There are a number of opportunities for others to help us, if they wish to do so. Collaborations with professional scientists, including postdocs, are always welcomed, as there is much yet to learn about loons. (See Current Goals page.) We are always excited to hear about interesting and odd loon behaviors and also loons that are injured or sick in our study area and which we are sometimes able to help.

We offer field assistantship positions each year to students who are interested in studying loon ecology or wildlife biology in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Field assistants are usually college students interested in animal behavior, ecology, or wildlife studies who learn to identify loons from the color bands we place on their legs; collect data on territorial behavior; measure breeding success; and assist with nocturnal capture and marking of loons. Applicants apply for the positions in January through March for field work that occurs between May and August of the same year.

There are opportunities for graduate study of loons through Dr. Lauren Riters at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who is a collaborator.

Folks who live on or visit our study lakes and observe interesting territorial behavior or reproductive events such as nesting or chicks can e-mail me, especially if they are able to see most or all of the colored leg bands on loons’ legs or get good photos of color bands. Most valuable are reports of territorial battles and nests. We often miss such events and must piece together what happened afterwards.