Hi, Everyone -
I've been away from my computer all afternoon and was happy to get an update on the loon when I looked just now. Evelyn and Ray reported in around 1 o'clock with with following:

Hi again Jane...

Just got off the phone from Eric... so far the plan is to wait until the end of the week to see that the ice gets thick enough to venture out on... Eric said that the loon will be fine for as long as two weeks on the ice...  Even though we all image it being frozen in the ice it really is not...   Eric said if needed he will try a rescue after assessing the ice at the end of the week, but as he says; SAFETY first!  It may happen that nature has to take its course... of course, we do hope that the many sightings of eagles that we have had will not happen during this time...
that would be ... well, interesting at the very least...

Once the loon is captured, Eric said it will be taken to Lake Champlain to be released (which makes sense since Lake Champlain will not freeze over entirely for quite some time; if it does).

Ray just returned and said the loon has moved (by 'wing running')to an opening in the ice that is about 5' by 15' and is moving around the edges of the hole while occasionally flapping its wings ... this is normal behavior, in this case, it is how the loon is keeping the hole open so it won't freeze up... (no need to panic if you see that activity)... Ray observed the loon preening, diving and probably feeding as well... it looks strong and healthy... We will all keep an eye on it for the next few days... That two week 'clock' does not start 'ticking' until the loon
has become trapped on top of the ice so that it cannot feed.

Thanks Jane... Evelyn

From what Evelyn is saying here it sounds like being "frozen in" in this case means only that the loon doesn't have enough open water to take off. As we have learned in the past, loons need a long "water runway" to get airborne. I still feel sorry for him, but seems like this may have a happy ending . . .

I don't usually pay much attention to "forwards" but this one came under the caption of something like, "It's going to be a cold winter!" and I looked at it. You probably have already seen it - I know Homer has, and Chico Carcoba - but still, it made me smile, so here it is:

It's late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.

Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared..

But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.'


Remember this whenever you get advice from a government official!