June 9, 2019: A Second Nest Appears

For the second year in a row there are two loon nests on Lake Wicwas.  I expect we'll see a band on the first pair to know it's our long-resident female, but without bands to identify the second pair we we can only postulate these are the same birds which have returned for another year.

The second nest is in a secluded spot on the lake where there isn't much boat traffic so it will not be marked with signs and its location won't be advertised.  If you do happen to come across it or observe a loon behaving strangely just move away from the area.

I noticed the nest because two loons were close together near shore but clearly not fishing.  Thinking something was going on, I took some pictures from a distance but only after blowing them up did I see they were building a nest on a tiny mound of earth.  One bird was at the nest pulling up weeds while the other loon was farther out searching for more substantial building materials and bringing them back.

A dive down to find some nesting material

What did we find?

A pretty little lily pad for the nursery

According to the Loon Preservation Committee, both the male and female participate in home building.

The second loon gathering sticks for the foundation

As of today a loon is sitting happily on the nest, though it has no shade at all so when the weather gets hot it might not be so happy.  It will be important for one parent or the other to stay on the nest as an egg can cook quickly if exposed to the hot sun.  They'll switch positions frequently to allow their partner to go for a swim and cool off.

Last year both of our loon pairs laid two eggs and each hatched a single chick, but both of them succumbed to the many threats a loon chick faces. Let's hope things go better this year.

The other large birds that nest on local lakes seem to fare much better, and the parents have already hatched their eggs and are out on the water tending to their brood.

Seven little goslings in a row

Geese and loons will sometimes interact but mostly they keep their distance from one another.

When I was out attending to some conservation areas on the lake this week I was visited by a few other birds including one I don't see very often.

A curious song sparrow wondered what I was up to

And a tree swallow sat for a long time and watched

 Both of these were on Turtle Island.  This next one was poking along the rocks over at Bryant Island looking for insects to eat.

I don't see a spotted sandpiper on the lake very often.

It's always nice to have some company to share the beautiful sights of early summer on the lake.