Maine Audubon Releases 2017 Loon Count Results

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Out and About for the Sebago Lakes Region of Maine March 15-21
March 14, 2018
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Out and About for the Bangor Lakes Region of Maine Mar. 29-Apr. 4
March 28, 2018

Maine Audubon Releases 2017 Loon Count Results

 
On March 11, the Maine Audubon released the results of the 2017 Loon Count, an event which takes place on the third Saturday in July each year. On this day, approximately 1,000 “citizen scientist volunteers” gear up to tally common loons all across the southern half of the state (essentially south of a line that stretches from Rangeley to Calais). The Audubon then collects these tallies and uses them to calculate an estimate of a statewide loon population.
The Audubon declared 2017 as “a good year” in terms of the numbers of loons they were able to project, estimating a total of 2,817 adults and 453 chicks. When compared to previous years, these numbers remain roughly the same as they were in the years of 2016 and 2015 but are lower than they were in the years spanning from 2010 to 2014. However, when looking at long-term population statistics, the adult population of the 2017 count is seventy percent higher than it was during the first five years of the count, which ranged from 1984 to 1988.
2017 is also the third consecutive year showing an increase in the amount of loon chicks tallied across the state, but, according to the Audubon, it is typical for the chick counts to rise over time in a three or four-year cycle. This is partially due to the fact that it takes loons six to seven years to reach breeding age.
In short, the results of the 2017 count show that the population of adult loons in the state of Maine is “holding steady” which, the Audubon notes, is especially good considering the past summer was relatively dry, which causes certain nest sites to become stranded, too far from the water for loons to be able to use them.
The 2018 Loon Count is scheduled for Saturday, July 21. If you would like to get involved, you can visit the Maine Audubon’s Loon Count Page or send an e-mail to conserve@maineaudubon.org.
If you would like to contribute to the health of the loon population in Maine but are unable to participate in the Loon Count, it is important to remember that human impact on the environment (including polluted lakes, shoreline development, heavy water traffic, and discarded fishing line, hooks, and sinkers) is the greatest threat to the common loon. In 2013, Maine passed the Lead Tackle Legislation, which prohibits the sale and use of lead fishing sinkers weighing one ounce or less. It was discovered that these sinkers were the cause of one-third of the documented mortalities of common loons over the past 25 years.
If you find an injured or dead loon, do not hesitate to call Warden Services at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

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