The morning of Saturday, July 15, dawned with clouds and light drizzle. But that did not deter the hundreds of volunteers who fanned out across the state on several hundred Maine lakes to count loons! Those clouds along with heavy fog did make for poor visibility in some of the more northern areas, but overall the heavy rain held off long enough to get in a good half hour of loon spotting for Maine Audubon’s 40th Annual Loon Count. The event, which has taken place on the third Saturday of July since 1983, gathers a snapshot of Maine’s loon population that helps scientists and lawmakers conserve Maine loons and lakes. In some places, like Onawa Lake, volunteers counted 20 loons, one of their highest totals in recent years. Others, like Little Sebago Lake, saw nine—about the same as always. In the Rangeley Lakes region, counters saw approximately 196 adults and six chicks.
The count depends so much on the time and commitment from volunteers, especially the coordinators. To mark the 40th year of the count, we wanted to honor those people, celebrate the count’s history, and hear stories from the volunteers themselves. To this end, we held two celebratory events, one in Manchester at the Augusta Country Club, and one in Oquossoc at the Rangeley Region Guides and Sportsmen’s Association Clubhouse.
At both events, we heard remarks from Maine Audubon biologists as well as from loon count coordinators. We also showed our video (see below), played some loon trivia (here’s the trivia quiz; try it!!), had some giveaways, and, more importantly, enjoyed a chance to connect in person and forge an even stronger sense of community committed to a cause!
We also created a special video, The Loon Count: A 40 Year Legacy, in which you hear from biologists and loon count organizers at Maine Audubon as well as some of the loon count volunteers to find out what makes the count so special, why the data is important, and how easy it is to be involved!
Final numbers from the 2023 count will be available later this fall.
Top photo: Betty Caton counting loons on Little Sebago Lake.
