Minnesota Master Naturalist

Course Registration

ADV - All About Loons

All About Loons website

9096 Hwy 61
Schroeder, MN 55613

Join us at Sugarloaf Cove to learn all about our incredible state bird from someone intimately familiar with them from countless seasons of observation and volunteering.

There will be a slide presentation covering basic information on loons, a taxidermy loon to see up close and personal, and time for your loon related questions!

About the Instructor
Meet Sherry Abts, the “Ely Loon Ranger” and Minnesota DNR Loon Watcher Survey volunteer with a lifelong passion for loons. Thirty-five years as a public educator has taught Sherry how to get people excited and interested in the natural world around them.
Sherry’s passion for loons began in 1993 when she volunteered with the Earth Watch Program in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan documenting loon behavior within the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. For two weeks that summer, Sherry and other staff intensively observed loon pairs and their chicks from sunrise to sunset each day. She was captivated by watching the different parenting styles among loons.
Since then, Sherry has spent countless summers and winters observing loons and assisting loon projects across the country. She has been a volunteer with Wisconsin’s LoonWatch Program for the last 12 years collecting valuable reproduction data on loons. For the last seven winters, she has also assisted Dr. Jay Mager & Dr. James Paruk with behavioral studies of loons on their wintering grounds in South Carolina.
Sherry became a Minnesota DNR Loon Watcher Survey volunteer in 2017. Over the past eight years, she has spent hundreds of hours each summer observing loons on the lakes in the greater Ely area. Not only has she collected invaluable data on loon behavior, nesting success, and chick survival each year, but she has found a way to engage and educate many Ely residents on the importance of loons. Sherry has recruited numerous volunteers to join her in the Loon Watcher Survey watching almost 40 lakes annually.
Sherry’s willingness to engage, help, and educate anyone is what sets her apart.

Course Dates:

Meeting from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on:

Instructor Information

Dominique Menard

Dominique has been a naturalist at heart her whole life, but added to her technical knowledge after graduating with a BAS in environmental and outdoor education from University of Minnesota Duluth. She is a Project Learning Tree trainer, a member of the Cook County Invasives Team, and currently working as the naturalist for Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center.

Sponsor Information

Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center


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