Saturday, May 11, 2019 1:50 pm CDT

74 degrees F Partly Cloudy Wind S 10 mph

It is a beautiful Minnesota spring day.

And there is encouraging news from the loon nest.

As I write this the female is on the nest and has been for sometime. It is the longest I have ever seen her on the nest this year.

It may very well be that we are getting close to the laying of the first egg!

Here are some little signs to watch for that indicate we may be getting close to the laying of the first egg.

We have already seen the first few of these.

There are more frequent visits to the nest.

There is increased nest building activity.

The loons are spending more time on the nest.

But here are some more things to watch for.

The female may be ‘panting’ or taking deeper breathes. You may see her body pulsing or rising and falling. As she gets really near she may actually climb up on the edge of the bowl as she pushes.

Then all of a sudden with one push the egg pops out.

Let’s hope we are almost there!

Copyright 2019 Larry R Backlund

Friday, May 10, 2019 11:50pm CDT

40 degrees F Clear Wind Calm

Sunrise 5:47 am CDT Sunset 8:31 pm CDT

We wait patiently for the first egg from our loons.

There have been many visits to the nest. And many many matings. But still no eggs.

I am a little bit surprised but at this point not to the point of great concern at all.

Just in the last day or two there have been signs of increasing nest building activity.

It was interesting to watch the loons as one of them would start to build a nice nest bowl and the other one would come and completely “rearrange” (aka effectively destroy) it by sitting in a different spot and throwing material into the bowl the other one had formed. And thereby filling it up again.

Yesterday afternoon I was very encouraged as the male made a very nice bowl. Then surprisingly he sat on the nest in that bowl for an hour-and-a-half. If I had not known better, just from the looks of him sitting there I would have sworn that there was already an egg on the nest. But it didn’t take long for that bowl to be destroyed as well a little bit later.

This afternoon I had to go out to the nest to replace the chick ramp. The chick ramp had been torn loose by the high winds and waves over the last few days and I found it washed up on shore. I wanted to replace it before the loons actually laid an egg because at that point there is no way I would go near the nest. As many of you ‘old timers’ know, I never go near the nest except in the most dire circumstances.

I watched for some time and when I could not see the loons anywhere within eyesight, I ventured out to the nest. I tried to work carefully but quickly to reattach the chick ramp.

Just as I was finishing, I thought I heard a slight splash. I didn’t see anything so I thought a fish has splashed.

But then both loons surfaced between the nest and the buoys!

Somehow someway from somewhere far out on the lake they had spotted me at the nest. And they immediately came to see what was going on and to protect the nest if necessary.

I slowly started backing away from the nest to make my way toward shore.

The female started swimming back out into the lake.

But the male kept swimming toward me. He did not seem upset at all. But he definitely was looking directly at me.

I kept slowly backing away as he kept swimming toward me. I ‘talked’ to him with some gentle wails and hoots and mews.

While he showed no aggressiveness at all, I knew that if he came after me he could do great damage with that sharp beak.

When he was about 15 feet away he dove. I could see he was still coming my way underwater. My concern went up slightly as I knew that he could attack underwater as well as on top of the water. Or even better underwater.

I kept backing up toward shore. He kept coming. He didn’t seem overly excited nor upset. But he was still coming at me.

When he got about 3 feet away from me (still underwater), he made a wide sweeping turn and started swimming away from me. He surfaced near the nest.

As i continued to back up toward shore he swam near the nest and continued to watch me until I had reached the shore and left.

I did not feel any aggression from him. But also I knew that he was very clearly telling me that it was his nest, not mine!

While I was attaching the chick ramp, I also was looking at everything else with the nest to make sure everything was ok.

I was surprised how nice and how deep the nest bowl was!

It is probably the best nest bowl that I have ever seen in all the years of doing the LoonCam. I just hope it survives and that they use it.

It was deep. And plush. And almost perfectly centered. It almost looked like a perfectly formed volcano with a deep crater in the middle of it. If it survives it will be one of the better nests I have seen.

It is hard to really comprehend how large and how deep it is by looking at it on the camera. The camera wipes out some of the depth perception.

But at sunset tonight the low angle of the sunlight gave a better idea of the depth perception and showed how good the bowl actually is.

Will tomorrow be the day that eggs are laid? Let’s hope so.

I do have a slight concern in that when there has been a change of mates the loons will sometimes not nest that year. And we have had “a change of mates” with the previous male coming back after an absence of a year.

But let’s not think that right now. It is a possibility. But let’s hope that our loons will once again nest this year and that we see those beautiful little loon chicks!

And let’s think positive thoughts about having eggs in the next few days.

Copyright 2019 Larry R. Backlund

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 11:45 pm CDT

30 degrees F Rain/Snow Wind 30mph

It is SNOWING!

Yes, you read that right. Snow.

It has been hard to see on the LoonCam. But it is snowing and actually accumulating a little bit on some of the grassy areas.

Two and a half weeks ago when I said that Mother Nature was having a hard time deciding whether it was spring or not and I brought up the game of SIMON SAYS (partly in tribute to an amazing friend), little did I know that on May 8th we would possibly be dealing with snow!

But here we are. When will Mother Nature listen to us saying “SIMON SAYS”?!

There should not be much of any accumulation here tonight but it is supposed to continue snowing off and on throughout the night.

But there is a band of snow that is supposed to reach from the tip of the Arrowhead at the Canadian border all the way down to the Minnesota/Iowa/South Dakota border in southwestern Minnesota. Exactly where that band lines up will determine how much snow we get here at Loon Lake. I don’t expect much here. But some areas are predicted to get up to a FOOT of snow.

I don’t expect that it will affect our loons much. They are well equipped to put up with almost any kind of weather except a frozen lake. And we sure don’t need to worry about that. (I don’t think!)

The cold water and rain certainly won’t bother them. They are used to that and seem to prefer it over hot weather.

A few years ago we had some snow (or was it just a really heavy frost - I don’t remember for sure now) and in the morning the nest was all white and there was a narrow band around the loon sitting on the nest where there was no snow/frost because the loon’s body heat had melted it.

It seems like the visits to the nest and the matings seemed to have lessened over the last couple days. I kept telling myself that there was nothing to worry about. But I do sometimes (most of the time?) worry much more than I should.

This afternoon and evening, there were more visits to the nest and seemingly a little bit more of an urgency to build a nest bowl for the eggs. At times the male and the female seemed to be working at cross purposes. Building on different parts of the nesting platform. Or one of them digging a nest bowl and the other one filling it in.

But the added urgency is a good sign.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

If there continues to be more urgent nest building, that is a good sign that we may be getting close to the laying of the first egg. The second egg will usually follow about 2 or 3 days later.

A loon normally lays only 2 eggs. Since they are so large it takes a lot of energy to produce them. Once in a while they will lay only one egg. And rarely they might lay 3 eggs. But 2 eggs is the norm.

Historically it has always been said that it takes 28 to 30 days for a loon egg to hatch. But years of observation on the LoonCam have been changing that. Before the LoonCam, know one knew exactly when the eggs were laid nor did researchers know exactly when they hatched.

But with the LoonCam we have the ability to determine exactly when the egg was laid and to know within a few hours of when the chick hatches. And because of the ability that the LoonCam gives us to observe closely, we have seen that an egg can hatch in as few as 25.5 days.

What will happen this year?

There is no way of knowing in advance.

And that is part of the mystery and suspense of the LoonCam.

So we will just have to wait and watch. And learn.

Copyright 2019 Larry R Backlund

Saturday, May 4, 2019 11:45 pm CDT

52 degrees F Clear Wind Calm

Today was definitely a “SIMON SAYS” day!

Deep blue skies, gentle breezes and an above average temperature of 72 degrees. No humidity. No mosquitoes. Trees starting to show signs of leaves ready to burst forth. A few of the earliest spring flowers blooming with the promise of many more to come very soon. And the lake is the quintessential “Land of Sky Blue Waters” color.

I have a huge forsythia bush that is like a beautiful massive yellow bouquet.

But the best part of the last few days is that our loons continue to visit the nest and have definitely taken ownership of it. I would expect that we will see the first egg in the next few days. Maybe a week at most.

And then starts the wonderful countdown to seeing our first cute little loon chicks.

Today the loons have been relatively scarce around the nest. They visited and mated on the nest early this morning. And even though they have been around the nest several times this afternoon, they have not gotten back up on the nest that I have seen.

I am a little surprised by that but not really concerned at all.

It might be that all the boat traffic on the lake today may have had an effect on them. With today being such a spectacular “SIMON SAYS” spring day, there were a lot of fishermen and other boaters out on the lake all day today.

But all of them were very respectful of the nest and kept their distance.

Or it could be that the loons know that very soon they will be tied to the nest 24 hours a day and are enjoying their last days freedom to fish and swim and relax.

For those of you who may be new to the LoonCam (or even you veterans), let me give you a brief ‘tour’ and explanation of the nest.

The nest is a floating platform that is anchored in place in about 3 feet of water. When I first built it there were ‘experts’ that said it had to be in water that was at least 5 feet deep and that it would not work in shallower water. That did not make sense to me since loons often nest on shore and slide off the nest into very shallow water.

I am glad I did not listen to the ‘experts’ or I never would have tried to build the nest.

When I built it, there had been very few nesting platforms built so everything I did was out of guesswork and ‘ignorance’. But it worked. And the loons used it the very first year.

For many, many years the LoonCam was the ONLY place that you could see nesting loons close up. And all of us have learned SO much by being able to observe them undisturbed.

In the last few years there are a few other live webcams on loon nests. But where eagle cams are a dime a dozen now, there are only a handful of cams on loon nests and they are still few and far between. I have had the privilege to work with a couple of them to help them get started in establishing their live webcams.

But the LoonCam is the grandaddy of them all. And it is also one of the very first live wildlife webcams of any kind.

The nesting platform is a little over 5 feet by 5 feet. When the loons form the nest bowl, it will be between 2 and 3 feet in total diameter with the ‘bowl’ itself between a foot and a foot-and-a-half in diameter.

When the water is very calm, you may notice a lighter colored line in the water extending out from the upper right hand corner of the nest. That is the rope to one of two anchors that keep the nest in place and keep it from twisting in the wind.

At the lower right corner on the right side of your screen are willow branches that extend up above the nest about 4-5 feet. These are intended to keep anything, especially bald eagles, from swooping directly down on the nest. the camera mount is also a little over 3 feet high and it also helps to keep eagles from swooping down on the nest.

The material on the nest is anywhere from 6 inches to almost a foot deep. It will settle some as the season goes along. It is made up of all the natural materials that loons would ordinarily find in the wild. Cattails, leaves, grasses and lake weeds.

I simply cover the entire platform with it and then the loons will rearrange it to their liking as they build their nest bowl. Hopefully the nest bowl will be deep enough and back far enough from the edge that the eggs will not roll into the lake.

Erosion from the wind and waves is a constant concern and problem. But through a lot of thought and experimentation, we have almost got it down to a ‘science’ that most of the time withstands the erosion.

The small ‘hummocks’ that you see along the front edge and sides of the platform are plants that are meant to help protect from waves and to give the loons some cover and ‘privacy’ as those plants grow. It is a combination of plants that would be found in the wild but also includes irises and daylilies.

You are just starting to see the first green growth of those plants now. But they will soon form a screen that helps the loons feel more secure in feeling that they are hidden.

I chose irises because 300 years ago the French voyageurs brought wild irises (also known as or similar to the French fleur-de-lis) to the Boundary Waters. And day lilies are one of the hardiest plants that live in the wild for decades with no help or cultivation from man.

Out of sight below the camera is a floating “chick ramp” to help a chick that jumps in the water but wants to get back up on the nest. It is very seldom needed but it is there for emergencies. Usually a chick will jump in the water within 24 hours of hatching! And from that point on they are totally at home on the water.

There are over 20 buoys and a raft that form a ring around the nest to encourage boaters and fishermen to keep a respectful distance away from the nest and to keep them from disturbing the loons.

Loons are protected both by Federal Laws and State of Minnesota Laws.

If you are out in a boat this summer and you happen to see loons or a loon nest, if you stay 300 feet away and observe them through binoculars you usually will not disturb them. Share that information with your friends and family and you will be doing a great favor to loons.

In the next few days, watch for the time when the loons start building their nest and forming the nest bowl. You will see that one day all of a sudden that nest building activity seems to be more urgent. That is a good indication that the first egg is getting close or is on the way.

Enjoy the adventure. And the suspense!

Copyright 2019 Larry R Backlund

Monday, April 29, 2019 6:05 am CDT

37 degrees F Cloudy and Light Rain Wind Calm

Sunrise 6:07 am CDT Sunset 8:17 am CDT

Mother Nature still can’t seem to make up her mind about the weather.

But that is pretty typical of a Minnesota spring. The weather changes dramatically within a few days.

And Mother Nature doesn’t seem to be listening to any of our “SIMON SAYS” statements.

In just the last week since the loon nest was put in the lake, we have seen temperatures in the high 70s and the lower 20s. There was heavy snow that went to the south of Loon Lake. And this morning there is snow to the north of us.

But here at Loon Lake we just have light rain right now on a chilly spring morning.

The good news is that the nest is in the lake, the loons have already been visiting the nest and have even reportedly mated several times. All of those things portend that they will use the nest this year and there is hope that we will have eggs and eventually little loon chicks.

Let me go out on a limb and say that it will probably be a week before we actually see the first egg. There is a lot of activity that needs to take place with the loons first. But as sure as I make a prediction, the loons will probably prove me wrong. So I should know better than to predict what they will do.

But all the signs are good so far.

Probably the biggest news though is which loon is back at the nest this year!

The male has green bands on both legs. This is the loon that I thought we had lost over the winter of 2017/2018 when an unbanded male came back to the nest with the female last year. And as you will remember they did not nest last year and therefore we did not have chicks last year. That is one of the few times that we have not had chicks on the LoonCam.

The male with the green bands is one that we banded many, many years ago and has been such a faithful mate. And one that I have had a very special connection with. It is a mystery to me why he was not back here last year. But it is so good to have him back after I was sure we had lost him. The female with the red stripe band is the one who we banded just a few years ago.

We have gone through the usual technical problems that come up and need to be taken care of to make everything work to bring you this special look into the life of loons. Everything from sound issues to new software to me not being able to get into the area where I write this blog to … well, you name it. It is just a reminder how many hundreds if not thousands of little things must work together perfectly to bring the LoonCam to you.

And how fragile things can be from day to day.

But sit back. Relax. And enjoy this unique and very special look into the life of our loons.

Copyright 2019 Larry R Backlund