June 18, 2017 - Dunning Lake

Here are some things that happened recently at our lake home in northern Minnesota. This is Tyge Blomberg, one of my fishing buddies, with a Ruby-throated Hummingbird sitting on his finger. He stood very still near the feeder and the hummers apparently accepted him as part of the background.

TygeBlombergandRubythroatedHummingbirdDunningLakeItascaCounty20170611

This is a funny photo. It looks like Tyge has a hummingbird mustache.

TygeBlombergandRubythroatedHummingbirdDunningLakeItascaCounty20170611

It must be time for Snapping Turtles to lay their eggs. I’ve seen several of them lately and this one was on the road leading to our home. I didn’t realize how big a Snapping Turtle’s head could be.

TurtleSnappingMiningRoadDunningLakeItascaCounty20170607

This Snapping Turtle was trying to dig a hole for her eggs in the driveway right near our garage. She must have decided that wasn’t a good spot because she eventually lumbered away without excavating a nest hole.

TurtleSnappingDunningLakeItascaCounty20170611

We have a pair of Common Loons on our lake. They built their nest on a floating platform that we put out for them. One morning I was out on the lake and noticed there was no loon sitting on the nest. A look around the lake revealed both parents and a baby.

LoonCommonadultswithbabyDunningLakeItascaCounty20170609

Here’s a better look at the baby loon. When I saw them, you can imagine that I took lots of pictures. All of these pictures showed only one baby and we knew there had been two eggs. I feared the worst, but later in the day there were two babies with the parents. Now I wonder if the second egg hadn’t hatched yet when I saw the loons in the morning.

LoonCommonwithbabyDunningLakeItascaCounty20170609

When baby loons are small, they are at risk from Snapping Turtles and large fish in the lake. Bald Eagles like this one are a threat from the air. It was hanging around the lake waiting for an opportunity. However, the loon parents are very vigilant and I’m sure they will protect their babies. This is not a fully mature Bald Eagle because it still has a lot of white feathers on its body and some brown feathers on its head. It takes about 5 years for a Bald Eagle to develop its adult plumage.

EagleBaldDunningLakeItascaCounty20170609