Maine Audubon’s 41st annual Loon Count returned good news for Maine’s iconic water bird.
The organization estimates the population of adult loons and chicks is up from last year.
The annual Loon Count happens on the third Saturday in July, when volunteers go to lakes around the state to look and listen for loons. Maine Audubon uses the number of birds the volunteers count to estimate the regional population of the birds.
Based on tallies by 1,624 volunteers at 407 lakes, Maine Audubon estimates a population of 3,146 adults and 420 chicks for the southern half of Maine, which is roughly double the number estimated in 1983, the first year of the loon count.
Southern Maine refers to the area south of the 45th parallel, which runs just from Perry on coastal Route 1, continuing north of Old Town to Rangely in western Maine. In that area Maine Audubon has enough counters to make reliable estimates.
Maine Audubon did not provide estimates for northern Maine but said the number of lakes covered by volunteers was up by about 50 percent this year, and the tallies — 509 adults and 50 chicks on 96 lakes — can be used for reference in future years.
“When every single number associated with the Annual Loon Count goes up, scientists at Maine Audubon say it’s a great indication that the Common Loon population is healthy,” the organization said.
