If you find or hear about a sick, injured, or entangled loon, report it to one or more of the following entities for assistance. Be ready to provide your name, the loon’s location, any photos or video, whether it’s an adult or chick and any other details you have. You should not attempt to approach, care for, or feed the loon.
Contact:
Should you ever find a dead loon, please contact the following to find out if someone is available to recover the carcass:
Please know that you are doing a great service to loons by reporting deaths. Necropsies (“autopsies”) of loon carcasses can provide vital information about the cause of death, which is essential for tracking threats to loons on Maine lakes and targeting loon conservation efforts.
Do not touch or collect the dead loon. Certain diseases, like Avian Influenza, can be spread through touch and/or contamination via clothes. Please allow DIFW or BRI handle collection and transportation.
Please take photos of the loon and note the location, whether it has colored bands on its legs, and if there are any other clues as to what caused the loon’s death. This information helps us determine what may have happened–and what might be done in the future to prevent such deaths. It is important that dead loons be recovered whenever possible and at any stage of decomposition.
Currently the Biodiversity Research Institute (207.839.7600) is the only organization in Maine that is officially engaged in loon ice rescues, however, a number of local groups, fire departments, and other entities have been training for and assisting ice rescues. BRI may be able to connect you. Note that ice rescues are dangerous and there are only certain conditions where an ice rescue can be conducted safely. A rescue won’t be attempted until the loon is iced into a small, contained area, if the ice is too thin to support people and equipment, or if the loon is too far from shore. Do not attempt an ice rescue on your own.
Please do not collect loon eggs that you find floating or find on a nest that you believe to be abandoned! Egg collection is not allowed/permitted by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife under state law. Instead, please take a photo and mark the location and send the information to Maine Audubon at conserve@maineaudubon.org along with the approximate date and cause or suspected cause of the nest abandonment or the egg out of the nest.
Boaters must not produce wake or exceed “headway” speeds within 200 feet of shore, islands, or other restricted areas. Maine law states that boaters may not pursue or otherwise harass wildlife. There are also prohibitions on certain types of watercraft and horsepower use on various lakes across the state. To review these prohibitions, review The Boaters Guide to Maine Boating Laws and Responsibilities.
To report behavior that endangers loons, causes loons to leave their nest, violates wake restrictions, or other violations contact the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at 207.287.8000. Please also report the incident to Maine Audubon at loonrestoration@maineaudubon.org.
When reporting an incident provide a description of the location, event, boat identifying characteristics, registration number, names, and outcome if possible. Record a video of the incident from a safe distance if possible and take photos.