Loon Monitoring on Lake George as part of the Annual Loon Census for the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program (ACLP)

Volunteers, organized by the Lake George Association (LGA), counted loons on Lake George as part of an annual monitoring program aimed at determining the relative health of the population of the signature Adirondack bird.

(See loon photos submitted by our volunteers.)

On Saturday, July 21st the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program's (ACLP) Annual Summer Loon Census took place for the 7th year throughout the Adirondack Park. Volunteers on over 200 lakes and ponds across the park monitored from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and recorded the number of adults, chicks, and immature loons that they observed. Over time, these numbers will indicate trends in the loon population that will help with management efforts if needed.

For this year's census, the Lake George Association offered to organize volunteers to monitor Lake George. Most lakes that participate in the program only need one volunteer; however, since Lake George is one of the larger participating lakes, more than one volunteer is needed to adequately cover the lake. In past years, only portions of the lake in the narrows and North basin have been monitored.

For 2007, the LGA coordinated coverage of fourteen locations from Dunhams Bay in the southern basin to Mossy Point in the north. Volunteers were assigned to different stretches of shoreline in order to assure a greater coverage but avoid overlap and counting the same loon more than once.

Lake George has been included in the census since 2004. No loons were recorded on Lake George for the 2004 census and only 1 loon was recorded in the 2005 census. In 2006, three adult loons and one immature loon were seen on Lake George.

So far this year, the unofficial number of observed loons increased to five. (See loon photos submitted by our volunteers.) This is the number reported to the LGA by volunteers. It is considered unofficial until the ACLP issues its own report. One pair of an adult and an immature adult were seen in Northwest Bay on the eastern side and one lone adult was also seen on the western side of the bay. One immature adult was seen in Gull Bay and one adult was seen in the bay by the Roger's Rock campgrounds.

The official results will be posted on the ACLP's website once they compile all of the data for the 2007 census. For more info about the ACLP or the annual loon census, go to www.adkscience.org.