It's peak summer on Minnesota's Gull Lake Chain. Boats are buzzing, jet skis slicing and loons are calling. "So it sounds like a territorial challenge that's starting," said Sheila Johnston, listening ...

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 ...

Sheila Johnston on Upper Gull Lake on June 24. She's long loved photographing loons, but one experience led her to become an advocate for protecting the Minnesota state bird.

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 ...

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.

Minnesota (WCCO) — It’s peak summer on Minnesota’s Gull Lake Chain. Boats are buzzing, jet skis slicing and loons are calling. “So it sounds like a territorial challenge that’s starting,” said Sheila ...