Greg, I would say that it is an occasional occurrence, and based on work in the cranberry area of central Wisconsin, it wasn't unusual to encounter maybe a half-dozen juveniles during the spring nesting season. I would assume the same for northern Minnesota. I think the tendency is for them to forage almost exclusively in neutral waters and avoid territorial interactions, if they should venture back close to natal areas. Overall though, the general pattern of them staying on coastal waters holds true, and based on radio-telemetry work, even there they display vagrant tendencies.
Steve ----- Original Message ----- From: Gregory Munson <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 12 Apr 2018 22:06:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [mou-net] Juvenile plumage Loon in Rochester A presumably migrating group of three Common Loons were spotted on a small lake behind a dam on the Zumbro River in downtown Rochester yesterday. One of them appeared to be in full juvenile plumage. Wondering how unusual this is. Greg Munson Nature Nut Columnist Rochester Post Bulletin Rochester, MN (507) 261-2985 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
