Maine loon population lower this year, but more chicks

[Laura Bies]

Maine Audubon released the results of their annual loon count. 

From the Maine Audubon press release:

And just like that we have 40 years of loon count data for the state of Maine! On July 15, 1503 volunteer loon counters headed out to 374 lakes to gather important data, allowing Maine Audubon to calculate a population estimate for southern Maine and keep an eye on trends over time.

Although weather, including some pea soup fog in the north, resulted in poor visibility for some, counters still managed to count on the highest number of lakes since the Annual Loon Count began—a great way to commemorate the 40th anniversary of this statewide volunteer effort!

Though the count itself lasts only half an hour, loon count volunteers and coordinators commit to much more than just 30 minutes. From the Rangeley Lakes region to Moosehead and down to Sebago, coordinators are organizing counters on huge lakes, helping assign people to one of many survey areas, conducting outreach, and tallying up their individual lake numbers. Counters are getting out on the lakes earlier than 7 am, making sure their boat tanks are full and scouting locations and boundaries. The continued dedication from loon counters over the last 40 years is a testament to how committed people are to loons and conservation efforts in Maine. Every counter has a unique story about how they became involved or what the loons mean to them—this project is lucky to have such a range of experiences and backgrounds.

So what did the 40th year of the loon count show in terms of numbers? Across the 374 lakes included, counters tallied 2,299 adults and 178 chicks. To determine the population estimate for the southern half of Maine (south of the 45th parallel, where enough lakes are covered by counters to determine a reliable estimate) we estimate the adult and chick numbers across all lakes in the southern half based on a random sample of those actually counted. Based on those calculations, we project a population of 2,892 adults and 411 chicks for the southern half of Maine.

Read the rest of the release and view the graph of the Maine look population here.