Friday, July 3, 2009 11:47pm CDT
Friday, July 3, 2009 at 11:47PM
68 degrees Dark with chance of rain overnight Calm
I know some of you may be wondering how the loons are doing since it has been almost 2 weeks since I have updated you.
The short answer is that they are doing very well!
They are already just over 5 weeks old. The first chick hatched 5 weeks ago Tuesday noon and the second chick hatched 5 weeks ago Wednesday night. They are at the point now that they will probably make it to "semi-adulthood" and will be able to fly south this fall. That is barring some tragedy or some disease.
They are already probably 3/4 the size of an adult loon. It is so hard to believe that they have grown so fast. Five short weeks ago we first saw them as the little balls of black down peeking out from under the adult loon on the nest. So cute. So vulnerable. So full of life.
But now they are looking more and more like a loon every day. They have the familiar general body shape. Their bills have lengthened markedly since we first saw them with the short bills when they hatched. They are sort of in their "teenage" stage. Definitely looking like a loon and yet with the wild "tously hair" which is still gray down instead of feathers. It will be another five to seven weeks before they will make their first attempts at flying.
Once they are able to fly, they will then become more and more independent from their parents.
Both chicks are able to dive quite well now. And that bodes well for tomorrow - the Fourth of July. Because tomorrow there will be a lot of boat traffic and fishermen and water skiers and jet skis all over the lake in celebration of the holiday and of summer.
Once again the loons will have to be careful and ever alert for boaters who will not necessarily be alert for them! But unlike earlier this summer, the chicks can now dive to get out of the way of boats. They still are not nearly as proficient at diving as their parents are, but at least they stand a chance of getting out of the way of boats.
I saw them - all four of them - out in front of my place earlier this evening. And I thought of so many of you who watched the LoonCam and took the loons into your heart and your thoughts. So I wanted to give you a report of how they are doing. They were sitting on a calm lake on a beautiful Minnesota summer evening. They were relaxing. They were diving and still bringing fish to the chicks. They were preening. They were just being loons. And it was a wonderful scene to behold!
So you can relax in knowing that OUR loon family is doing well. But for those of you who will be out on lakes in loon country, encourage whoever is driving the boat to be aware of loons and to give them their space. And well all will be able to enjoy loons for many generations to come if we take care of the ones we have now.
For those of you in the United States, have a wonderful Fourth of July holiday! Enjoy your friends and your family and everything that God has placed in your life. Including loons!
Reader Comments (11)
Thanks for your update, Larry. And a happy and safe Fourth of July to you and yours!!
Oh Larry, so great to wake up to a positive, informative post from you. Our babes are "teenagers", as you said. That means more independence each day, and we all know what comes next!
HAPPY FOURTH of JULY to you! Stay safe and enjoy the holiday with the your guests...the loons!
Thanks for the wonderful and lengthy post. Many of us are lingering here, still involved emotionally in their survival. They are symbols for me, of the respect I have for life, and my hope for good things for all of God's creatures. They represent a spiritual practice I have developed of praying for others, and surrounding others with protective energy.
Thank you so much Larry for your beautifully written updates. Yes, we have taken this loon family into our hearts and are hoping for a good and long life for them! Who would have thought that we could be so touched by these creatures that we have not even seen in person. I am still surprised at how much they have touched my heart and have kept me smitten to keep checking in on them! Thank you Larry for this beautiful gift. Enjoy your lake and the holiday.
Thank you so much for the update Larry, I check every day for news about our loons. Hope you have a safe and happy 4th of July. If you could, please let us know the loons made it through the 4th of July madness on the lake. I worry about them.
Thank you once again Larry and I hope you are enjoying Independence Day. Like the Loons, we are creatures of habit and keep uploading the Minnesota pages on our computers to see if there is anything new. I can just imagine OUR Loon family swimming serenely by your property, Mum, Dad and the gawky teens. I hope they realise they have a lot to thank you for !!! I love happy endings :-))
Happy 4th of July. Thanks for the update Larry. My computer had crashed and I finally got it running right and the first place I came to was to check out our loons. Glad to hear that they are doing great.
Happy 4th of July I too check all the time for updates on the Loon family, glad they are doing well, Like Susan said please let use know how things went over the 4th. Hope all will go well and boaters will be watching safely for them. Thanks again for your cam and Blog.
Thank you for the update! I keep checking:) God has sure created a wonderful nature so full of creatures for us to enjoy and care for..I should make it to Mn. about late August..too late to enjoy the babies but still hear and see the loons. God bless you...and looking so forward to the next nesting season and your play-by-play comments!
Audrey from SE Indiana
Larry, I'm late checking in on this very welcome post -- but no less glad to see it. My little granddaughters from loonless Arizona have been visiting for the past 3 weeks, and I spent part of a rainy afternoon reading to them from this year's blog posts. I picked up a stretching loon refrigerator magnet on my June visit to Itasca Park; my 7-year-old granddaughter spotted it immediately and said, "Bubbe, that's a LOON!" So your gift of eloquence is continuing to give, even to people who haven't faithfully read the blog. I'm adding my thanks to all those that have preceded me.
Thank you for the update Larry - I wish i could see them!