June 7, 2020: The Loons have Nested

And not one pair, but two!  The second pair of loons arrived a couple of weeks ago and got straight to work, completing their nest even before the first pair.  The second pair is not banded so we can only assume it's the same pair we've had the past few years, but since the two pairs accepted each other very quickly and then nested in the same areas as in the past, it's a reasonable assumption.  And this pair seems to be learning.  Last year their nest was completely exposed to the sun and it was a hot June - neither of their eggs hatched.  This year they selected a spot that has a nice overhang of leaves so they'll have better protection from the sun - we'll see how they do.  When I saw the nest the bird on it was uncomfortable with my presence, even far beyond the sign placed to keep boaters away, so I quickly moved on.

The head would be held higher if it weren't on alert.  It would also be held much lower if it were really concerned.

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When I paddled by the second nest, their house was still under construction, and they were clearly unfazed by my distant presence.  The female was busy building up a hummock while the male was out fishing. 

Mom on construction duty.

After a bit he came in to inspect the progress.

"Looking good to me."

He then decided to climb up on the nest to try it on for size.

These are clearly not land-going animals.

He even soiled his pretty white breast.

"I think it needs a bit more work...

what do you think?"

This is when I learned this was the male, as I got to see its leg band.

He plopped himself down and proceeded to do his share of building, reaching into the water to pull up sticks and carefully place them on the nest.

"Where's a good building stick?"

"This will work."

"Perfect spot for it."

I tried to take a video of the construction, but on a rolling kayak, a long ways away with a telephoto lens, it was impossible to hold the camera steady.  I'll include it anyway so you can at least see what he was doing.  (You can make the video full screen by clicking a square-shaped icon at the lower right of the picture.)

Relieved of construction duties for a while, mom headed out to stretch her wings and do a bit of preening. 

By the weekend it appeared this pair also was incubating eggs, as one loon was on the nest and the other was well out in the cove on guard duty.  So it appears we have two loon nests in progress.  I'll refer to our original banded pair (with the hummock nest) as the Rawson Island nest, and the newer (unbanded) pair as the Harris Cove nest. 

It will take about 28 days to see if we'll have any chicks hatch.  Until then all we can do is keep our distance, minimize boat wakes, and manage the lake level the best we can.  If you look at the hummock nest you'll see it is only a couple of inches above the water level; even a medium-size boat wake would easily swamp the nest.  The primary natural threat at this point is an eagle, especially for the exposed hummock nest.  Let's hope the loons are strong defenders of their castle from aerial attacks!