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| Estimated results of the 2024 Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count reveal that the adult loon and chick population in the southern half of Maine, including those in Sebago Lake, has more than doubled in the past 40 years. COURTESY PHOTO |
The Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count may only last half an hour, from 7 to 7:30 a.m., but the regional coordinators spend many hours assigning people to lakes, conducting outreach, compiling and checking data, and tallying numbers, from Aroostook to York. Volunteers look for loons in every one of Maine’s 16 counties.
To determine an estimate for adult and chick population in the southern half of Maine (south of the 45th parallel, where enough lakes are covered by counters to produce a reliable estimate) Maine Audubon uses a stratified random sampling method, which has been used since 1983.
Based on those calculations, Maine Audubon estimates a population of 3,146 adults and 420 chicks for the southern half of Maine. In comparison, in 1983, it estimated a population of 1,417 adult loons and 176 loon chicks in the southern half of Maine, suggesting a doubling since the initial year of the loon count.
Audubon officials say that there is not enough coverage in the northern portion of Maine (north of the 45th parallel) to confidently provide an estimate of the loon population for that part of the state. But the number of lakes and volunteer counters is also trending up there.
Last year, Maine Audubon had 69 northern lakes counted; this year, and 353 counters gathered data for 96 northern lakes. On those lakes, volunteers tallied 509 adults and 50 chicks. This number cannot be used as a straight comparison to the south, but it can serve as a reference for changes in loon numbers on individual lakes and for northern coverage.
Maine Audubon wishes to thank the volunteers who turned out to count northern lakes and hope to see more coverage in future years.
“The data volunteers collect is used to track population trends over time,” says Maine Audubon Director of Conservation Sally Stockwell. “We expect some fluctuations year to year, but the numbers indicate a healthy loon population, with a slowly increasing adult population and relatively stable chick numbers.” Maine has the largest population of loons in the eastern United States, which makes the breeding success of loons here critical to the regional population at large.
The Common Loon faces all kinds of threats—boat strikes, nest flooding, lead tackle, eagle predation—and yet, with the help of an ever-growing volunteer base, the population remains robust.
“There are so many people looking out for loons,” says Loon Count Data Coordinator Ethan Daly. “Loons are something Mainers can appreciate and unite behind. More people are educating their neighbors, more people are involved in our loon restoration program, more people are getting rid of lead tackle, and more people are considering how shoreline management can impact freshwater ecosystems.”
All these steps can help ensure our lakes are clean and clear, which loons depend on to find and catch their prey. These efforts also help increase loon nesting success and survival. Maine’s loons are lucky to have so many incredible volunteers watching out for them.
This fall, a new law which prohibits the sale of painted lead jigs went into effect, closing a dangerous loophole. Lead poisoning has long been one of the leading causes of death for adult loons in Maine. Common Loons can ingest lost or discarded lead fishing tackle when it sinks to the bottom of a lake or pond, causing illness and death. It has been illegal to sell and/or use lead sinkers and bare “unpainted” jigs (weighing less than an ounce in weight or measuring less than 2.5 inches in length) in Maine since 2017.
Now the sale of painted lead jigs within these size and weight limitations is prohibited and the use of them will be illegal in 2026, bringing Maine’s waterways one step closer to being safer for loons. Maine Audubon is helping remove this dangerous lead tackle from circulation by buying and recycling newly illegal lead tackle directly from retailers, and by collecting old lead tackle items from anglers who want to get rid of it from their tackle boxes.
For specific information about the annual count, the Fish Lead Free program, or the Maine Loon Project, or to volunteer for projects and activities, contact conserve@maineaudubon.org or visit maineaudubon.org/loons. <
Audubon officials say that there is not enough coverage in the northern portion of Maine (north of the 45th parallel) to confidently provide an estimate of the loon population for that part of the state. But the number of lakes and volunteer counters is also trending up there.
Last year, Maine Audubon had 69 northern lakes counted; this year, and 353 counters gathered data for 96 northern lakes. On those lakes, volunteers tallied 509 adults and 50 chicks. This number cannot be used as a straight comparison to the south, but it can serve as a reference for changes in loon numbers on individual lakes and for northern coverage.
Maine Audubon wishes to thank the volunteers who turned out to count northern lakes and hope to see more coverage in future years.
“The data volunteers collect is used to track population trends over time,” says Maine Audubon Director of Conservation Sally Stockwell. “We expect some fluctuations year to year, but the numbers indicate a healthy loon population, with a slowly increasing adult population and relatively stable chick numbers.” Maine has the largest population of loons in the eastern United States, which makes the breeding success of loons here critical to the regional population at large.
The Common Loon faces all kinds of threats—boat strikes, nest flooding, lead tackle, eagle predation—and yet, with the help of an ever-growing volunteer base, the population remains robust.
“There are so many people looking out for loons,” says Loon Count Data Coordinator Ethan Daly. “Loons are something Mainers can appreciate and unite behind. More people are educating their neighbors, more people are involved in our loon restoration program, more people are getting rid of lead tackle, and more people are considering how shoreline management can impact freshwater ecosystems.”
All these steps can help ensure our lakes are clean and clear, which loons depend on to find and catch their prey. These efforts also help increase loon nesting success and survival. Maine’s loons are lucky to have so many incredible volunteers watching out for them.
This fall, a new law which prohibits the sale of painted lead jigs went into effect, closing a dangerous loophole. Lead poisoning has long been one of the leading causes of death for adult loons in Maine. Common Loons can ingest lost or discarded lead fishing tackle when it sinks to the bottom of a lake or pond, causing illness and death. It has been illegal to sell and/or use lead sinkers and bare “unpainted” jigs (weighing less than an ounce in weight or measuring less than 2.5 inches in length) in Maine since 2017.
Now the sale of painted lead jigs within these size and weight limitations is prohibited and the use of them will be illegal in 2026, bringing Maine’s waterways one step closer to being safer for loons. Maine Audubon is helping remove this dangerous lead tackle from circulation by buying and recycling newly illegal lead tackle directly from retailers, and by collecting old lead tackle items from anglers who want to get rid of it from their tackle boxes.
For specific information about the annual count, the Fish Lead Free program, or the Maine Loon Project, or to volunteer for projects and activities, contact conserve@maineaudubon.org or visit maineaudubon.org/loons. <
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