Eagle Attacks Loon Nest

Lake Vermilion, Minnesota — A bald eagle attacked a loon nest that has been featured on a live camera from the Vermilion Lake Association last year and again this May and June.

It happened Monday evening after a number of screaming matches between the eagle and the loon pair over the past few days.

Upon spotting the eagle approaching, the loon on the nest got up and threw herself into the nearby bay to escape.

The eagle has been terrorizing the loons with fly-by runs at high speed. After scaring them away from their nesting location on a small peninsula the evening of June 13, the eagle swooped in to inspect their home base. It rummaged around for five minutes, unaware that its every move was being watched by people monitoring both the VLA Website and the organization’s YouTube Channel. The live Axis camera is mounted on a post in nearby water and camouflaged.

Waves on Lake Vermilion can cause the camera mount to shift, blurring the image slightly from one moment to the next. But even so, you can clearly see the eagle rampaging through the nest, then casually take a couple of sips of water from the lake.

About five minutes after the eagle landed, a nearby homeowner just happened to start mowing his lawn, and a dog began barking. This gave the eagle pause, and after considering things, walked away from the nest, then flew off. The loons can be heard nearby calling to each other.

An hour later, the “mom” loon swam back and parked herself back on the nest.

The loon watchers of Lake Vermilion, some watching in horror, now wonder if the eagle flew away without harming the two eggs in the nest, or if there are even still two of them there. Only daylight will tell us!

Subscribers to our YouTube Channel can chat about what they see. “Would sure love to see the other loon swim by!!” noted one. “Lots of distant yodels so probably Mom on nest. Follows usual pattern — Mom on nest overnight,” replied one of our faithful loon watchers. And a third signs off with “Good night all. Praying for these loons and their eggs.”

See video of the attack captured on our Live LoonCam.

Watch our Lake Vermilion loons any time of the day on our VLA Live LoonCam. Or listen to them call out to each other after sunset. We deeply appreciate the Internet power provided to our VLA project by Access Broadband of Virginia, Minnesota.

https://www.vermilionlakeassociation.org/loon-nest-live-camera-2022/