July 15, 2022

Isn’t that the way with the Loon Cam 2 pair; they always have us on the edge of our seats. I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s start with the chicks. Chick 1 hatched in the afternoon of July 12, a day or two ahead of schedule but we only had a rough estimate of when the egg was laid. Chick 2 hatched in the early afternoon on the following day. Shortly after that, Dad lost #1 because he was preoccupied with his own thoughts. #1 spent three hours imprinting on a buoy before the LPC biologists took pity on it, scarfed it up and delivered it back to the nest (but not before weighing it: 90 grams). At first, Mom seemed pleased to have #1 back in the nest. But soon #2 picked a fight with #1, who appeared to #2 to be a newcomer. It was the most evenly matched, knock down, drag out chick brawl I ever witnessed. Just before they were ready to resort to broken beer bottles they tumbled off the raft, each in a death grip of the other. That didn’t slow them down. Mom had to get in the water and break it up.

But let’s talk about Dad. He didn’t seem to be into the whole fatherhood thing. He was happy to let Mom to all the chick sitting while he went gallivanting off to do whatever. And when Mom wanted to to take a break, he just sat there with a confused look on his face. When Mom and the chicks were ready to go, he just took off without them. Chatters on the Loon Cam began suggesting that we had a deadbeat dad on our hands. The final straw was when Dad caught a minnow, showed it to the chicks and then ate it himself. That got him off everyone’s Christmas Card list.

Turns out Dad had a reason to be preoccupied. Unknown to us, there was an interloper on the territory who wanted Dad out of the picture. There were really no hints about that until it culminated in a battle for the territory in the early afternoon of the 14^th. Watch it; it’s impressive. The family made numerous attempts to get the chicks toward the brooding area but it wasn’t until this morning that it appears they made any headway. Locals have reported that the family is in the next cove and still intact, although also still on guard. I have high hopes for them. Dad may be an airhead but he’s a hell of a fighter.

July 10, 2022

Newcomers to the Loon Cam chat often ask or assume that the female is incubating the eggs in the nest. But, as long-time watchers can attest, the male and female share the nest sitting duties. The schedule for sharing duties varies between pairs of mated loons. Some switch off every three or four hours while others will go for twelve hour shifts or longer. There have been a few studies on nest sitting and they tend to agree on two points. The female is more likely to be on the nest during the night time and the female tends to increase her time on the nest as it gets closer to hatch time.

This pair is following the textbook very well. Mom is doing all the nighttime sitting and by now she is averaging about 15-16 hours per day. Expected hatch is only about 4 or 5 days away. But when it comes to hatch time, neither of the pair seems to feel any obligation to stay on the nest to greet the new chick. Even if the chick is well into breaking out of the shell, if the mate shows up and is willing to take over, the sitting loon will relinquish its seat. Perhaps they realize that it’s their last chance to take a swim alone, without the responsibility of feeding and protecting their offspring.

June 25, 2022

Today dawned as a typical hatch day. Around 7 am the second chick hatched and we had a great view of Mom, and then Dad, nest sitting while the chicks peeped and had their first wobbly experience outside of an egg. Around noon the parents decided it was time that they all be real loons, get in the water and head for the brooding area. Chick #2 refused to go. Not unheard of and no big deal to the loons. Dad took #1 out for a paddle while Mom stayed on the nest with #2. Right about 1 pm Mom convinced #2 to join the others. They got in the water, gave a call, and then Dad and #1 began swimming back toward them.

Then it got weird. When Dad and #1 were still off camera and about 50 feet from Mom and #2, Dad let out some hideous sounds and began splashing in the water. When the camera turned we could see him beating his wings against the water and straining as if he were trying to release himself from something under the water. He also began moving away from #2 and the others, so #2 swam toward Mom and away from the commotion. Dad’s contortions went on for a couple of minutes. Three people reported seeing a large turtle head beneath him at one point. Shortly after that it appeared that Dad had shaken off whatever grabbed him and he swam further away, only to begin his bizarre behavior all over again. He worked his way to the middle of the lake, his efforts seemed to slow down as if he were wearing out, he dropped lower into the water, went under once, twice, three times, and then he sank out of sight.

Fifteen minutes later, still no Dad in sight. Mom looked confused and horrified, floating in the water with two chicks circling her. She didn’t change her expression or move more than twenty feet for an hour. During this time I was reviewing the video and trying to make sense out of it all. All the signs I saw pointed to an attack from under water. The only aquatic critter in the lake that could hold down a loon from swimming away would be a large snapping turtle. Why didn’t Dad come back after it was all over? It’s not like a loon to abandon its chicks on their first swim unless something was totally wrong. The only logical answer I could see was that Dad couldn’t come back and possibly wouldn’t be coming back and prematurely stated my fears to the chatters.

A little after two there was a wail in the distance. Mom answered back. At 2:25 pm Dad showed up, certainly weary and worse for wear, but intact, much to the relief of us all. A few chatters suggested that Dad had performed a distraction display but I don’t buy it. First, the only distraction display that loons are known for is the penguin dance. There is no wing beating in a penguin dance; it’s all in the feet that they use to kick up the water and rise up and puff their chest out to look menacing. Dad wasn’t being menacing; he was being frantic. But on the other hand, if a snapper had wraped it’s powerful mouth around the loons legs or feet the loon would surely be maimed after all that struggling. Perhaps Dad saw the snapper going for for the chick and he was trying to protect the chick and came up with this wing slap method, continuing to push/chase the snapper away from his family. That seems to have the best chance.

But more weirdness: When Dad got back both he and Mom continued to be animated and stressed out. An hour and a half wasn’t enough time to cool down? Something continued to bother them and that something was likely to keep Dad away for so long. But What? That’s the question. And then Dad took the chicks back to the nest, where they still are at 6:30 pm. Chatters think that #2 needs more time to dry out but I suspect that Dad needs the break more than the chicks do. It’s all kinda weird.

June 19, 2022

This season has certainly shown us that there is intense competition between loons for the best breeding habitat. It seems to be a daily occurrence that our pair has to deal with intruders, sometimes as many as four or five at a time. A territorial pair must be constantly alert and know what’s happening within and beyond their territory. Exactly how they do it, how well they do it, and which senses they depend on for monitoring their territory have received very little study or discussion. Perhaps starting with the little bit we know about loons and throwing in some anecdotal evidence will shed some light.

It has been established that loons have high visual and auditory acuity. These are the two senses that are certainly most useful. Because loons are aquatic, they also benefit from the fact that water transmits sound five times better than air does, so they can increase their hearing by submerging their head. Loons also have a functioning olfactory bulb, above average in size compared to 107 other sampled bird species. So we can’t rule out the possibility that loons can smell each other, but it has yet to be positively demonstrated. Even if it were true, it wouldn’t be of much use other than at very close range, when the loon could already see and hear the intruder.

So, if they are using their hearing and vision, at what distance can they sense an intruding loon or other threat? I can recount two experiences that can shed some light on the question. On the first, I was monitoring a female with two chicks when the male showed up. The pair were exchanging pleasantries when suddenly the male turned toward the far end of the bay in a head up alert posture, gave a tremolo and then dove and swam in that direction. The female immediately stashed the chicks in a safe location and swam off to join him. I scanned the far end of the bay with my binoculars and could just barely make out a black dot floating in the water. Within a minute two more black dots appeared and a heated physical exchange ensued. The distance between the intruder and where the male was when he first sensed it was at least a half mile. That means that out in the open water, a loon might be able to sense another loon anywhere in a 500 acre circle.

The second instance started in a similar manner but this time the male didn’t swim off. He stayed within a hundred feet of the female and chicks, stared in one direction and let loose with some tremolos. At first I and the other biologist with me couldn’t figure what got the male all riled up. But, by the time the male switched to yodels and the female took over the tremolo, we recognized a paddleboarder headed in our direction. The loons didn’t take kindly to this newfangled sport. They gave him a royal tongue lashing as he passed. Again, the threat was perceived when it was still a half mile away. Although in this case a human standing on water is much more prominent than a loon. I think the take-away is that in many cases the loons know exactly what is going on in their entire territory. And then some.

June 6, 2022

Some Blog readers may remember my 2021 “Biff’s Scientific Hatch Time Predictions” blog, where I did some statistical voodoo and predicted the hatch dates based on Loon Cam records. If I recall correctly, I was pretty close. That makes the process a little easier this year. The time between the eggs being laid is the same as last year, as well as the greater than average time the first egg got incubated before the second egg was laid. This loon pair shows considerable consistency. Let’s hope the eggs can also follow the game plan. This is what I’m going with:

Egg 1 hatch: Friday, June 24 at 1:30 PM

Egg 2 hatch: Sunday, June 26 at 3:00 AM

May 31, 2022

We can blame it on the new moon. It was pitch black in the dead of night; Mama couldn’t see past her nares. All she wanted to do was turn the egg a bit so she could get more comfortable. She knew she had messed up when she plopped down and found herself sliding down the exterior slope of the nest, egg in tow. What followed was three hours of confused and horrified desperation. She came so close to getting the egg back in the bowl but just couldn’t manage the last few inches. She cried for help but only got a string of distant yodels in return. Cheeky chatters theorized that hubby was hanging out with the boys at the Sand Bar. A forlorn Mama eventually left the nest area.

Eggs being knocked out of the nest or otherwise misplaced is probably more common than you would think. Over the years, the loon cam has recorded this happening two other times, as well as one egg being broke and removed from the nest by the loons. Loons are built to be in the water and are very awkward when on land. This is one reason you should never approach a nesting loon. If you flush it off the nest there’s a good chance it will either kick the egg out the back or drag it out the front.

Along about 4 am, with the first faint rays of morning twilight, Dad showed up from his all-night carousing. With no Mrs. around, he climbed up on the raft and saw the egg on the wrong side of the rim of the bowl. No problem; He gave it nudge and, voila, back in the bowl. He then promptly lost balance and slid down the slope into the predator guard. Dad really needs to cut down on his all-nighters at the Sand Bar. He climbed back up and sat on the egg for while before remembering he had an early appointment and took off. Shortly later Mama came back, looked at the raft, couldn’t see the egg in the bowl, circled the raft a half dozen times and swam away, still in despair. It wasn’t until 10 am that she finally realized the egg was back in the nest.

Oh, and by the way, that evening Mama laid her second egg at 7:23. Sitting on two eggs and watching the sun set over a mirror-calm lake, Mama figured life isn’t all bad.

You can watch the low-lights of Mama’s bad day here. And the highlight here.

May 27, 2022

I’ve already mentioned the various nest raft visitors we frequently see but this year the raft has been exceptionally busy. The local goose pair uses the raft every night, sometimes staying as long as six hours. But last night we set a record for occupancy: the two geese, mama wood duck and her three chicks. The ducks were on for eight and a half hours, 8:19 pm to 4:48 am. Now that’s a good night’s sleep, although the geese woke them up when they moved in at 11:41 pm. Here we see Mrs. Goose and Mama Duck exchanging pleasantries.

We’re having trouble hiring chamber maids. Those geese leave an awful mess!

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.