Thursday, May 11, 2017 6:21 am CDT

44 degrees F   Clear   Wind 6 mph NE

Sunrise  5:48 am CDT   Sunset  8:32 pm CDT

This morning has already been an eventful one for our loons.  

The sun has just come up about half an hour ago on a clear morning and there is a  chilly breeze out of the north.

And already the female loon has been chased off the nest twice by two immature eagles circling over the nest!

Each time she went hurtling off the nest with a wail.  But she was back on the nest in a matter of minutes.

The crows are no more happy  with the eagle than our female loon is.  They are chasing the eagles and cawing loudly.

When I went outside to look to see where they were, one of the immature eagles circled directly over my head twice.

So while most of us sleep, the loons must be ever vigilant.

Last night the loons were also off the nest just about dusk for an extended time.  I could not see what was going on in the fading light.  But there were calls back and forth across the lake, including yodels and tremolos and wails.

Obviously there was at least one other loon on the lake although I did not hear more than wails from the direction it was in.  So I cannot tell if it was more than one loon or if it was a male.  But apparently it was enough to get the attention of both of our loons.

But after about half an hour off the nest, our male loon came back to the nest and settled on the nest for the night.

For those of you who may be new to watching the LoonCam, you may be wondering whether it is the male or the female loon on the nest at any given time.  I do, too!  And how you tell them apart.

For the most part you cannot tell the male from the female by their coloring or plumage.  They are identical.

Unlike many birds where the plumage of the male is very different from the female, with loons they have the same plumage and coloring.  The male usually is slightly bigger but only slightly.

After all these years of watching loons closely, I have gotten a few hints to differentiate between the loons.  But for the most part, I cannot tell them apart at all.

So the only way to tell them apart for sure is if they are banded.

The pair on the LoonCam nest this year can be identified that way.  The male has a green band on both his right leg and his left leg.  We were able to band him in 2012.

The female does not have any bands on her legs.

Those bands are the surest way for you to differentiate between the male and the female.

So while we go about our daily business, the loons go about theirs.  Always watchful.

Right now they have only one goal in life - to protect and hatch the two precious eggs on the nest.  It is what they have lived for all year long.

And we have the privilege of being able to witness this miracle up close!

Copyright 2017   Larry R Backlund

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 5:36 pm CDT

69 degrees F   Sunny   Wind Calm

Sunrise  5:49 am CDT    Sunset  8:31 pm CDT

After a few midday rain showers, the sky has cleared and right now it is once again The Land Of Sky Blue Waters.

A gorgeous evening which is a forerunner of what is supposed to be a gorgeous few days for the next four days.

And what could be better than the fact that our loons are sitting on 2 eggs!

I think that is it.  I would be VERY surprised if there is a third egg.

What is really encouraging is that our pair of loons really seem to be settling into a nice routine.

After several days of eggs being left uncovered for half an hour or more at a time, today there have been at least two nest exchanges between the male and the female loon where the eggs were exposed for no more than 10 seconds!

They are getting to be real pros.

So now we settle in on the egg watch for almost the next month.

As you watch the loons on the nest, let me give you a few things to watch for.

When the loon gets on the nest, the will use their beak to position the eggs just right and then they will 'plop' down on them.  I sometimes worry that they are going to squash the eggs.  But the eggs are really quite strong and have fairly thick shells.

After they have gotten on the nest, it will take them several times of rolling the eggs to get them positioned just right where the loon feels comfortable with the positioning.

Most birds have a 'brood patch'.  A brood patch is an area of bare skin on the breast of the bird.  When they are sitting on eggs, they will put that area of bare skin against the eggs which makes for a very efficient transfer of body heat to the incubating eggs.

Some birds, especially ducks, will actually pull out feathers and down to enlarge the brood patch area.

Loons are different.

They do not have any featherless, bare skin brood patch on their breasts.

Instead they have an area of their abdomen that has a large number of blood vessels near the back of their body.

So when they are going to sit on eggs, they use their beaks to push the eggs back into this area of increased blood flow which gives additional body heat and better transfer of body heat to the eggs.

After sitting on the eggs for some time, they will raise up and turn the eggs.  This helps prevent the developing chick from sticking to the inside of the shell of the egg and helps it develop evenly.

As the loon gets out of the water and onto the nest, it feathers are also wet and that added moisture helps to keep the eggs from drying out.

All of these things are such simple but yet such profound things going on that we never know about nor stop to think about little miracles like that!

One of the other things to look for as the male (he is the one with the green bands on both legs) gets on the nest is for something on his left leg.

Just above the green band on his left leg, you will notice a little silver-colored thing about 3/4 of an inch long and about the diameter of a lead pencil.  That silver-colored object is a "data recorder".

We placed it on the loon's leg when we banded him 5 years ago.  And we have been hoping to retrieve it ever since.

It has recorded where he has traveled, how deep in the water he dove and a number of other items and data.  But we have to retrieve that data recorder to download the data.  So if this pair of loons has chicks this year we will hopefully be able to retrieve all that interesting data that will add to our knowledge about this loon in particular.  And about loons in general.

So watch to see if you can get a glimpse of the data recorder when the male loon is on the nest.

In the meantime, just enjoy the beauty of our wonderful loons and the spectacular weather and blue skies and water for the next several days.

And marvel at the miracle of all of this.  Of being able to watch loons nesting.  And the real miracle of life developing under the loon as it sits there.

That alone is beyond the ability of my small mind to even begin to comprehend!

Someone way greater than me is responsible for that.

Copyright  2017   Larry R Backlund

Tuesday, May 9, 2017 6:31 am CDT

48 degrees CDT   Cloudy   Wind 1 mph NE

Sunrise  5:50 am CDT    Sunset  8:29 pm CDT

WE HAVE A SECOND EGG!

When did it arrive?  I am not sure.

At 6:15 am CDT I looked down and the loon was on the nest, head held high.  The other loon was swimming nearby.

Then I became aware that the cam had gone down.  So I restarted it at 6:19 am CDT

At that time the loon was on the nest.

At 6:22 am CDT, the loon let out a single wail and left the nest.  The crows were also calling so I assume an eagle was in the area but I did not go out to look.

When the loon left the nest there were two eggs!

A couple chatters said there was only one egg before  the cam went down.

IF that is true, in a 'coincidence of bad luck' for all of us, the loon decided to lay the second egg right in that 20 minute time frame when the cam was down and when I first looked at 6:15!

Either that or the egg was laid earlier during the night.

I just know that I did not see it being laid.

But the good news is, WE HAVE A SECOND EGG!

Let the fun begin!!

Copyright 2017  Larry R Backlund

Monday, May 8, 2017 11:28 pm CDT

52 degrees F  Scattered Rain   Wind 2 mph N

Sunrise  5:52 am CDT    Sunset  8:28 pm CDT

We expectantly await the arrival of the second egg.

I would think that the egg would be laid in the next couple days if it is going to be laid.  Loons usually lay 2 eggs.  Sometimes only one egg.  And rarely 3 eggs.

So we will know soon how many this female loon will lay.

Then incubation will begin in earnest.

Based on the laying of the first egg, I would  expect it to hatch between June 1st and June 5th.  But they have been off the nest more than what I have seen in the past so I may need to adjust those times later.

In fact, the female has just returned to the nest 34 minutes after the male left the nest.  I would much prefer to see where they change shifts on a much more timely basis.  Especially since there are scattered light rain showers in the area.

But each pair of loons is different so we will see how this pair develops their nesting behavior.

Always so much to learn.

And when we 'think we know it all', they teach us something new.

But for now, let's look forward to what we hope will be the laying of a second egg.

Copyright 2017    Larry R Backlund

Sunday, May 7, 2017 10:24 am CDT

62 degrees F   Partly Cloudy   Wind 2 mph NE

Sunrise  5:53 am CDT    Sunset  8:27 pm CDT

It was wonderful to see the  first egg arrive about 7 pm CDT last night.

But then after staying on the egg for over half an hour after she layed it, she left the nest and did not return.

In fact, the egg lay uncovered all night long.

But the temperatures did not go lower than the lows 40s.  And since the egg has not started developing yet, it should still be ok.

This morning the loons returned to the nest just before sunrise.

And 5:46 am CDT, the female got on the nest.  She saw the egg, turned it and settled down on it.

Right now the male is securely on the nest.

Everything is back to being right with the world.

Copyright  2017   Larry R Backlund