BioDiversity Research Institute

As we all anxiously wait for the loons to lay eggs, and incubate, big things are going on with the looncam. Hopefully, all of you noticed that the live stream was activated, yesterday! We're very pleased to be able to do this again, thanks in large part to a corporate donation from Atlantic Oaks in Bar Harbor, Maine, and a number of individual donations as well.

If you haven't donated, yet, we can still use donations to insure that we can keep the live stream going, and as many people can see it as possible. As an incentive, we are now offering a FREE copy of a brand new loon book, entitled - "Call of the Loon." This is a hard bound book, just released by Willow Creek Press. It is loaded with stunning color photos, and it even has a loon DVD. We are giving these books away to the first 50 people that donate $100 or more to the looncam. See the new link on the looncam page to make your donation and order. Thanks!!

A number of bloggers have asked about the actual location of the nest. In looking at the image, if you start from the water's edge, and scan up the embankment, the ground levels off. The loons nest at the very edge of the level area, which allows them easy access, and eggs will not roll into the water, unless one of the adults accidentally pushes one over the edge. We've never seen this pair do that, but it does happen.

Lee Attix
BioDiversity Research Institute

Loons visit nest site

We have confirmed that both the banded male and female have returned to their territory for the fifth straight summer. We also recently received some excerpts from a journal kept by a family with a cottage on the lake that dates back to 1939. In this journal they wrote about a loon pair nesting on the island where the camera is currently located, meaning that a pair of loons have been using this island since at least 1940. This is a unique and exciting record which points directly to the importance of high quality nesting islands.

We were pleased to see on Monday that the female loon visited the nest site. She spent some time looking at the nest site, climbed into last years nest bowl and pulled some leaves to the edge of the nest. This is a very good sign. Over the last four years the birds have initiated nesting between May 20th and May 27th. Be sure to keep a close eye on the camera and write in a comment if you see activity.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute