Results of the 24th Annual Loon Count

LOON COUNT 2007:  A PLEASANT SURPRISE

Loon chicks do well despite bad weather and fewer adults

While it was a cold, wet, and dark July - even in some places on count day - this year's annual loon count was not without its bright spots.

Despite thick fog and choppy waters making it difficult for some counters to spot loons, and a soggy July with temperatures in the 40s giving loons a hard time, the number of chicks counted was the highest in years. Adult numbers were down, which might, oddly enough, explain the rise in young.

Count Day '07

A huge thank you goes out to the 833 enthusiastic loon counters who went out on the morning of July 21 on 274 lakes across the state. The loon count would simply not succeed without you. Of those lakes, 245 were in the southern half of the state, where 1,466 adults and 154 chicks were spotted. Another 29 lakes in northern Maine were covered, with 191 adults and 27 chicks spotted.

Good weather on count day in many areas of the state appeared to aid counting overall, but rough conditions in places caused major difficulties for some. Heavy winds and thick fog made boat travel difficult and finding loons almost impossible - some intrepid counters stranded on land were unable to find any loons at all. Couple those conditions with a July that couldn't have been friendly to loons (with rain nearly every day and temperatures on some nights in the

40s) and it was uncertain what we'd find during the loon count.

But the results were surprising.

Fewer 'Rogues'

Using a random sample of 66 lakes surveyed in a variety of size classes, the estimate of the loon population for the southern half of the state is 2,432 adults. That is a drop of about 6 percent compared to the previous year and almost 20 percent compared to a 2005 high.

Analysis shows that most of this drop could be explained by fewer loons on the larger lakes (larger than 2,000 acres).

In a funny way, this could be a good thing for loon chicks. One explanation for the drop in adults is fewer groups of non-breeding loons wandering around big lakes. These groups of "rogue" bachelor and bachelorette loons can threaten nesting loons. If breeding loons spend time chasing these intruders out of their established territory, they risk losing their eggs or chicks to predators.

This hypothesis may be corroborated by our findings of the chick population, which was substantially higher than in 2006. Contrary to expectations, we estimated a population of 422 chicks in the southern half of the state - an almost 200 percent increase compared to the previous year and the second all-time highest number since the count started in 1983. Chick numbers increased on all sizes of lakes compared to 2006. One reason for the jump could be the difference in weather. Last year's wet June caused water levels to rise dramatically, flooding lakeside loon nests. A low chick count in the

2006 count was likely since many loons were actually sitting on their second nests at that time. June of 2007, however, was seasonable and dry, so we expect loons were successful their first time around (and more plentiful on loon count day). Many people have speculated that chicks that hatch early in the season have a better chance at survival, since they get bigger and more self sufficient by the time people descend on Maine 's lakes in force in July. Our productivity study (see article below) is just beginning to get a handle on how well loons fare in Maine and what this might mean for their future.

In the meantime, the loon count for 2007 gave us a pleasant surprise.

It's heartening to know that while we may all suffer when it rains almost every day in July, loon parents don't seem to mind and loon chicks appear to thrive.

- Susan Gallo is a wildlife biologist and director of Maine Audubon's Maine Loon Project