The Nesting Pair of Loon Cam 2
In 2016, intruding loons interfered on this territory enough to cause a nest failure. Without a nest or chicks to defend, the bond deteriorated between the pair, which had been together on the territory since 2013. The rest of the 2016 season was chaos with no clear resident pair.
In 2017, the current male and female emerged as the new resident pair and immediately began nesting. They successfully hatched and raised a chick, which suggests that both of these loons probably had previous nesting experience on other territories. We know that the male did because he was banded in 2006 on a nearby territory on the same lake. We banded the female this same year (2017), so we don’t know her previous history.
The loons can be identified by its leg bands. The male’ left band is red over white, the right band is silver over red dot. The female’s left band is a white stripe over blue and the right bands are silver over yellow stripe.
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Camera Information for Loon Cam 2
The live video image on this page comes from a high-definition Axis video camera with pan-tilt-zoom features, a microphone and night-time infrared illumination. The camera is mounted on a post, about 30 feet from the nesting area. An Ethernet cable runs across the bottom of the pond to an island. The camera and associated equipment on the island is battery powered, recharged by solar panels. From the island, the video stream is sent 1/4 mile to shore by WiFi, and into an internet connection. The camera sends a video stream to YouTube, which supports hundreds of simultaneous viewers. A video stream archive lets us replay choice moments and publish them on the LPC YouTube Channel. The webcam is funded through donations to the Loon Preservation Committee’s LoonCam fund. Please click here to contribute to the operational costs.
Acknowledgements
Funding for the loon cam project is made possible by LPC’s Loon Recovery Plan and your donations. Technical design and loon cam operation is provided by LPC volunteer, Bill Gassman (www.linkedin.com/in/billgassman). Streaming and archiving services are provided by YouTube, Charter/Spectrum Communications, CamStreamer and AngelCam. The camera installation would not have been possible without the generous permission of several property owners.
Loon Cam FAQ Loon Cam 2
When will the eggs hatch?
The first egg was laid about 430PM Thursday, June 11’th. ‘The second egg arrived at 7:30AM on Sunday, June 14’th. Since incubation takes 28 days (give or take a few), the hatch is expected sometime around July 8-11’th.
How does the loon cam work?
The camera about 30 feet from the nest, on a wooden pole mounted in the water. An Ethernet cable supplies power and an internet connection to the camera, on shore. Sound comes from a microphone, mounted close to the nest. It is muffled to avoid picking up people talking and there may be occasions where it is set low or muted to protect the privacy of the neighbors. The video stream runs 24×7, over a business class internet service to YouTube Live. With this design, hundreds can view the video feed at the same time, and the stream is converted to match the viewer’s device and internet connection speed. We also employ a 7 day streaming archive service and can make a video clip of interesting events.
Can I see the archived videos?
The YouTube player is configured so that you can replay the most recent twelve hours of the video stream. This is useful if you missed watching a nest switch or egg turning. Edited video clips from the archive are occasionally published on the Loon Preservation Committee’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/LoonCenter. Let us know if you see something interesting that we’ve missed. The archive goes back a week.
Is there a Twitter hash tag to alert people to special events?
Yes. Our blogger, Biff, will continuing using Twitter again this year. To participate, follow the #LoonCam hashtag. We encourage viewers to send out a Tweet with #looncam in the text when something special happens. That will help us go back through the archives and publish a video clip of the events. Our Twitter name is @lpc_nh.
Where is the loon cam located?
It is in the lakes region of New Hampshire, home of LPC’s Moultonboro based Loon Center. For the privacy of the loons and the gracious people that allow placement of the loon cam, the exact location is unidentified.
Can I donate to the operation of the loon cam?
Yes! Please use the donation button here or on the loon cam page and choose the “Loon Cam” option to direct your donation. Donations over the past few years have funded two cameras, infrared lights, a solar power array and associated equipment to make the camera reliable. The primary cost remains the high-speed internet connection. This year, we estimate it will cost about $1000 to operate both loon cams 1 and 2. The stream starts around May 1 and runs into mid July. Your donations help make it possible.
Can I control the view?
The camera view is programmed to periodically rotate through a sequence of preset scenes. At times, the LPC staff may take control of the camera and change the scene or follow interesting events. If you want a specific view, send an email to looncam@loon.org or mention your request in the YouTube chat room. If a loon cam operator is on-duty, your request may be granted.
Can I make the picture bigger?
Yes, use the YouTube full-screen icon, which shows up when you touch or mouse-over the bottom of the picture. Be sure to select a high resolution, using the settings gear. We broadcast with a resolution of 1080p. You can also open up the stream on the YouTube web site, smart TV, or mobile application.
How can I participate in the chat room?
On the YouTube page or mobile app (but not on the LPC’s web page), there is a chat feature, where you can have a discussion with other Loon Cam Viewers. The LPC staff will chime in when they have a chance and not in the field. The direct access URL to chat is https://www.youtube.com/live_chat?v=UlA3pmsoNoI&is_popout=1
Can you turn the sound up? I can barely hear it.
The camera’s microphone is very sensitive and is set as low as possible. This provides some natural sounds while protecting people’s privacy. It is common to hear the loons quietly conversing. At times, the microphone will be muted.
Why is the picture jerky or fuzzy?
First, try setting the resolution to 1080p on your YouTube page, using the gear in the lower right under the picture. If you are on a slow or congested internet connection, YouTube reduces the resolution and the picture will be less sharp. The slow-down may also be on our end. When there is a lot of movement, like wind on the water, we can run out of upload bandwidth. We broadcast in 1080p resolution and strive for 15-20 frames/second.
Who do I contact if I have a problem or question?
For technical questions or problems with the looncam, send email to looncam@loon.org For other questions or concerns, contact volunteers@loon.org
An Otter Visits the Raft
June 15, 2021
At 6 am this morning an otter popped up at the edge of the raft and flushed the female off the nest. Quite a bit of commotion ensued, mainly splashing and wing rowing around the raft by the female. Apparently the otter took the hint and left.
If you watch the video, you’ll notice that the loon used a lot of upward thrust when jumping off the nest. In fact, it jumped so high that it hit the nest cover hard enough to rock the raft. That was a wise move by the loon. Eggs can be accidentally kicked out of the nest when a loon flushes. By jumping upwards, she avoided kicking the eggs backwards. It’s hard to say if it was intentional but it certainly was fortunate.
Would the otter have been a threat to the eggs? It’s hard to say. Otters are not on our regular list of loon egg predators but there have been anecdotal reports of them eating bird eggs. In the only reliable record we have of an otter having a clear chance of grabbing loon eggs out of the nest, the otter left the eggs untouched.
The Guild of Avian Piscivores
June 14, 2021
Say What? Am I seriously going to lay this arcane ecological term on you?
Yes, I am. The subject of a recent discussion on YouTube Chat concerned the interactions between loons and other birds that eat fish. An animal that primarily eats fish is a piscivore. Birds are in the taxonomic class Aves. Avian is the adjective form of Aves. In ecology, a guild is a group of species that exploit the same resources, and usually in a similar manner. So we can translate the title to “The Group of Birds that Eat Fish.”
Loons share their lake with numerous other members of their guild. In New Hampshire this can include bald eagle, osprey, great blue and green herons, double-crested cormorant, common merganser and belted kingfisher. They all compete with loons to some extent but if we further divide them into three methods of fishing we’ll see that the methods are related to the intensity of competition.
The raptors (eagle and osprey) and the kingfisher all hunt for fish from the air. None of the three are good swimmers; they grab a fish at or near the surface and immediately fly off with it. There is no opportunity for any interactions with loons. Because the eagle is an opportunistic hunter and forager, eagle-loon interactions are only as predator-prey. However, anything an eagle catches in the water must be consumed at a terrestrial site. An eagle can only fly when carrying no more than a third of its own weight. Adult loons weigh about as much as an eagle (they may be smaller but they are much denser) so the only available prey items are chicks and eggs. Even so, an eagle needs stealth and cunning to get past a defending adult loon. Most eagle-loon interactions occur in open water when an eagle is after a loon chick. In the water, the loon has the advantage.
The herons are waders. They don’t like to get their feathers wet so they’re limited to shallow water that is no deeper than their legs are long. Loons prefer deeper water where they have more room to maneuver. However, loons and herons do occasionally meet but if a loon approaches a heron it will simply fly away. LPC has a few records of herons perched on the top of a nesting raft occupied by a nesting loon. Neither bird showed the least concern.
The third group includes the loons, cormorants and mergansers. These are the divers. All three spend almost all their time in the water and frequently encounter each other. The loon is the best adapted to an aquatic life, as well as weighing two to four times as much as the cormorant and merganser and having the most lethal, dagger-like bill. Avoidance is the responsibility of the cormorants and mergansers; if a loon shows up, get out of its way! This is normally not a big issue because, just like the herons, they can simply fly away. The only time there is a constant threat is when a merganser has a brood of chicks in tow. The chicks can’t fly and the adult is unlikely to abandon them. The loons find this to be irresistible. Picture a convoy of one ship and a dozen pleasure craft being targeted by a submarine.
The bottom line: The loon has evolved into an efficient specialist much more suited to an aquatic habitat than to a terrestrial habitat or flight. Within their guild, they rule as long as they stay in the water.
The Perfect Couple
June 8, 2021
Here we are, halfway through incubation and everything is going splendidly. This is not normal. We’re used to witnessing dads frantically building up nests to stem the flood and accidentally burying eggs, moms going AWOL for days at a time, standoffs with belligerent snapping turtles, and dive-bombing eagles.
But this pair; they’re so… PERFECT! They must have read all the loon how-to books by Judy McIntyre, Jay Mager and Walter Piper. From courtship ritual to nest shift exchanges, they do everything by the book. And Dad is such a romantic, hooting and cooing sweet nothings to the Mrs at every nest exchange and wail texting her when he’s on the far end of the lake. And now they’ve proved they can handle a heatwave without skipping a beat, although Mom seems to have given up her reluctance act when Dad comes to take over nest duties.
May the second half of incubation go as smoothly as the first. Sure, drama and suspense add to the viewing excitement but I’m ready for a no stress hatch.
The Heat is On
The National Weather Service is predicting a string of near 90 degree weather for the next four days. Not good news for the loons. The common loon is a northern species, adapted to relatively cool summers. Their thermoregulation system is better suited to conserving heat rather than dissipating heat. New Hampshire is on the southern edge of the loon’s range and, although the trophic status of the lake (chlorophyll, phosphorous, turbidity) plays a large part in determining habitat suitability, climate has an important role in controlling trophic status as well as challenging the loon’s heat tolerance. This is especially true for adults incubating eggs because they no longer have the cooling effect of being immersed in water.
You will see a lot of panting by the nesting loons, the same cooling mechanism that dogs use. During the hottest times of the day a loon is apt to take a short dip in the water to cool off. The time off the nest is usually no more than 10 to 15 minutes. On the hottest days, an egg exposed to direct sunlight can overheat and become inviable within a half hour. LPC has been experimenting with various nest raft coverings to provide shade on the raft while still allowing visibility for the loon in all directions. If the climate model projections are accurate, New Hampshire’s loons will face increasing climate challenges over the next few decades.
Two Forks Up or One Fork Down
June 1, 2021
Loon watchers who follow the Chat on YouTube may have seen references to “forks”. It’s a means of using the loon’s necklace to differentiate between the male and female when the bands are not visible. The necklace consists of two rows of vertical white pinstripes, one on each side of the loon’s neck (or you could describe it as a ring with gaps in front and back). Most of the pinstripes are simple, straight lines but there are usually one or more pinstripes that diverge into a “Y” shape, which can either be right-side up (fork up) or up-side down (fork down). In the case of this pair, it’s been reported that, on the right-hand side, the female has two forks up and the male has one fork down.
During my first year at LPC as a neophyte loon biologist, I noticed this variation in necklace patterns and I suggested to a wise and venerable veteran of loon biology that it could be used as a unique identifier, just as oceanographers use the color patterns on whale tails. I was flatly informed that it wasn’t reliable; necklace patterns could change during preening or molting. That was fourteen years ago. In the interim, I’ve learned that my observations were certainly not unique and there has been much discussion about necklace patterns. Although I haven’t found any published studies on the common loon, a group in Finland did a study on variations in the neck patterns of arctic loons. They found that the patterns remained constant between years but use as a unique identifier was successful only 70% of the time in a population of 127 loons.
There is no doubt that loon watchers on YouTube or residents on loon lakes can use physical characteristics to distinguish between individuals. But when you are following 750 loons and covering 382 lakes, identifying loons by neck patterns becomes awkward and unreliable. We also have to deal with the simple fact that, for most of it’s life, a loon is not in breeding plumage and it has no necklace. Juvenile plumage lasts for the first three years and adults are either in or transitioning into or out of winter plumage from late September through March.
LPC and all other loon study groups rely solely on colored bands for identifying individuals. It’s a simple system to learn and it remains reliable throughout the entire life of the loon. But by all means, use physical (and behavioral) differences for keeping track of your favorite group of loons. It’s a great way to better know these fascinating birds.
Biff’s Scientific Hatch Time Predictions
May 30, 2021
Yes, real science! It may turn out to be real junk science, but it’s still science. After recording dates and times of Loon Cam nest events over the past four years and eight nest attempts, I’ve found some remarkably consistent timing between eggs being laid and eggs hatching, even though three different loon pairs were involved. By doing a few simple calculations we should be able to figure out some hatch times for these two eggs.
First we’ll start with time difference between egg#1 and egg#2 being laid. Most sources give a range of one to three days between eggs. Our sample size of reliable times (n=7) is in a tight range of 2.4 to 2.6 days, averaging 2.51 days. That’s remarkable for seven samples coming from three different pairs.
For total incubation time, we also have a pretty tight range if we separate 1st eggs from 2nd eggs. Incubation time for first eggs (n=6) has a range of 26.4 to 27.7 days (avg 27.2) . Second eggs (n=4) have a range of 25.4 to 26.7 days (avg 25.7). That’s kinda freaky; the range distributions are identical and exactly one day apart. Studies have shown that egg embryos can communicate with each other (https://newatlas.com/embryo-eggs-communicate-via-vibrations/60733/) and you might wonder if egg pairs are working out the schedule together. But that’s not the case. When we look at each pair (compare each egg to its nest mate) there is no correlation. The similar distributions are just serendipity. In statistical gobbledeespeak, we have skewed distributions; they don’t line up with each other.
So what’s causing the skew? There’s one factor that appears to be obvious: incubation effort between the first egg being laid and the second egg being laid. Typically, loons incubate the first egg only sporadically before the second egg is laid. It can be as little as just a few minutes a few times each day or it can be as much as maybe 50% of the time, maybe more. This is likely what causes the variation in the time between hatches, which ranged between 0.8 (assumed very little incubation before second egg) and 1.8 days (more incubation before second egg) (avg 1.4).
This year’s pair didn’t wait. From twelve hours after after the first egg was laid, the loons have been constantly on the nest. Egg#1 has gotten a good head start. Also, of all the nest attempts that hatched two eggs, this attempt has the longest time between eggs being laid (62.5 hours). I’m going to take the minimum first egg incubation time and subtract two hours: 26.3 days. For egg#2, the best I can do is take the average time: 25.7 days.
First egg hatch time: June 20, 1:22 PM
Second egg hatch time: June 22, 3:33 AM
I’m ready to eat humble pie.
The Elusive Second Egg
May 28, 2021
Early yesterday morning the female was on the nest and she began to exhibit classic egg laying behavior. At 10:43 am she gave a final push. The problem is that this is a deep nest bowl with a high rim in front. We can’t see into the nest. We prefer to confirm eggs by actually seeing them but we are lucky to get a brief glimpse of the top of one egg when the loons are turning it. For now, we are assuming that there are two eggs. The timing between the two eggs (62 hours and 20 minutes) fits perfectly within the range of what we have previously observed (58 hours to 63.5 hours). During some of the egg turns it appears that the loon is manipulating two eggs.
We Have an Egg!
May 25, 2021
In the early evening of yesterday, the Loon Cam 1 female got on the nest and began contractions typical of egg laying. The “final push” occurred at 8:23 pm. She remained on the nest for another hour and twenty minutes. The male got on the nest at 9:08 this morning and turned the egg, which was our first chance for visual confirmation.
So, can a loon lay a viable egg 14 hours after fertilization? It seems unlikely but there is no reliable data on the exact timing. It’s quite possible that previous mating had occurred off-camera.
Cam 1 Pair Gets Down to Business
May 24, 2021
This morning, at 6:40 am, The Loon Cam 1 pair mated on the nest raft. This is an encouraging event for all who watching and hoping for a successful hatch, but can we start predicting an expected hatch date?
Not really. It usually takes a number of tries before an egg is fertilized. In 2017, the first observed mating on Cam 1 was on May 3rd; the first egg didn’t show up until May 21st. But that was an extreme time period between first mating and first egg. It’s possible to have an egg within a week of first mating. This pair usually has eggs in the nest during the first week in June. Today’s event is consistent with their typical schedule.
The Male is raring to Go!
May 20, 2021
The Loon Cam 1 male spent an hour on the nest this morning, talking to himself in plaintive hoots and coos. The female was nowhere to be seen. Precopulatory nest sitting is a common occurrence and is commonly referred to as “trying out the nest.” But this behavior is often observed when both loons are present and soft coos are exchanged between the two. It seems apparent that, in this case, the male wants to get the nesting started but the female is not ready.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing but it’s fun to speculate why things are as they are. Something we know for sure is that the female of this pair is particularly small. Perhaps her metabolism rate is slower than average. We also know by way of isotope analysis that egg contents are derived from nutrients acquired on the nesting lake. She may still be accumulating and metabolizing enough nutrients to form viable eggs.
This pair typically initiates nesting around June 1st. I guess the male will just have to be patient.
An Introduction to the Loons of Loon Cam 1
Loon Cam season is rapidly approaching—if all goes according to schedule, Loon Cam 1 will be live by mid-May. This year, Loon Cam 1 will be streamed from a different lake than usual. We know that many will miss the pair from our previous Loon Cam 1 site, but rest assured that the pair on the new lake is made up of two wonderful loons! To help you become acquainted with them, we’ve compiled some information on their history. Please note that LPC biologists are not out surveying yet for the year, and as such, we can’t be 100% sure that the same banded loons are back on the lake this season; however, given that loons have high rates of territory fidelity and that they are a long-lived species, it is very likely that the pair we watch on Loon Cam 1 will be made up of the two loons described below. We hope that you fall in love with them, as the people who live on their lake have!
The members of the regular pair on this lake were both originally banded in 2013. Because they were banded as adults and loons do not reach adulthood until age three, we know that they are, at minimum, 11 years old; however, because they were banded after hatching chicks and the average loon does not hatch a chick until ~6 years of age, it is likely that these loons are 14 years old or older.
The male loon’s left leg band combination is white stripe (white background with a horizontal black stripe through the middle) over orange. His right leg band combination is silver over blue stripe (blue with a horizontal white stripe through the middle). This past winter, this male loon was photographed on the ocean, so we know that he spends his winters off the Connecticut coast.
The female loon is only banded on her right leg, which has an orange band over a silver band. The reason that she is not banded on her left leg is because she is tiny! When our banding crew caught her in 2013, they did not have small enough bands on hand to fit her left leg. Generally, the legs of the loons we band here in New Hampshire range from 24–27 millimeters wide along the flat edge. This female’s legs were just 21.4 millimeters—quite small for a New Hampshire loon! While we were able to trim down her aluminum US Fish and Wildlife service ID band to fit her leg, we only had a single plastic band with us that was small enough for her. As such, her left leg had to remain bare.
This loon pair has been together every year since they were originally banded in 2013. In that time, they have hatched 8 chicks, 6 of which have survived to the end of the summer. We hope that they will add to that number this year, and we’re excited to watch along with you as they nest!
It was a tough decision to change the Loon Cam location, and one that was made after careful consideration. We know that viewers have become attached to the pair that we’ve been livestreaming since 2014; however, a few different factors played into our decision to feature a new loon pair and location this year:
We hope that you enjoy the new location and getting to know the new nesting pair, and we look forward to the Loon Cam going live in just a few short weeks!