All for the birds

Far Guy has been hearing the Loons since Wednesday the 27th of April. I have not heard them yet..it was way too windy to hear anything yesterday except for the wind rushing through the barren trees.

Our acquaintance Larry has the Loon Cam up and running again. I put up a link off to the left of my blog. The Loons are building a nest in preparation for laying the eggs!

Here are a few birds that are in our yard this week.

A Downey Woodpecker

A female Cardinal!!  We were both very excited to see her, our neighbors have been reporting that they have Cardinals..we have never had one in our yard before..so it was quite an event! 

This is one of our new feeders..the Downey Woodpecker likes to hang on it upside down.

We fill this feeder almost everyday, some of the seeds end up on the ground for the Juncos and the fat squirrel. I have been noticing some fresh rabbit sign..so we are feeding the entire neighborhood.

This is a very happy Pine Siskin. They arrived last weekend along with the Purple Finches.

Far Guy put up another bird bath so that the birds would have more fresh water..they like to drink water out of Chances Coffee Can..and of course Chance shares.

We enjoy watching the birds especially this time of year when the bird populations change so much.  We still have Juncos, Nuthatches and Chickadees visiting the feeders:)

I have gone Loony AGAIN!

We are very fortunate here in Minnesota to have an individual by the name of Larry Backlund who has a Loon nesting platform near his dock on a small lake in Minnesota. This is a project that is near and dear to Larry's big ole Loony heart.

The Live Cam is up and running, I have a link to it on my sidebar...on the left.. right above My Weather.This year Minnesota Bound ( The web site that hosts the Live Loon Cam) has added some extra features. There is a Loon Blog written by Larry, and a Loon Chat Room, It is my understanding that there is also a spot in the chat room for live chat. I left comments on both Larry's Blog and the Chat Room last evening..just type in your name.. and leave a comment if you wish.

Larry gives up the use of his lake shore property so that the Loons have a safe place to nest, he built a platform and supplies it with cat tails and weeds. The Technical Crew comes in and sets up the Cam and all it's various connections. After the Loons have hatched their young they will leave the nest, and Larry can have his lake shore back again.. he follows the Loons and their activity on the lake very closely.

Once the eggs have been laid the Loons will never leave the nest for very long. They trade spots day and night, wind and rain..Loons are very devoted to their eggs.

Last year, my grandsons were here when we watched the first chick go for his first swim. It was a wonderful sharing experience. I hope you enjoy this years Loon Experience as much as I will :)

Here is what I wrote last May 5, 2008:
I have been doing some reading about Common Loons (Gavia immer) ..I just love those scientific names! Imagine yourself a Male Loon...you have had a foot loose, fancy free winter in the south. One day something says fly north...something draws you to the nesting site you had last year. Finally the ice is out and you use your magical calls to establish your territory. Then you wait for your mate, when she finally shows up..you are really happy to see her.. "Hiya Toots"...lets get on with the laying of the eggs! You are both tireless parents, taking turns on the nest..then spending most of the summer rearing and protecting the chicks. One day you say, "Time to go junior or juniorette...hope you have a good loony life." You and your mate take off to gather with friends, and head south. You might see your mate over the winter, you might not, you may be 100 to 1,000 miles apart.."See ya at the lake in the spring Toots."Such is the life of a Loon..fascinating creatures!