dense enough that you could barely see the other side of the lake. And the smell of smoke was almost overpowering. It was almost like you were sitting right next to a smoky campfire. And it lasted until Saturday morning.

So far there is not much more news on the loons using the nest. Other than the one time on April 13th, no loons have gotten up on the nest.

But they have not lost total interest in the nest. And I will say a word about that in a minute.

There are still a number of loons on the lake - at least 4 that I know about. Maybe more.

But even without loons on the nest, we have had some drama.

I have already talked about the family of loons with at least 7 goslings was up on the nest last week. And they really looked like they were ready to settle in for the night if not longer. Had they not been chased off, I think they would have stayed at least the night.

But last night we had another visitor. One that I do not think we have ever had in all these years. At least not that I ever saw.

We have had geese. We have had tree swallows. We have had muskrats. We have had beavers.

But last night we had another 'furry creature'.

It definitely was not a muskrat or a beaver, both of which we have in the lake.

I am not 100% sure of what it was. But I have a pretty good guess and I think I am right. But I must say it totally surprised me.

I think it was a mink that was on the nest last night. Yes. A MINK!

Do any of you want a new fur coat?!

It definitely was something in the weasel family.

But it was too big for a weasel. It was too small for a fisher or pine marten. Plus I do not think that most of those would be in the water.

Whereas a mink is fairly comfortable swimming in the water. But I am very surprised that he was this far out in the lake to get up on the nest. That is very surprising.

You can see a video of it at https://www.facebook.com/groups/larrysloonlovers/ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxtlvKat3qA Thank you Pam and Lee!

He was very interested in exploring the whole nest for several minutes. But finding nothing (loon eggs) to eat, he left.

Like I said, as far as I know, that is the first time we have had a mink on the nest.

Mink are a great problem for loons that nest on shore. Next to raccoons they are one of the great predators of loon eggs.

Mink can be vicious.

In a battle between a mink and a loon, I do not know who would come out the worse for wear. No doubt the loon would use its very sharp beak to good advantage. But a mink is fast with VERY sharp teeth.

It is a battle that I would not want to see.

Then early this morning we had another goose get up on the nest.

But there was someone else who was watching!

And it wasn't just me!

A couple minutes after 6 am I looked out at the nest and was surprised to see a goose standing on the nest. I did not know how long he had been there.

I went to look for something that I could wave at him to scare him off the nest. I did not want to run out yelling and wake the whole neighborhood up.

But by the time I got something and came out to wave it, he was off the nest. But I saw him in between the nest and the shore.

I got in one wave before I did a double take. It was a loon swimming between the nest and the shore. And the goose was well off to the right, honking indignantly.

When I watched the video, I could see that something caught the goose's attention. He watched carefully. And nervously.

There it was!

A loon surfaced for a split second some distance from the nest and then dove immediately. Heading at full tilt underwater toward the nest! He was moving fast enough that he even left a wake on the surface of the water.

The goose knew what was coming!

With a quick jump and flap of his wings, he left the nest in a panic.

You could just see a flash of white underwater as the loon swam past the nest.

And the goose understood that it was a loon and this was no time to stay on the nest and have a confrontation with a mad loon. So wisely he exited stage left very quickly!

It amazed me how much understanding the goose had even though the loon was underwater.

Videos can be seen at the same two places I gave you before.

Bu there was something else that this confrontation told me.

This loon had a sense of 'ownership' about the nest. And it was not going to let any geese take it over.

Now here in the interesting part.

There was no other loon in the area. There was no mate. I think this is the same single loon that I have seen swim by the nest on several occasions. But I have never seen it try to get up on the nest.

Now let me speculate on who this was. I have no proof of this but only 'educated' guessing.

Since the loon seemed to have 'ownership' of the nest, I think that narrows it down to a loon that has used the nest before.

And that narrows it down to 2 loons.

The female from the last two years.

Or the female that we banded in 2012.

I don't think any other 'random' loon would show a sense of ownership like this loon did this morning.

OK here is further speculation.

There is a good chance that the loon that was on the nest on April 13th and seemed so comfortable and familiar with the nest may have been the female from 2012. We do not have definitive identification from her bands but Kevin Kenow from the USGS ( he was the one who banded all the loons here on Loon Lake) thinks it may very well have been the female we banded in 2012.

But her new mate was not as comfortable with the nest yet and did not ever get up on the nest that I saw.

But the one this morning seems to be single.

There is no way I could see any bands so I cannot say any of this for sure. But I wonder if the loon who threatened the goose this morning with great bodily harm is our female from the last two years.

That would explain why she still feels a sense of ownership yet even though she does not have a new mate yet to replace the male who died last summer.

Let me repeat - this is all speculation on my part.

I have no proof.

But it is an educated guess with some facts and experience behind it.

As usual, once again we are not in control.

We are just fascinated spectators to watch this wonder of nature play out before our eyes.

And greatly blessed spectators at that.

So even if the loons do not use the nest this year, we still have been able to watch and learn from this great drama playing out before our eyes. We will probably have to make a decision in the next few days of how long to leave the nest out and the LoonCam on.

I will let you know as we go along.

Friday, May 6, 2016 8:33 am CDT

Guest User May 6, 2016

62 degrees F Clear and Sunny Wind SW 2 mph

Sunrise 5:53 am CDT Sunset 8:26 pm CDT

It is a beautiful, sunny spring morning here in Minnesota.

Or should I say 'summer'? Because it is supposed to get into the mid-80s today. Which is more like summer temperatures than spring.

But we will take it. Finally the wind has died down after several days of non-stop wind.

The lake is like a mirror this morning.

With geese honking and birds singing. I saw my first new goslings a week ago tonight. Just before dark a pair of geese came swimming by with two little yellow goslings in tow. They looked so small I don't think they could have been even a day old.

This was a few days before another pair of geese decided that they wanted to spend the night on the loon nest with their 7 or 8 goslings!

About 11 pm, I checked the cam to see that it was still working. Not only was it working but it showed the two geese with a whole brood of little geese on the nest. While the male stood sentry, the female was trying to get all the little geese underneath her. IT was a full house.

Obviously they were planning to be there for the night or even to take up residence. That would not do! This was Loon Territory, not goose territory.

I went down to the lake and quietly started wading out to the nest to chase them away.

How they could see me I don't know because it was so dark on a moonless night I sure could not see them! I heard a little movement of water before I got out to the nest but I was not sure what it was. But by the time I got out to the nest, they were gone.

Then I heard a few indignant honks from a short distance away in the dark. I still could not see them but I knew they were there.

Fortunately they did not try to come back to the nest that night or any night since then.

So it was safely reclaimed for our loons.

Now if the loons would get the message!

There has been very little activity or interest in the nest by the loons on the lake.

A short time ago a single loon came swimming by the nest but did not try to get up on it. S/he looked as they slowly swam by but that was about it.

As that loon was swimming by this morning, another pair of loons was moving from left to right on your camera view. But they were almost out in the middle of the lake so there is no way you would have been able to see them on the camera.

They showed no indication of any interest in coming to the nest to check out this 'strange floating thing'. They simply kept moving left to right, floating and diving and fishing. And finally out of sight.

It has been disappointing that no loons have yet nested on the platform this year. But it is not entirely unexpected.

After the loss of the male loon last summer, I knew there was a possibility of that. But my hope was that another pair would maybe use the nest. But there was not been any serious interest in the nest by any of the loons on the lake.

There is only one instance of a loon getting on the nest. And that has been almost a month ago already.

That loon was banded. And s/he seemed to be very comfortable with the nest. Like they had been there before! Kevin Kenow from the USGS thinks it MAY have been the female that we banded in 2012 and who was so unceremoniously displaced in 2014. And I certainly trust his eyes and experience much more than mine. But it was too hard to clearly see the bands on the video to be absolutely certain.

It appears that because the loon was so comfortable on the nest during that one visit, it may indicate that she had been there before. But the mate that was with her was not as comfortable as he excitedly dove over and over while she was on the nest.

Sometimes it just takes time to get used to things. And to get used to each other if this is a new pair.

But that does not help us now in our desire to see loons on the nest. And especially to see new chicks that are so impossibly cute.

But time keeps ticking away.

And it is running short.

A normal behavior pattern for loons seems to be that they will investigate and visit a nest for at least a couple weeks before finally laying eggs. With the possibility of eggs not being laid for another two weeks, that makes it pretty late in the season for this nest.

I would say that if we have not seen a pair actually nesting within the next few days, it may be time to admit they are not going to use it this year and to begin to pull the nest in.

It is very disappointing but not totally unexpected. If they do not use the nest this year, this will be only the second time in over 10 years that this nest has not been used.

We/I sometimes forget how special and unique this opportunity to watch loons nesting actually is. Because of the success of this particular nest for so many years, we tend to take for granted that the loons will be here yet again this year.

I often say each spring 'We have done what we can. Now it is up to the loons whether they will use the nest.'

And I actually mean that. But in the back of my mind I still expect that they WILL use it each year. And am profoundly disappointed when they do not.

Sometimes success brings complacency and unreal expectations. One of the last statistics I saw was that floating nesting platforms like this one only get used about 60% of the time. And until 2013, we were at 100%.

So I guess we should be thankful for what we have and not what we want.

The neighbors have been so wonderfully supportive in being willing to limit their activities and use of the lake in order for the loons to nest. And I am ever so thankful to them. All it would take is one neighbor to say that they want/need to use the lake and we would not be able to do this nest.

So I never want to disregard or abuse that wonderful support. And therefore this is a time limit as to how long the nest can be out in the lake. If this were on a lake with no other residents, it would be a different matter. But this is a lake that is fully built up. And that is very heavily used all summer long.

So we will have to decide in the next few days whether the loons will use the nest this year or whether we will have to pull it in.

Or I should say the loons will have to decide in the next few days whether they will use the nest this year!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016 10:42 pm CDT

Guest User May 4, 2016

56 degrees F Clear Wind Calm

Sunrise 5:56 am CDT Sunset 8:23 pm CDT

I just got home a little while ago - at 10 pm.

As I stepped out of the car, a loon was wailing. And it sounded closer to the middle or this side of the lake.

Then there was an answering wail from off to the left side of the camera, but not close to the camera. Not across the lake but closer.

I went out to the lakeside of the house to see if I could tell where they were.

Then the wails became more frequent. And were soon joined by yodels. Then answering tremolos. Then yet another wail from further away, more across the lake.

There obviously were at least 4 loons calling back and forth although I could not see any of them in the darkness. So it was hard to tell who was who. It seemed like the calls from the left of the nest was a pair. And the two wails were from 2 other loons, possibly singles since they were separated by some distance.

But they could also be a pair because pairs will often spend time separated from each other at some distance.

I stood there just enraptured with the chorus. What a beautiful and even magic sound.

As I was standing listening to the loon symphony, there was a large and loud SPLASH that was definitely near the nest. My first thought was that it was a large fish jumping. A bass or a carp. Or that it might be a loon on or near the nest.

But then remembering the family of geese being on the nest a couple nights ago, I wondered if it might be the goose family again.

I rushed inside to look at the monitor. No sign of anything on or near the nest. Or that the geese or any loons were in the immediate vicinity of the nest.

So whatever was going on, it was wonderful to hear the loon symphony on a very calm night with the lake like a sheet of glass. It is so good to be rid of the wind which has been non-stop for the last couple days.

But it was good to know that several loons were around and active.

Let us still hope for successful nesting this year. Unfortunately the clock is ticking and time time is running short for our loons to lay eggs and hatch them.

But let's keep our fingers crossed. In ever present hope.

Sunday, May 1, 2016 11:02 pm CDT

Guest User May 1, 2016

53 degrees F Clear Wind NNE 5 mph

Sunrise 6:00 am CDT Sunset 8:20 pm CDT

Today has been a beautiful spring day here in Minnesota.

After a week of rain, finally we have been seeing some sunshine even if the wind has stayed around.

Almost as if to prove the old adage, I watered the plants on the loon nest since there had not been any rain for two weeks - and within a day or two, the rain started and just would not stop.

But it is so true that April showers bring May flowers. Lawns are greening up. The trees are starting to leaf out. Plants are growing. And spring flowers are in full bloom.

The forecast for the next week is for many days of blue skies and warm temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Ahhhhh, the days we dream about all winter long.

But we also dream about loons nesting.

And so far that is not happening here on the LoonCam.

Other than the one time that one of the loons got on the nest on April 13th, the loons have not been on the nest. And they have spent precious little time around the nest. The loons are still on the lake. Just not on the nest.

Since ice out I have seen one single loon and one pair of loons numerous times. However, they are not spending time on this side of the lake. Just the occasional swim by.

Late yesterday evening, a single loon flew directly overhead sounding his flying tremolos as he went. I could hear him as he went far to the south. And finally his call faded off into the distance.

Just before dawn this morning I heard some very loud flying tremolos as a pair of loons came to the lake. It was dark enough that I could not see them but it sounded like they landed on the other side of the lake.

Loons flying at this time of year does not have any significance to be concerned about. It seems like they will often fly even when they are actively nesting. I am not sure why but I would not be surprised if it is just a way of keeping their wings in good shape and getting some exercise.

So hearing the loons flying and calling with their flying tremolos does not mean they are leaving the lake permanently nor does it mean that new loons are coming onto the lake.

I have expected to see a second pair of loons on the lake since we have had a second pair that has nested for several years. But so far I have seen only the one single loon and the one pair that you also seen on cam. That is not to say that there is another pair on the lake. Just that I have not seen another pair.

Normally I am not able to get out on the lake at all while the loons are here. But Kevin Kenow of the USGS asked me last week if the other pair was on the lake. So on Friday I was able to take the canoe out and to check the area where they had nested in previous years.

I did not see them nor did I see where they had started to nest if they are around. I checked where they had nested before and the area around there but there was no sign of any active nesting.

There has to be at least one other male on the lake since there have been numerous yodels, especially at night, with answering yodels coming from another part of the lake. That could be the male of a second pair or it could be the single loon that I have seen.

As you will remember, the yodel call is made only by male loons. And it is very much a territorial call made by the males.

So they are very much talking in "territorial terms". But so far not LoonCam nest terms.

There is still time for them to nest.

But we are rapidly reaching the point where it is questionable whether they will use the LoonCam nest this year.

If we do not see them coming to the nest and spending time on the nest in the next few days, it becomes increasingly possible that the nest will go unused this year.

As I have mentioned since we lost the LoonCam male last summer, it would be a very interesting spring to see what they do.

I listed three possibilities: 1) the LoonCam female from last year would come back with a new mate and use the nest, 2) a new pair of loons would use the nest or 3) the LoonCam nest would go unused this year.

One of the reasons that we are so interested in the other pair of loons on the lake is that we have not yet been able to retrieve the geolocater data recorder that we put on those loons several years ago.

Those geolocater tags will tell us where the loons have been, including how deep they dive.

We have not been able to retrieve the geolocater tag taht we placed on the female who was our faithful LoonCam female who got replaced by a new female in 2013.

It would be good to be able to retrieve all three of those data recorders to add to our knowledge about the loons. Especially since these are some of the most observed loons in the world!

I have carefully viewed the video of the loon on the nest on April 13 (thank you Lee!).

But I have not been able to see it clear enough to definitively say which loon it is - other than that it is definitely a loon is banded.

Kevin Kenow has studied the video carefully and he told me he thinks it might be the female that we banded in 2012! Not the female from last year. That would be very interesting if the female from 2012 is still around. But none of us are positive in our identification at this point.

I will let you know if we are able to glean any more information.

But your sharp eyes and your videos help us to identify the loons.

For now, we can only hope that the loons will come and use the LoonCam nest again this year. In all the years of doing this, there is only one year that the nest was not used. And that was in 2013, the year that the 2012 female was displaced by a new female. And they did not nest that first year.

So it is very possible with the loss of the male last summer that we might face the same situation this year.

But stay tuned.

NO one knows the final chapter of this story.

Minnesota Bound

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