This photo shows loons on Fields Pond. The Maine Audubon seeks volunteers as it prepares for its 42nd Annual Loon Count. Photo by Wayne Foote

The Maine Audubon seeks volunteers as it prepares for its 42nd annual Loon Count.

Come spring, Common Loons will start reclaiming their territories and engaging in courtship rituals with prospective breeding partners, and filling the air with their distinctive and beloved calls, according to a news release from Mane Audubon.

And once the breeding season is underway, thousands of volunteers across the state will take to the water July 19 to count all the adult loons and chicks they see in a designated half hour period.

This long-running dataset has tracked the changes and trends in the population for more than four decades. The information allows Maine Audubon to assess the impacts of conservation efforts over time, and to flag any significant changes in the population, to aid better management in the future.

Last year Maine Audubon had the greatest amount of participation ever in the annual count: 1,624 volunteers surveyed loons on 407 lakes. Thanks to this effort, the organization was able to estimate a Common Loon population of 3,146 adults, south of the 45th parallel; there are not enough lakes surveyed north of this line to estimate the population for the entire state.

In an effort to expand its reach, involve more people in the count, and gain a better understanding of where loons are and what they’re doing in the northern part of the state, Maine Audubon will introduce Extended Duration Surveys this summer. This is a pilot program for select remote and unsurveyed lakes. Community scientists who volunteer to survey these lakes will have seven days — July 19-26 — to scout, access and conduct a one-hour survey of their assigned lake. Many of these lakes lack boat launches or easy cartop access, and some range far from the beaten path.

These lakes will take a greater time and travel commitment than the standard loon count survey. Volunteers may have to hike in and survey from shore, or carry a kayak or canoe in, and in some cases it may be easiest to turn a survey into a camping trip. Many Maine lakes and ponds are only accessible through private land so securing landowner permission to conduct a survey may be involved.

To participate or for help finding a lake to survey, email Maine Audubon Community Science Manager Phil Keefe at pkeefe@maineaudubon.org.

For more information visit maineaudubon.org.

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