Achieving takeoff requires a clear aquatic runway measuring nearly 1 football field in length. The 12-pound weight and specific foot placement make terrestrial movement almost impossible.

DULUTH — A citizen science effort that began 30 years ago and has accumulated reams of data on Minnesota's loon population still needs more volunteers to check for loons on northern lakes this summer.

The national honor bestowed upon the official state bird of Minnesota earlier this month confirms what Minnesotans already know well — just how special the loon is. The common loon is known for its ...

Minnesota's Prairie Lakes are strangely quiet since summer inhabitants have left early. It's too bad. October provides a soul-restoring peacefulness, whether one's just hiking, fishing, viewing fall ...

Minnesotans love loons. Now our larger-than-life state bird is getting an annual celebration. National Loon Day will be held for the first time this Friday, March 13. The date was chosen to mark the ...

MINNESOTA, USA — "Imagine now, a clear summer evening in the north woods. Above you, the bands of the Milky Way framed by the dark spindly boughs of spruce and fir. And cutting though the stillness ...

Q: A group of eight loons, all appearing to be adults, suddenly showed up in late July at our lake in north central Minnesota. They were swimming in a close-knit group, and we’ve never seen anything ...

RHINELANDER, Wis. — A cascading series of environmental factors pushed by climate change are causing a decline in northern Wisconsin’s loon population and may be limiting loon numbers in Minnesota as ...

Minnesota chose the common loon as its state bird in 1961 because lawmakers and bird experts agreed that no other animal captured the state’s wild, lake-centered identity as clearly as this sleek, red ...