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.
To be alerted when a hatch is underway subscribe to the free LPC newsletter.
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
Nest choices: Where and When?
May 22, 2022
Choosing a territory is one of the most important decisions a loon needs to make. The “perfect” territory will have good water clarity, plenty of prey for both adults and chicks, is easily defensible from other loons, and has at least one good nest site.
In choosing a nest site, the loons are looking for a spot that is protected from terrestrial predators as well as wind and wave action. The more foliage the better, because it helps hide the nest from avian predators and nosy humans. The location that best fits the bill is the lee side of a tiny island in a sheltered cove. But there are not enough tiny islands in sheltered coves to accommodate all the loon pairs so they have to make do with what is available.
But who makes the choice? If you have the good fortune to watch a pair of loons nest site shopping in the spring, the soft vocalizations and head bobbing make it appear that it is a joint decision, made only after a long discussion and agreement between the two. But Walter Piper, a friend and colleague of LPC, has another idea. Walter reviewed the records of mate swaps and nest location changes on numerous loon territories in Wisconsin and found that nest site locations change much more frequently when there was a new male as opposed to a new female. (This is a bit of a simplification. Walter’s study was looking at the “win—stay, lose—switch rule”, but that’s a whole ‘nuther blog.) This is strong evidence that males choose the nest site. What it means for the loons is that it’s to the male’s advantage to keep a territory with which he is familiar; it’s to the female’s advantage to get on a territory that’s been held by one male for a long time.
And who chooses when to start nesting? This is a little more complicated. Sometimes it may not be the pair that makes the choice. If there is interference from other loons the pair may have to forego nesting until they can secure their territory. But when the territory is secure and the nest site is chosen, it’s up to the female; if not rationally, at least physiologically. One thing we know for sure, isotope analysis has shown that the eggshell and contents are from the lake, and not from the ocean, where the loon was before flying to the lake. So the female has to consume enough nutrients to replenish what was spent during the migration, to maintain good health, and then to produce two large eggs – about two thirds of a pound. Any nest initiation in May is earlier than average, which in New Hampshire is around the first week in June. This pair are pretty reliable late May nesters so we are expecting them to be on the nest any day now.
Nest Raft Visitors
May 18, 2022
While the loons are settling in to their summer home and before they initiate nesting, now is a good time to enjoy the vast array of neighborhood wildlife likely to show up on the loon cam. The most frequent visitor is the red-winged blackbird. There is a shrubby marshland behind the camera, which is the preferred habitat of this bird. The resident male uses the raft as a perch for singing his “conk-a-ree” song, declaring territorial rights. You can also hear the “check” calls that both sexes make.
The painted turtle is the most common turtle in New Hampshire and you are likely to see as many as a half-dozen sunning themselves on the nearby rocks, as well as on the raft. They will continue to use the raft when the loons are nesting, well out on the edge of the corners in case the nesting loon decides visiting hours are over. The loons are much less tolerant of the snapping turtles, which will occasionally approach the raft. Despite their pugnacious attitude, the snappers pose little threat to the adult loons.
The most frequent nighttime visitor is the muskrat. These semi-aquatic rodents forage for food in the water but they need a dry place for eating. They build eating platforms out of mud and vegetation but they will use any available ready-made platform. Unoccupied nesting rafts make great eating platforms and the muskrats have been known to chew an access hole through the bottom of the raft so they can be more inconspicuous as they come and go. LPC now wraps the raft bottoms in a steel mesh to thwart the muskrat’s penchant for remodeling.
There is a resident osprey pair on this lake and some lucky viewers have witnessed an osprey scooping up a fish and flying off with it. Other visitors include great blue herons, kingfishers, otters, and various waterfowl. The loons will be nesting soon but there is much to see while we wait.
Those Darn Geese
May 11, 2022
A topic receiving much attention on the Loon Cam is the pair of geese visiting the nest raft on a regular basis. They appear to have much more interest in it than the loon pair has. Geese have been known to nest on LPC nest rafts, although it is a very rare occurrence.
Because geese tend to nest a few weeks earlier than loons, they have an advantage in choosing nest sites. The incubation and nest brooding times for the geese are almost identical to those of the loons: 28 days for incubation and the chicks leave the nest in one or two days. So if the geese begin nesting on the raft in the next few days, then the raft would be unavailable to the loons until mid June. If this happens, the loons might wait, they might choose to nest elsewhere, or they might not nest this year. These possibilities are always present, whether or not the geese usurp the raft.
LPC would prefer to have loons nesting on the raft but we don’t own the lake and we can’t dictate the behavior of the wildlife residents on the lake. But we can take comfort in knowing that the goose and loon populations have both been increasing over the past few decades. Nature seeks a balance, and the loons fit comfortably in the balance.