Did you know that loon chicks can swim right away but need parental care for their first three months? That the shape of a loon’s forehead or length of its neck can change to indicate stress? And that Maine is fortunate to be home to the largest Common Loon population in the Northeast? For nearly …
Loons
Loon raft building workshops kick off this spring
Kicking off a new 5-year project to help loon breeding success! One component is to build loon rafts. The goal of the raft program is to increase the number of loon chicks hatched through placement and monitoring of nearly 100 loon nesting rafts in territories with low nesting success. When used in …
2021 Annual Loon Count Shows Importance of Long Term Studies
Adults up, chicks down, but what does it all mean? As Maine Audubon releases the data from its 2021 Annual Loon Count, it underscores the importance of long-term studies and highlights the need to look beyond the one-day count to understand the data. The annual loon count takes place on the …
The 2021 Annual Loon Count is in the books!
Once again, as they have every year since 1983, volunteers across Maine set their alarm clocks early, gulped down some coffee, and were out on lakes by 7 a.m. to record observations about Common Loons in the Annual Loon Count. For half an hour, more than a thousand volunteers were paddling kayaks, …
Maine Audubon and partners receive grant for loon restoration
In 2003, 98,000 gallons of oil spilled in Buzzards Bay from a tank barge called Bouchard B-120. An estimated 531 Common Loons, overwintering in Buzzards Bay (off the coasts of MA and RI), died from direct or indirect impacts from this spill. Now, a natural resources damage settlement from this …
Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count Set for July 17
A loon glides across a still lake, the white dots on its black wings appearing to sparkle in the reflection off the water. But suddenly it gives out a quavering laugh. This “tremolo” usually means the loon feels alarmed or threatened. What has bothered this loon? It might be another loon intruding …
It’s Mayhem: Maine Audubon is busting out all over
In the same way that blossoms started to unfurl and migratory birds began to appear, so too did restless Maine Audubon staffers, tentative at first, and then all at once in a glorious riot of activity. May was the busiest month we’ve seen in ages, in terms of our interaction with the public. …
Volunteers Get Creative During 2020 Annual Loon Count
In a year when it seemed like just about everything could go wrong, a few things did go right. Thanks to 48 regional coordinators and 1,347 volunteers, Maine Audubon's Annual Loon Count was one of them. They overcame many hurdles in order to complete the annual snapshot census of Maine's loon …
Lead Tackle Buy Back Program Off to Great Start
There's nothing more iconic than the haunting call of a Common Loon. But loons are way more than just icons. The loon's dependence on clear, clean water and healthy fish populations makes it an important biological indicator, and long-term studies have shown that lead poisoning from the ingestion of …