We are gearing up for another year of field work. This one is going to be a doozy, because we will be adding a new study population. That’s right, we are expanding west into Minnesota and beginning a partnership with the National Loon Center in Crosslake, Minnesota. Once we complete our capture and marking of the loons in northern Wisconsin, we will head west to mark dozens more in and around Crosslake. I will say more on this topic in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, we face a familiar obstacle: limited housing. We have our usual Wisconsin team of 5 to 6 members this summer, and nowhere to put them between July 1st and August 10th. How did this happen? First, our funding came in later than usual. Second, we were about to close on a deal for a cottage to cover the entire period, and the owners suddenly changed their minds. So please let us know if you know of a place somewhere in the Rhinelander – Minocqua area where we might stay. We can afford to pay a reasonable rent as well.

Meanwhile, meet Katy, one of our new field interns this year. It is fitting to include Katy in this post, because she, like our new study population, is from Minnesota! In fact, she will be traveling with veteran Kristin to Crosslake in early May to help locate loon pairs that will be part of the new Minnesota study population!