The Importance of Loon Counting
Every year on the 3rd Saturday of July, Loon Counters across the state count loons and report their findings.
In the aggregate, these data give biologist a great view of the vitality of the loon population. The data have significance at the lake level too – loons are the canary in the coal mine.
Normally, loons return to the same lake each year. However as loons use sight to fish underwater, they will leave a lake that has poor water clarity or poor fish stocks. Thus a declining loon population can herald a decline in water quality.
Our library of Loon Conservation resources can be found here.