Common loon migration and winter data: telemetry locations and archival geolocator tag location (ver 2.0, October 2022)

The data details common loon locations based on archival geolocator tag information, characteristics of common loon dives during wintering, and common loon locations based on telemetry data. Satellite transmitters (Model PTT-100, Microwave Telemetry, Inc) were implanted in 31 adult male (marked during July 2010 and July 2011) and 27 juvenile (marked during August 2014 and August 2015) common loons that were captured on breeding lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The satellite transmitters were programmed to transmit on a variable schedule based on the anticipated stage of migration during the loon’s annual cycle. We utilized the most accurate locations per 8-hour transmission period to describe the daily winter location of each adult loon. Spot measurements of water depth and distance to shore were determined for each radiomarked loon location. Water depth associated with each estimated location of radiomarked loons was determined using National Geophysical Data Center bathymetric data using ArcGIS software. Only location estimates for Argos location classes (LC) qualities 1–3 were used in the analyses.