DNR To Track Gulf Bound Loons

(A.P.)  The Department of Natural Resources wants to know what will happen to Minnesota loons that winter down south.  The biologists want to know if the Gulf oil spill will harm the state bird.

The DNR will be attaching GPS devices to 10 loons to determine if they winter on the Gulf or Atlantic coast.

Nongame Wildlife Program Supervisor Carrol Henderson says most loons go to the Gulf Coast, many right to the area where the oil is coming ashore.  He says they migrate in October and November.  Adults return in April, but young loons stay for two years before winging back to Minnesota.