Maine is home to the largest population of loons in the Northeast but Maine loons face threats both on breeding lakes and offshore wintering areas. The Maine Loon Restoration Project began in 2021 as a five-year project that aimed to give Maine loons better chances for breeding success and reduce threats to their survival. Funding was provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the Bouchard Barge 120 Buzzards Bay Oil Spill Trustees to help recover loon populations following a 2003 oil spill off the New England coastline that killed more than 500 adult loons.
The grant helped us work with hundreds of volunteers throughout Maine for five years to:
• place and manage 106 nesting rafts that hatched 78 chicks in breeding territories where nesting efforts have continuously failed; train 88 Look Out for Loons volunteers who helped spread the word through lakeside conversations and at hundreds of outreach events about ways to reduce disturbance to nesting loons and loon deaths;
• place 75 nest warning signs at nesting sites that experience high levels of human disturbance;
• track nesting outcomes and chick survival of more than 300 breeding pairs; and
• collect more than 600 lbs. of lead tackle and distribute tens of thousands of lead-free samples to reduce loon lead poisoning.
In 2026, the Loon Restoration Project entered a new phase. The goals to improve loon nesting success and decrease loon mortality remain the same. With reduced funding, we have scaled back some aspects of the project and are continuing others as before.
Watch a video overview of the Loon Restoration Program.
Online training and informational webinars in 2026. Check back monthly as more dates may be added throughout the season from March-September. Many of these sessions are recorded, so please reach out to loonrestoration@maineaudubon.org to inquire about a link if you have missed a session you are interested in.
Loon Pair Monitoring Refresher
Thursday, March 26, 12-1:15 pm. Pre-Registration is required. Click here to register.
This session is designed for those who have submitted observations of loon breeding pairs and their families previously through our Survey1-2-3 platform or using our printable survey forms. We encourage everyone who has tracked a breeding pair to join this session as we will be going over how (new this year!) you can get certified as a loon pair surveyor. We will also go over any changes to the survey forms and review the information covered in-depth in the introductory training on April 9 (see below FMI).
Refresher Course on Deploying and Maintaining Loon Rafts and Nest Warning Signs. Pre-Registration is required.
Wednesday, April 1, 4-5:15. Click here to register.
Thursday, April 2, noon-1:15. Click here to register.
We encourage all raft program and nesting sign participants to join at least one of these two sessions. These sessions are being held exclusively for those hosting and maintaining a project raft or nest warning signs. Those with privately-owned rafts who we have assisted are also welcome to join. In these webinars, we will be reviewing the timing of raft and sign deployments and all that’s involved in maintaining a safe nesting environment for loons. The sessions will dive into two new guides we have developed, which detail maintenance of cedar and modular raft designs. We hope to have a similar guide for nest warning signs available before or soon after the webinars. We will also discuss what support and supplies are available now that the Loon Restoration Project grant has ended.
All About Look Out for Loons
Tuesday, April 7, 5-6 pm. Pre-registration required. Click here to register.
Join this virtual gathering to hear more about the “Look Out for Loons” outreach and education program and learn how you can join a growing team of volunteers throughout Maine who are working to reduce disturbance to nesting loons and increase loon survival. You’ll learn about the steps volunteers have taken to spread the word about actions we can all take to benefit loons the many different options for getting involved.
Look Out for Loons Refresher
Thursday, April 9, noon-1 pm, Pre-registration required. Click here to register.
In this session, we’ll go over what new resources are available to Look Out for Loons volunteers. We will also review strategies, information, and resources available to LOFL volunteers to help encourage lake residents and visitors to steer clear of nesting areas, slow down around loons, and fish with lead-free tackle. We hope everyone who has been involved in the LOFL program will attend and share your experiences with others. We also highly encourage you to join if you have attended a LOFL webinar in the past and want to gain confidence or learn how to get more involved.
Introduction to Surveying Loon Breeding Pairs and Nesting Outcomes
Thursday, April 9, 5-6 pm. Pre-Registration is required. Click here to register.
This session starts from scratch covering information about loon natural history and behaviors and how you can join hundreds of other volunteers who are helping us learn more about loon breeding outcomes in Maine. This session will go into more depth about all of the topics covered in the March 26 refresher course for current volunteers, including how to:
• find your pond’s survey form and the link to the online form;
• distinguish a loon breeding pair from competitors;
determine when the pair may have started nesting;
safely monitor a nest and observe loons from a safe distance;
• understand calls and behaviors;
• determine a chick’s development stage;
• respond when you find an abandoned nest or a dead, injured, entangled, or iced-in loon; and
• plan for and get help with surveys.
On the afternoon of April 27, 2003, just south of Westport, Massachusetts, an oil tanker operated by the Bouchard Transportation Company passed on the wrong side of a navigational marker and struck rocks underwater, gouging a 12-foot hole in its hull. In the hours that followed, 98,000 gallons of heavy #6 fuel flowed into Buzzards Bay.
Oil washed up along 100 miles of beaches, rocky shoreline, marshes and tidal flats. 76 loons were found dead and 128 oiled loons collected, of which only 9 survived. More oiled loons continued to be found over the summer.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) estimated that 531 Common Loons over-wintering or migrating through the area of the spill died as a result of the spill. Eighteen years later a settlement was reached with the company responsible for the spill through Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (NRDAR). The settlement from this spill led to funding for restoration of loons on their breeding grounds, and Maine Audubon was one of the funding recipients. Maine Audubon’s proposal,, A Comprehensive Approach by Maine Partners to Restore Common Loon Losses Resulting from the B-120 Oil Spill, was awarded $825,445 in July 2021.
This funding enabled our organization to work with partners and volunteers throughout the state to launch new initiatives aimed at increasing loon productivity and reducing loon deaths from lead poisoning and boat strikes. Maine Audubon partnered with Maine Lakes, Lakes Environmental Association, and the Penobscot Indian Nation to implement the Maine Loon Restoration Project, in collaboration with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The goal of the loon nesting raft program is to increase the number of loon chicks hatched by pairs that have failed to hatch chicks year after year through the placement of nesting platforms or “rafts” in territories with low nesting success. Between 2021 and 2025, we worked with more than 300 local participants to deploy rafts in more than one hundred territories and provided guidance on how to maintain and monitor the rafts for years to come. We have seen tremendous success in this program with 78 chicks hatched on rafts from breeding pairs that previously averaged only one chick every nine years. This level of success will likely continue or grow with ongoing raft monitoring and maintenance by volunteers going forward. We want to thank everyone involved for the time and commitment you have dedicated to these efforts.
Support for Current Raft Participants: Rather than placing new rafts, the focus of the raft program in 2026 and beyond is to ensure those hosting project rafts have the knowledge, skills, and support needed to monitor and maintain their raft(s) successfully. Please see ‘Upcoming Events’ for a list of scheduled webinars and training sessions. In addition, here are some resources to assist you with your raft:
Cedar Rafts:
Deployment and Maintenance Guide
One-page summary of what’s involved in cedar raft deployment, maintenance, and monitoring to help you recruit help, raise funds, or appeal to your lake association to adopt or assist with the raft.
Modular Rafts:
Deployment and Maintenance Guide
One-page summary of what’s involved in cedar raft deployment, maintenance, and monitoring to help you recruit help, raise funds, or appeal to your lake association to adopt or assist with the raft.
Let us know if you’d like to join a protected shared contact list of volunteers so you can connect with other project participants. Email loonrestoration@maineaudubon.org for a sign-up link.
We have some raft supplies remaining that will be available for pick up at Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm location in Falmouth. We may be able to mail smaller items. If your raft needs floats, anchor lines, plants, etc. this season, please email loonrestoration@maineaudubon.org to find out if we have your item in stock.
We can help! A staff member will also be available to assist you remotely. We will not have a field team or a vehicle to assist you with raft maintenance and monitoring onsite, but a staff member will be available to field calls and emails. Our partners at Lakes Environmental Association will continue to maintain eight rafts in the Sebago Lake watershed, as will staff at the Penobscot Nation Department of Natural Resources hosting rafts on tribal lakes.
Please keep in mind that placing a raft involves much more than putting it out on the water. Problems can and do happen with rafts, so it’s important to keep eyes on the raft and not leave it in the water unchecked for long time periods during the season. A raft in the wrong location can invite attacks from loon competitors, put the pair in the path of boat traffic, or subject the nest to waves and boat wakes. We have observed unmaintained privately-owned rafts that have lost buoyancy, been overcome by boat wake, broken loose, lost all nesting material, or trapped adults or chicks in parts that have come loose. In addition to proper placement and ongoing maintenance of your raft, we encourage you to visit the monitoring section of this website to learn more about how regularly survey your loon pair and raft. Monitoring will help you track how well your raft is working and shed light on issues and incidents that might occur.
Looking for a raft? We do still have a few rafts available. If you are interested in placing a raft, contact loonrestoration@maineaudubon.org. In your email, please include information about nesting outcomes and threats that may be impacting nesting success on your lake or pond, and check out this Common Loon Nesting Rafts guide or watch this video Building and Siting Artificial Nesting Platforms for Loons (opens in YouTube) to learn how to tell if a raft might be right for your pond.
Remember, loons don’t necessarily nest every year and aren’t successful at nesting 100% of the time. If a pair on your pond does not hatch chicks every year, it doesn’t necessarily mean they need a raft or would even benefit from one. Between the hard work required and the risk that rafts pose, it’s important to place rafts only where pairs have failed to hatch chicks year after year due to problems that rafts can help address like water level changes, loss of nesting habitat, predation from land animals, or onshore disturbance. Even when a pair qualifies for a raft, the platform must be well maintained and placed with consideration of territory boundaries, disturbance, wind, predators, and local support. Before getting started with a raft, please consider that rafts are a serious investment of time and take long-term active management.
Given that Common Loons are one of the most beloved creatures in Maine, it’s no surprise that hundreds of volunteers have stepped up to monitor the breeding success of loon pairs. As a result of their dedication, we know vastly more about loon productivity on Maine lakes and ponds and the threats facing loon breeding pairs throughout the state.
Between 2021 and 2025, more than 375 volunteers submitted observations of 268 loon breeding pairs and their families on more than a hundred lakes and ponds. Yet with more than 6,000 lakes in Maine, we need your help to learn more. If you’re interested in tracking a loon breeding pair on your pond and joining a vibrant community of community scientists, check out the Upcoming Programs section above to find out about monitoring training sessions and opportunities to learn how to responsibly survey loons.
If you’ve missed the online sessions, you can also check out this video recording of a previous webinar about loon breeding pair monitoring to familiarize yourself with survey methods and loon behaviors. This video can also provide a refresher for those who have monitored loon pairs in the past.
Once you’ve learned how to recognize loon behaviors and understand what they are telling us, identify chick development stages, and survey loon nests and chicks from a safe distance, here are some additional resources to help get you started:
Download a printable survey form for your lake
Email completed forms to loonrestoration@maineaudubon.org or mail to: Maine Audubon, 20 Gilsland Farm Rd., Falmouth ME 04105 attn: Loon Restoration Project
Use this Reference Sheet to help you identify loon stress behaviors, territorial signs, and chick development stages while you’re on the water.
How Close Is Too Close? Check out our brochure on loon stress behaviors and how to tell if you’re too close to a loon.
The success of this project depends on local volunteers to conduct weekly surveys of loon breeding pairs in territories where rafts and nest warning signs are placed, collecting detailed data on raft or sign condition, a loon pair’s nesting activity, success hatching chicks, chick survival, and any human disturbance. We’d also love any observations from areas without rafts and signs to help us learn where chicks hatch and survive, and provide clues as to why nesting doesn’t succeed.
Additional Loon Resources:
Look Out For Loons (LOFL) is a program of the Maine Loon Restoration Project. This program provides volunteers statewide with the tools, training, and support to reach out to community members about ways we can all help reduce disturbance to nesting loons and increase the survival of loon chicks and adults. Come join this growing and vibrant team of volunteers who engage with lake communities through presentations and workshops, information tables at events, lakeside conversations, and educational materials about the actions we can all take to increase loon nesting success and survival. A trained LOFL volunteer may also be able to help at your next event if you’re looking for help raising local loon awareness. Interested in learning more about the LOFL program and steps you can take to reduce disturbance and increase nesting success on your lake or pond?
Maine Audubon has been involved in Fish Lead Free programs for years. Between 2021-2025, we expanded the program to include more tackle exchanges, more retailers in our tackle buyback program, and an increased number of lead tackle and monofilament line collection bins at permissible lake access sites. In fact, over this five-year period, volunteers and staff collected more than 30,000 pieces of lead tackle from anglers weighing 640 lbs. and distributed 24,048 lead-free samples worth nearly $10,000 to help anglers try out lead-free alternatives.
The number of loon deaths caused by lead poisoning has been steadily declining, but there’s still more work to do. Lead poisoning is no longer the number one leading cause of death, but remains in the top three leading causes of death for adult loons.
• Interested in hosting a lead tackle exchange on your lake? We can provide brochures, stickers, and other education materials, as well as lead-free tackle to give out to people who turn in their old lead tackle. Email conserve@maineaudubon.org to start planning your event.
• Would you like to put up a lead tackle and monofilament line collection bin at your boat ramp? Maine Audubon can provide construction plans labels for your bins. Email conserve@maineaudubon.org for more information. Note: Collection bins are not allowed at MDIFW state owned boat launches. To find out who owns and operates a public boat launch anywhere in the state of Maine, click here.
• You can turn in your lead tackle at annual Sportsman’s Shows, at Maine Audubon in Falmouth, and at collection stations mounted at numerous boat launch sites. For more information about these locations, where to responsibly recycle lead tackle, and about the Fish Lead Free Initiative, go to fishleadfree.org.
From 2021-2025, Maine Audubon partnered with Maine Lakes, Lakes Environmental Association, and the Penobscot Nation on loon rafts, signs, outreach, and lead-free fishing initiatives, in collaboration with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
In addition, we would like to thank the following organizations and groups for their support and assistance:
Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary – raft design and conducted staff training programs.
Robinson Raft – Many hours of time and energy in teaching about, organizing, and coordinating the modular rafts for the project.
Kittery Trading Post – Discount on canoe purchase and top supporter of our Fish Lead Free tackle exchange program. KTP has held events resulting in over 200 lbs. of lead tackle turned in and out of Maine waters.
Loon Preservation Committee & Vermont Center for Ecostudies, and Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation – photos, information, and guidance.
Thanks also goes to the hundreds of individuals and lake associations who donated invaluable time and funds to the Loon Restoration Project and protecting loons!
