Seeing a Common Loon is a joy to many, but there is one day each year when over 1,000 people set out onto Maine lakes to catch a glimpse of this bird.
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| Loons are spotted on Sebago Lake during last year's Annual Loon Count conducted by Maine Audubon volunteers. This year's event is Saturday, July 20 and more volunteers are needed. PHOTO BY ABBY WILSON |
Information on the Maine Audubon website says that “observations recorded by our community scientist volunteers provide an excellent ‘snapshot’ of Maine’s loon population.”
Audubon volunteers are tasked to set out on a boat to count loons on various lakes in Maine. But who else is involved behind the scenes to coordinate volunteers and the other aspects of the project?
Brooke Adam, Marley Cloutier, and Anne Heissenbuttel are Loon Restoration Interns for Maine Audubon.
Cloutier is a recent graduate of the University of New England’s Animal Behavior program and enjoys the subjects of ornithology and geographic information systems.
A large portion of this job entails monitoring nesting loons on lakes, which is important for many reasons.
"We have seen an uptick in lead poisoning,” Cloutier said.
“Fish Lead Free” is an initiative that encourages fishermen to stop using lead in tackle by facilitating exchange programs and delivering presentations. According to the Fish Lead Free website, “Lead poisoning is a leading cause of death for adult Common Loons in Maine.”
The Loon Restoration Interns assist nesting pairs of loons by installing rafts which help to mitigate challenges such as wildlife predation and boat wakes.
“There are two different types of rafts” says Cloutier. One is made out of a wire type material, similar to a lobster trap and the other is composed of cedar.
The rafts are floating platforms that contain soil, moss, grass, and sometimes small trees like willows to encourage better nesting productivity of loon pairs.
Some rafts have an avian guard which gives them coverage from birds of prey like eagles, but also to provide shade.
For Adam this year’s loon count is actually my introduction into a career of ornithology.
“This is a really fantastic opportunity to get my foot in the door for conservation,” she said. “We rely on volunteers to know what the pair is up to. They tend to be the first people that tell us when a pair is nesting, when a pair has arrived, when a pair gets on the natural nest or on the raft. A lot of it is up to our volunteers because we’re only a small team and we have this nice network to help us cover lakes all across Maine.”
The 2024 Annual Loon Count is scheduled for 7 a.m. Saturday, July 20. The interns will be helping to survey and coordinate for bodies of water including Sebago Lake- Maine’s deepest and second largest lake.
“Counting a lake the size of Sebago is a lot of work though as referenced by it only having been done twice in 40 years. Every year, the great challenge is to come up with the necessary number of counters,” says Brad McCurtain, the volunteer coordinator for the Sebago Lake Annual Loon Count.
With only two surveys to pull numbers from, there is not yet enough data to understand loon population patterns on Sebago Lake.
McCurtain says it is critical information right now as we’re trying to build a baseline of Sebago’s loon health and population.
“From there, the data can be studied, and we can better assess if what we’re doing now is leading to a growing, stable or declining population on the lake,” he said.
Cloutier said they still have a few spots left to cover on Sebago Lake. The lake has 49 survey areas and at least one counter is required per area.
“We are grateful to have returning volunteers this year on Sebago Lake and to have new interested parties that are enthusiastic about coming out this month. We encourage people to volunteer, get involved- it’s great for the community too. You get to meet a lot of people doing this.” says Cloutier.
Adam said the count is open to pretty much anyone so long as they have a kayak, paddleboard, motorboat, or any way to get out on the lake and survey.
“It’s really wonderful to see how many people really do care about the loons in our state. I sure did not know before I was involved in this project that there were this many people that really love loons and really want to see them succeed in Maine,” says Adam.
There are people that have been monitoring loons since the inception of the project in 1983. But new volunteers are encouraged.
To contact Maine Audubon and sign up to help out for the Annual Loon Count or to inquire about the volunteer needs of a lake near you, email the organizers at conserve@maineaudubon.org. <
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