P.S.

I left out a very important part in my final blog. Prior to things wrapping up, next year, if people remind us we'll definitely rotate the camera after the nest period has been completed. Hopefully it will be to catch a glimpse of the adults with chicks!

Lee

Final Thoughts

First, let me express my sincere gratitude to everyone. We've established quite a community of avid loon followers. All your thoughts, observations, questions, and dedicated viewing have enhanced the experience for all that continue to follow along.

Although we've heard many of you and your desire to rotate the cam, and leave it on for a little while longer, we really need to shut it down for many reasons. As you probably know, we had another storm pass through the area, last night, and the system is down, again! We've hit the warm, muggy part of the year here in Maine, and we risk losing valuable equipment to lightening strikes, every day we leave the system on. This system is particularly vulnerable to lightening damage, which has already happened twice in the past.

I won't bore you with all the other pressing issues that require us to shut the system down, but I hope you'll understand and recognize that we would gladly please all those still watching if we could.

In some recent blogs, at least one person asked about re-locating the loon cam, or having another one. Re-locating this system is unlikely, but we are always looking for new locations which have the right situation. We have at least one other site already identified, and if economic conditions allow, we could surprise everyone with a second loon cam, next year.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. We look forward to more loon viewing, next year, and interacting with all of you!

Lee

Making Plans To Shut Down The Cam

Good morning, all. Just wanted to send word that we plan to shut down the loon cam, sometime soon. Sightings and activity on the blog have both pretty much ended.

I can share that the annual loon census took place on Saturday, July 18, and at that time three adults were still on the pond. When we do go up to remove the system, I hope to see if I can confirm if the banded male is on the pond. We identified the female, but we still need confirmation if he was on the pond.

If we don't find him, it's still possible that he was there at some point. When we get into mid/late summer, adults that don't have chicks will often move around quite a bit, including flying to/from different water bodies.

I plan to blog one more time to wrap up the season, and I'll update everyone, then, on what I found.

Lee

Cam Is Down

All - just a quick note that we're aware the cam is down. We had storms passing through the state, yesterday, and I suspect there was a power outage at some point. Hopefully it's nothing more serious.

Unfortunately, we may not be able to get the system back up for several days. I'm waiting to learn more.

Have a great weekend!

Lee

Time Is Fleeting

Good morning. I'm blogging prior to a much needed break. The office is closed, tomorrow, and I'm on vacation, next week. I kind of wish I was going somewhere other than gloomy, rain drenched Maine. Summer is still nothing more than a foggy memory from 2008.

We are really fortunate that water levels on the loon cam pond have still left suitable nest habitat on the island. In the past, we've had it totally submerge. We have had many other nests around the state lost due to rising water levels:(

If I do get to visit the pond in person after my break, I'm going to give the male that appeared on camera a "good talking to." The banded female, pardon my frankness (children stop reading), was in "the position", and eagerly awaiting .......... What's the matter with that guy?? To describe it within the context of human behaviors, he appeared distracted. He was looking around, like his rival might still be lurking. Just a guess, but time is fleeting, and he better get down to business.

We don't have a specific date to shut down the camera. We will certainly let it run for a few more weeks. If they don't nest in the next couple of weeks, we will likely shut it down later in the month.

This location has ideal habitat for nesting loons, including an abundance of material to build a nest bowl "fit for a queen." As one blogger shared, sometimes loons simply lay their eggs on a simple scrape on the ground. A nice bowl is better, particularly when they come and go, and can accidentally kick an egg into the water.

I hope all of you have a great July 4th weekend, wherever you celebrate. I'll return to the office on July 13, and hope to see something more than land and greenery through the camera lens.

Lee

Brief Update

Greetings, and thanks for the updates of what you've been seeing, along with photos. With so little to watch, it gives everyone some evidence that the loons aren't a mirage, and most importantly, it really helps our research!



I just posted a blog about video from Willpat posted on UTube. Apparently it confirms the banded female. Can anyone post a link so we all can find this?



I did see in photos that the male that was copulating is unbanded. If time allows, I may try to visit the pond, and do a thorough survey. I'll post my findings if this happens.

One question was posted, asking if both males and females fight. The answer is yes. Like many species, there is constant competition for occupation and dominance in suitable breeding habitat. Although there are other nesting locations on this pond, there is only one island, and that's cause for a lot of competition.

Please keep up the blogs, even with few sightings of the loons.

Lee

More Fighting:<(

Good morning. As some have reported on the blog, June 9 was a day of seemingly endless battles. This situation makes it apparent that a pair of loons have not established dominance in this territory. Other, unpaired loons are still vying for a "seat at the table."

While we all continue to watch and hear the season unfold, let me try to answer a few more questions. One blogger asked about reporting band information. If anyone recovers a dead, banded loon, the metal band has contact information, which includes a phone number to call.

We can adjust the time of day the infrared illuminator turns on, but we are limited in the settings. I will look at this, and see if it can be adjusted.

Panning the camera, as I've done a few times, is something we do with great caution. It moves via a motor that makes quite a bit of noise, and we don't want to disturb the loons. I try to do it when I'm reasonably certain they are not nearby. If we move it to view the lake, we can't move it back if the birds go on the nest.

As always, any blogs that report loon activity are very important. Please keep them coming. Thanks!

Lee

More Answers

Good morning. I'm going to do my best to answer some more questions I came across, when I reviewed the blog.

Wider angle - some have asked about having the camera give a wider view. Given what we have to work with at the site, we have as wide an image as we can possibly get. We can't move the camera any further back, and it's zoomed out to the widest setting.

Soft calls - I'm listening to soft mewing as I write this post. We do hear a lot of this when loons are near the nest, and courting/mating. These calls are not identified in any publication I have seen.

Security - within the limitations we have, we have done what we can to try to minimize the impacts of human disturbance. Given the setting, there is no way to close it off, and we have done what we think is best at this point. This is upsetting to all of us, but the instances have been rare and brief, and have not caused the nest to fail.

Night vision - the infrared illuminator which allows us to see at night is activated by a timer.

Dead loons - one blogger asked is we've recovered any dead loons which might help explain the likely changes in the pairing. The banded male was in a bad fight, last year, but we didn't confirm that he was actually killed. The bands do allow us to identify each loon, and track their behaviors, location, and changes in breeding pairs.

Lastly - we received one question about how long the camera will be on. Provided no technical issues come up, the camera will remain on until sometime in July, or later, if the loons nest late.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lee
P.S. I just saw a loon come into the nest, and just heard a wail call. For those that seem to miss the action, tune in during the morning. It's 8:15 am on the east coast, now.