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, 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 ...

A: You certainly could have; our state bird spends its winter along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico, then returns to the state in April, as ice is leaving ...

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.