Will this winter ever end? Even though the ice is reluctant to leave the lakes and we have been getting weekly snow storms, there are still some undeniable signs of spring. Last week I heard my first loon call, and it gave me goose bumps. Summer will arrive eventually! There’s something about hearing loons echoing over the water that is so Minnesotan. On March 13, 1961, Governor Elmer L. Andersen signed the legislation that adopted the common loon (Gavia immer) the official state bird of the State of Minnesota. [Read more…]