On Saturday between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., teams of volunteers went out on area lakes to count loons, and their findings will be tallied by regional coordinators in the coming weeks to determine an estimate for the loon population in southern Maine, which will be analyzed by Maine Audubon.

Susan Gallo, a wildlife biologist at Maine Audubon, said the day was perfect for counting.

“We’re always more confident when conditions for counting are good. It’s risky, because there’s no rain date for the count,” she said.

Although the official number of loons in the Lakes Region will take weeks to tally, Gallo said that based on the past few years, she has “no reason to believe that the population is getting smaller.”

“There’s been a slow, steady increase in the population. We counted about 3,000 loons in southern Maine last year. It’s the most we’ve ever had,” she said.

The figures below were provided by Maine Audubon through the University of Maine’s database, PEARL:

Sebago Lake

2001: 2 adult loons

2002: 1 adult loon

2003: 7 adult loons

2004: 9 adult loons and 2 chicks

Little Sebago Lake

2001: 13 adult loons and 2 chicks

2002: 20 adult loons and 6 chicks

2003: 16 adult loons and 2 chicks

2004: 21 adult loons and 5 chicks

Highland Lake

2001: 15 adult loons and 4 chicks

2002: 17 adult loons and 5 chicks

2003: 18 adult loons and 1 chick

2004: 9 adult loons and 2 chicks

Panther Pond

2001: 5 adult loons

2002: 6 adult loons and 1 chick

2003: 6 adult loons and 2 chicks

2004: 5 adult loons and 0 chicks

Raymond Pond

2001: 6 adult loons

2002: 5 adult loons and 2 chicks

2003: 10 adult loons

2004: 5 adult loons

According to Gallo, counters cover more than 300 lakes each summer around Maine.

“Maine Audubon takes a random sample of the count data from these lakes to generate an estimate of the loon population in the southern half of the state… so even though we don’t come even close to counting all the lakes in Maine, and even though the number of loon counters changes from year to year, our estimate is based on a sample of lakes in different size classes, so we’re assured of a reliable estimate,” she said.

Forest Lake, which touches Windham, Gray and Cumberland, has at least one set of nesting loons. According to Bob Heyner, trustee for the Forest Lake Association and loon counter for the last two years, the presence of loons on his lake is a trustworthy indicator that Forest Lake’s water quality is healthy.

“I’ve lived here for 13 years and every year there have always been loons,” Heyner said. “Our lake is above average for water quality. The loons wouldn’t be here if the lake was polluted.”

Heyner, who is in charge of tracking water quality on the lake, said Forest Lake’s e coli bacteria count is 16 colonies of coliform bacteria per 100 milliters. Other areas of the lake this year had even lower readings of 14 and 9 colonies. That is well below the state’s allowed maximum of 235 colonies.

This season, Heyner has witnessed three loons nesting or swimming on the lake, but Saturday’s annual loon count yielded only one loon.

Loons on Forest Lake tend to hover around moving water such as dams and inlets or in grassy areas – places their main food supply, fish, tend to populate.

“If the loons are catching fish, then you may catch one, too, in the general area,” he said.

Mercury levels in Forest Lake are above where lake stewards would like to see them, which is similar to most lakes in Maine. As a result, loons, which feed almost exclusively on fish, have high levels of mercury in their systems.

“The loons themselves are healthy, but we are finding high levels of mercury in the loons because they eat a lot of fish. The food chain carries a lot of mercury,” Heyner said.

Loons, which in the fall leave inland lakes for the ocean and return after ice-out, tend to build their nests safe from potential predators. On Forest Lake, loons have traditionally chosen Loon Island, a quiet spot separated from the densely populated shoreline.

“They like to nest on islands so predators can’t get their chicks. If they nested on shore, the cats, dogs, foxes and other predators would be more numerous,” Heyner said.

According to Maine Audubon’s Gallo, loons tend to lay their eggs from May 15 to June 15, and sit on their eggs for about a month before they hatch.

For more information concerning loons around the Lakes Region, go to www.pearl.maine.edu, or www.maineaudubon.org.

Bob Heyner, a resident of Forest Lake in Windham, checks for loons on the lake Saturday morning. Heyner is one of hundreds of Mainers who counted last weekend as part of Maine Audubon’s annual loon count.

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