Loon Cam FAQ
When will the eggs hatch?
This early Looncam pair usually lay egg in mid to late May.Incubation is approximately 28 days, so if the hatch is successful, it should occur in mid to late June.
How does the loon cam work?
The solar powered camera is mounted to a wooden post that is driven into the bottom of the pond, just a little offshore and 30 feet from the nest. An Ethernet cable supplies power and an internet connection to the camera, which runs underwater to an equipment box, on shore.Sound comes from a microphone, mounted on a post in the pond, close to the nest. It is muffled to avoid picking up people talking and there may be occasions where it is muted to protect the privacy of the neighbors. The signal is sent via Wireless Ethernet to a residence and an internet connection. the video stream runs 24×7, over a 35 megabit per second 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?
For privacy of the loons and the gracious people that allow placement of the loon cam, the location is unidentified. It is in New Hampshire, within an hour’s drive of the Moultonboro based Loon Center.
Can I donate to the operation of the loon cam?
Yes! Please use the donation button on the loon cam page and select the “Loon Cam” button. We upgraded the bandwidth this year and bought new batteries for the solar powered Looncam 2.The budget is about $2000 to operate two Loon Cams in 2019, from May into July. Your donations help make it possible.
How do I control the view?
The camera may be 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 us an email or mention it in the YouTube chat room and if the loon cam operator is watching, your request may be granted.
Can I make the picture bigger?
Yes, use the YouTube full-screen icon, which shows when you touch or mouse-over the bottom of the picture. Be sure to select a high resolution with the settings gear on the stream. You can also open up the stream on the YouTube web site, smart TV, or mobile application. On the YouTube 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.
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, to provide some natural sounds while protecting neighbor’s privacy. At times, the microphone will be muted.
Why is the picture jerky or fuzzy?
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, contact volunteers@loon.org
The Nesting Pair
One egg was laid on Friday, June 14 at 7:27 PM and the second egg on Monday, June 17 at 8:40 AM The expected hatch date is 28 days (give or take), so about July 12’th.
You can tell the female from male by the bands on their legs. The Female has a White Stripe/Blue on the left leg and Silver/Yellow Stripe on the right leg. The male has a Red/White on the left leg and Silver/Red Dot on the right leg. The male was originally banded in 2006, so he is at least 16, but more likely 19 or more. The female was only banded in 2017, so all we know is that she is at least 5. From 2006-2016, the male only fledged 4 chicks. 4 chicks in 11 years is slightly lower than the NH state average (which is 1 chick fledged every other year). However, since he’s been with his current mate and on this territory, he’s fledged 2 chicks in 2 years, which is double the state average. To be alerted when a hatch is underway subscribe to the free LPC newsletter.
The live video image on this page comes from a high-definition Axis video camera with pan-tilt-zoom features 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. From there, the video stream is sent via wireless Ethernet to a residence, and an internet connection. The camera and Ethernet radio are powered by batteries, recharged only by solar panels. 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 Loon Recovery Plan. Please click here to contribute to these efforts.
Acknowledgements
Funding for the loon cam project is made possible by LPC’s Loon Recovery Planyou’re 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 Communications, CamStreamer and AngelCam. The camera installation would not have been possible without the generous permission of several anonymous property owners.
Hatch Time Draws Near
Our Loon Cam 2 pair has so far had an uneventful incubation process. These two loons just don’t seem to present the non-stop drama of the Loon Cam 1 pair. But that’s good for us; we don’t need the stress of anxiety. And it’s good for the loons; they can concentrate on taking care of the eggs.
Now that the eggs are barely more than a week away from hatching, let’s see if we can nail down the hatch times. We only have two years of to-the-minute data that we can use but they are in close agreement. If the loons hold true to form, we should be able to accurately predict hatch times within a few hours. Incubation periods for egg 1 average 27 days and 13.5 hours. That would put this year’s first egg hatch at 5:30 AM on Thursday, July 9. Egg 2 is a little tougher to predict because only one egg hatched and the timing suggested it was egg 1. So, going by the one known incubation period for egg 2, we would expect the second egg to hatch around midnight (12:00 AM, July 10).
Taken together, these two loon pairs have a very similar and consistent egg-laying-incubation-hatch record. The two eggs are laid about 60 hours apart, on average. Incubation is very sporadic until the second egg is laid. The time from laying to hatch is about 27.5 days +/-10 hours for the first egg and a little over 25.5 days for the second egg. The result is that the eggs hatch about 1 day apart. Because this year the first egg was laid late in the day (June 11) and the second was laid early in the day (June 14), there’s a slight chance they will both hatch on July 9, one predawn and one well after dark.
Loon Cam 2 Pair and Territory
Now that the Loon Cam 2 pair is almost half-way through its incubation period, it’s time to clear up some confusion about the history of the pair and reading the bands on the loons’ legs.
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.
Both loons have two bands on each leg.
Female left: A white stripe band (white band with a dark stripe through the middle) over a blue band
Female right: A silver band (the aluminum USFWS band with a unique number) over a yellow stripe band (yellow band with dark stripe in middle)
Male left: A red band over a white band
Male right: A silver (aluminum) band over a red dot band (a red band with a white dot in the middle)
And by one band being over the other, it means it’s the closer one to the location the leg is attached to the body. It’s easy for people to mess that up when the loon is sitting on the nest. Closer to its rear end might be a better way of putting it. The standard practice is to put the silver band on the right leg when the loon is banded as an adult and on the left leg when the loon is banded in its hatch year.
This territory has been monitored since the mid 1980s. The nest site was originally on an island but new development in the 70s and 80s caused a deterioration of the nesting habitat that resulted in increased terrestrial egg predation. The raft was added in 1992. Since then, the average annual chicks surviving rate has been 0.643, which is higher than the statewide average. This pair has fledged 2 surviving chicks in the three years it has been on territory (0.667).
Loons and Humans Can be Friends
During the Loon Cam 1 chaos of the intruding loons on the evening of June 15, the parents decided it would be safer if they each guarded one chick. Mom took the elder chick around the bend and started fishing according to reports we received, while Dad and the 12 hour old chick remained near the nest, in camera range. While Mom was trying to feed the older sibling, she suddenly dove and disappeared. Most likely she sensed the intruders and went off to do battle, or at least distract them from the chick. The chick gravitated toward a nearby double seat kayak. Much to the occupants’ surprise, it appeared that the chick had decided they were a new-found parent. Fortunately, they were aware of the loon cam and the precarious situation the loons were in. With mom out of sight, the kayakers decided it was best to paddle over to the nest site. The chick went with them, practically glued to the kayak.
All this time another lake resident was reporting the activity on the YouTube chat, so it wasn’t a total surprise when the kayakers came into view on the camera. The little chick saw Dad and sibling and made a beeline for them. The kayakers smiled. What more can I say? The photos are courtesy of our Kayak Heroes.
So was it imprinting? Was the chick still ready to accept more beings into its trust even after imprinting on two parents? That would be what conventional wisdom would dictate and I think that’s the best bet. The only reason I have any question is because I’ve spent enough time observing loon behavior to realize that (1) loons can recognize individual people (and judge their character), (2) loons can signal to chicks to stay and wait by a certain area while the adult takes care of important business, and (3) loons will temporarily turn the care of their chicks over to a trusted person. I’ve personally witnessed it and LPC has video documentation of another example.
Unfortunately for me, I’ve only made myself an enemy to loons, at least in their judgment. Chase a loon around a lake at midnight while shining a bright spotlight in its eyes, and then drag it into a boat and hold it down while it gets banded, and you’ll be branded an enemy for life. The worst tongue lashing I ever got came from the Lincoln Island female when I went back the next day to do a welfare check.
LPC does not recommend that you paddle up to a loon and introduce yourself or invite it to dinner. That will be counterproductive; loons don’t like pushy people. But if you spend a lot of time on one lake with loons, keeping your distance and enjoying the sight, a loon might pop up right beside you. That’s your chance to show that you’re no threat. Chill and enjoy the amazing treat. Let the loon decide when the visit is over. Always leave it up to the loon.