50 degrees F Cloudy Wind 9 mph NW
Sunrise 5:30 am CDT Sunset 8:52 pm CDT
We are getting ever so close to the expected hatch date for our two eggs on the loon nest!
I would expect hatch to take place later this week or this weekend.
Let us hope and pray that the eggs are developing normally and that soon we will see those impossibly cute little puffs of black down, known as newly hatched loon chicks.
Even thinking about it, I once again stand back at this miracle of LIFE! Life out of "nothing". But we all know there is Something. Or Someone.
But the challenges for our loons continue.
The weather just will not break and return to 'normal'.
It has been cold and windy and rainy - it seems like forever. And this morning is no different. A cold, biting wind raises waves as it blows off the lake.
But starting tomorrow the forecast is for more sunshine and warmer weather.
So hopefully we should have more normal and beautiful weather in time for the hatching of our loon chicks.
Already this morning our loons have been concerned and pulled off the nest by an eagle in the area.
I finally saw the video of the 2 fishermen in the kayak who actually hit the nest with their kayak as they were trying to free their lure that they had gotten hung up on the anchor rope of the nest.
My comment about them from yesterday stands. It is hard to believe that some people can be so clueless and ignorant. In addition to which, what they did is a violation of Federal law of harassing loons which can provide for a $5,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail in addition to state charges.
I hope if any of you know who they were that you will have a 'little talk' with them.
It is things like that which can cause a nest to fail.
But for now, we chalk it up to - well, I am not sure what we chalk it up to! - and we return to more pleasant thoughts of our expectant parents and little loons.
For those of you who are new to watching the LoonCam and loons, this is such a fleeting magical time.
For unlike most birds that will be in the nest for sometime after they hatch, loon chicks usually leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, never to return.
The chicks are called "precocious" in that they are able to get around and even swim almost immediately after hatching.
So your chance to see these wonderful, beautiful little chicks is limited to hours or at most a day or two. And then they are gone. Whereas with eagles, you can watch the chicks grow for months!
You and and your friends and your family and your kids and grandkids don't want to miss a minute of this miraculous 'play' that is worthy of Broadway!
So grab the kids and the grandkids and the students and the cats and the dogs and tell them that NOW is the time to start watching if they have not already been watching.
In the next day or two I will give you some hints of what to watch for to know that the hatch of the eggs is near or actually underway. And signs to watch for that will tell you there is actually a little chick under the loon on the nest.
This is the moment that we have all been waiting for!
Don't blink!
Copyright 2017 Larry R Backlund