Loon Count
On the morning of the third Saturday of July each year,
over 1,400 volunteers statewide venture onto lakes and ponds across the state to count loons.
Join us – We can use your help for this year’s count on Thompson Lake.
On the morning of the third Saturday of July each year,
over 1,400 volunteers statewide venture onto lakes and ponds across the state to count loons.
Join us – We can use your help for this year’s count on Thompson Lake.
History of the Loon Count
The Maine Audubon Loon Count began in 1983 as a volunteer-based citizen science effort to better understand and protect the state’s iconic common loon population. Launched in response to growing concerns about human disturbance, shoreline development, and environmental threats to loon nesting success, the program trained volunteers to observe and record loon activity on lakes across Maine during the breeding season. Over the decades, the Loon Count has grown into one of the longest running wildlife monitoring programs in the state, providing critical long-term data on loon population trends and reproductive success. This information has helped guide conservation policies, lake management practices, and public education efforts aimed at ensuring loons remain a lasting symbol of Maine’s natural heritage.
2025 Loon Count
The 42nd Annual Loon Count took place on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Maine Audubon estimated a population of 3,174 adult Common Loons and 568 chicks in the southern half of Maine. Each year, the count focuses on the area south of the 45th parallel—roughly a line from Rangeley to Calais—where enough lakes are monitored by volunteer counters to produce a reliable population estimate. By comparison, when the count began in 1983, the estimated population in this same region was 1,417 adult loons and 176 chicks, indicating that the Common Loon population in southern Maine has more than doubled over the past four decades.
For more than 42 years, citizen scientists have helped collect invaluable data to chart the status of Maine’s loon population over time. Information compliments of the Maine Audubon Association.
Results from the 2025 Loon Count
If interested in participating in the Annual Loon Count, please contact Peggy Dorf at TLEA.
Above graph sourced from The Maine Audubon
Loon population on Thompson Lake from 1983-Present
