Thursday, June 4, 2009 9:52pm
Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 9:52PM
63 degrees Twilight Calm
Tonight is another one of those picture perfect evenings. The kind that take your breath away.
The kind that call you. That make you just drop whatever you are doing and stop to drink it in. To savor it. To let it just seep into every pore.
The sun set a little while ago but now it is that wonderful twilight time. The lake is still and our loons are swimming straight out from the nesting platform. They still tend to stay on this side of the lake but they venture further and further away from the nest. In fact, they spend very little time near the nest now and have not been back on it since that first day.
But for now, they sit straight out from the nest.
The water reflects the pink glow from the horizon and it just surrounds you and wraps you in its glow. There is a bright moon that is almost full hanging in the southern sky. And our two chicks are busy feeding. Once again the familiar routine of the parents diving and bringing minnow after minnow to the chicks.
It was one week ago last night that the second chick was born and one week ago this morning that he finally jumped off the nest into the water. You remember the scene. The chick standing at the edge of the nest last Thursday morning as the rest of the family swam nearby. He just couldn't quite muster up the courage to make that big jump. But finally he did - never to return to the nest.
Some of you will remember two years ago when one of the eggs did not hatch and the chick kept returning to the nest for about a week or ten days. The good part was that we got to see the chick growing. The bad part was that he was not off swimming and learning how to be a loon.
Finally we removed the egg that did not hatch and that broke the bond with the nest. It is one of the only times...if not the only time .... that I have violated my rule not to interfere. After consulting with several wildlife professors, zoo experts and DNR experts, we all agreed that it was time to take the egg. And some people were very upset that we did it. But it proved to be the right thing to do.
My rational was that we had provided an artificial nest that removed all danger of land-based predators. And therefore we had already altered what they would normally face. A racoon or some other predator would have taken the unhatched egg if the nest had been on land. So after waiting long enough to know that there was no chance it was going to hatch, we removed it from the nest and almost immediately the loons left the nest. The bond to the nest was broken.
Tonight you could see that the chicks have definitely grown. It is hard to tell how big they are from a distance. But they definitely have grown. They are still the balls of black down. Just bigger. I would guess, and it is only a guess, that they are maybe 3 to 4 inches long.
They are still at that stage where they are very vulnerable to predators and boats and jet skis. And they still ride on the parents back. This morning at dawn, both of the chicks were riding on the adult loons back. That wonderful, wonderful iconic view of loons and their chicks!
So tonight I just wanted you to know that our chicks are still alive and thriving and doing well and growing.
Life is good!
Reader Comments (9)
Thanks Larry........what a beautiful image! I can't believe it's only been a week since they hatched!! It's nice to know they are on your lake, with your watchful presence nearby. Thanks again for all of it!
Thanks again Larry, after reading your blog, I feel I could be right there watching.
So good to know that our loon family is doing well. Thank you Larry for the updates!
Hi Larry, Thanks for the updates, they are so well written ..it is like being there! Since these Loons are yours..well not really but we call them that..it would only follow that some readers would also be concerned about you and your little procedure.. I am so happy to hear that it was nothing to worry about. God is good! Wow, a million hits on the web cam, and the most popular cam in the world..fantastic..hat's off to the Loons!!! :)
Keep your eyes peeled Larry and tell us everything! Thanks so much. I have a cardinal nesting in front of my patio window so this is helping me with withdrawal.
Hi Larry,
Thanks for your latest blog about the loon family. I agree with Kim & Connie in that you describe everything in such great detail it's almost like we can see it ourselves.
I remember 2 years ago and I for one kept thinking you had to remove that egg because of the time between the first hatching, and we all were quite certain that it had perished when that cold wave hit the eggs. We were fortunate that we at least got one healthy chick that year. It was so cute watching the little one jumping in and out of the water from that nest, but it had to be in it's more natural state; in the water.
BioDiverisity in Maine (Briloon) about 2 or 3 years ago interfered, I believe in a good way, by picking up the 2nd chick and placing it in the water and it swam out to it's parents. The biologist could hear the parents calling out to the little chick but the little one had gotten tangled in some brush. It can be so heart wrenching whether to interfere or not. In both of these instances, yours & Briloons, I think was a very good thing.
Didn't mean to make this so long.
I am so sorry I missed this, is there any way to view recorded video of any of the loon chicks?
The word pictures you create for us of the lake, the loons, the sunrises and sets ... are beautiful!
I can close my eyes and feel like I am there ... makes me lonesome for where I camp! Northern MN has been a bit too cool for much tent camping ... even for me ... below 45 ... with or without frost is discouraging!
Like others have posted ~ you and "your" loons have become family, and we all rejoice over your good news.
You have blessed us with your commentary, and your willingness to answer questions. Thank you for all you have done
Quoting Amy:
I am so sorry I missed this, is there any way to view recorded video of any of the loon chicks?
Fri, June 5, 2009 at 11:49 PM | Amy
Go to the Live Loon Cam and view the reruns. The one now on has a chick in it!!