More loons are filling Maine’s lakes with their ghost-like calls
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Loons are on the mend in Maine, filling more of the state’s lakes and ponds with their haunting calls, although conservation organizations say the birds are not yet out of the woods.
Maine is home to a few thousand of the distinctive black and white waterfowl — the largest population of loons on the East Coast — and conservationists said efforts to protect them from threats have helped boost the population. An annual count of common loons found more adults and chicks this year than last, Maine Audubon said this week.
The group said it estimated the population in the southern half of Maine at 3,174 adult loons and 568 chicks. Audubon bases its count on the southern part of Maine because there are enough bird counters to get a reliable number. The count is more than twice as high as when counts began in 1983, and the number of adult loons is up 13 percent from 10 years ago.
“We are cautiously optimistic after seeing two years of growth in chick numbers,” said Tracy Hart, Maine Audubon wildlife ecologist. “But it will be several more years before we know whether this is a real upward trend, or just two very good years.”
Maine lawmakers have tried to increase the loon population by banning lead fishing tackle that the birds sometimes accidentally swallow. Laws that limit boat speeds have also helped because they prevent boat wakes from washing away nests, conservation groups say.
It’s still too early to know whether Maine’s loons are on a path to sustainable recovery, and the success of the state’s breeding loons is critical for the population as a whole, Hart said. Maine has thousands more loons than other New England states, with the other five states accounting for about 1,000 adults. The state is home to one of the largest loon populations in the United States, totaling approximately 27,000 breeding adults.
Minnesota has the most loons among the lower 48 states, with a fairly stable population of about 12,000 adults, but they are declining in some parts of their range.
Although loons are not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, they are considered threatened by some states, including New Hampshire and Michigan. The United States Forest Service also considers the common loon a sensitive species.
The birds migrate to the ocean in late fall and need a long runway to take off, which means winter can be a dangerous time for the birds because they are trapped by ice in the lakes and ponds where they breed, said Barb Haney, executive director of Avian Haven, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Freedom, Maine.
“We get a lot of calls about loons that are frozen,” Haney said, adding that the center was caring for one such patient this week.
