Loon Census - Loon Monitoring on Lake George

Loon photo by census volunteers Bob and Jen Metivier

The 2012 census will take place on Saturday, July 21.

The Lake George Association (LGA), helps organize volunteers to count loons on Lake George as part of an annual monitoring program aimed at determining the relative health of the population of this signature Adirondack bird.  This program is part of the Annual Loon Census of the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program.

Since 2007, LGA has helped to coordinate volunteers for the Adirondack Annual Common Loon Census each summer.  With so many miles of shoreline around the lake, it helps to have a local coordinator.  Now housed under the newly created Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation at the Biodiversity Research Institute, the census continues to provide researchers and managers with valuable data about loons in the North Country. Click here for more info about the program. 

Check out these publications about loons in the Adirondacks

• Loons and People: Guidelines for "Nesting" Together on Adirondack Lakes (report) - pdf
• Loons and People: Guidelines for "Nesting" Together on Adirondack Lakes (brochure) - pdf
• The Common Loon in the Adirondack Park - pdf
• The Cycle of the Common Loon (brochure) - pdf
• Get the lead out! (brochure) - pdf

The official counts are published in the annual report of the loon census. The census is the third Saturday of July.

Lake George has been included in the census since 2004. No loons were recorded on Lake George for the 2004 census and only one loon was recorded in the 2005 census. In 2006, three adult loons and one immature loon were seen on Lake George. In 2007, the number increased to five. Over time, these numbers will indicate trends in the loon population that will help with management efforts if needed.
Click here for a summary of the 2001-2009 Census Results.

For more info about the ACLP or the annual loon census, go to the Biodiversity Research Institute website.