Registration for NY Annual Loon Census open now to July 1

SARANAC LAKE | Registration for this year's NY Annual Loon Census is officially open. The census will take place on Saturday, July 18, from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The deadline to register is July 1 at 5 p.m. Last year, more than 800 volunteers participated, submitting 401 reports from 306 bodies of water in New York. Last year was also the first time in the history of the census that more than 1,000 loons were counted. The NY Annual Loon Census started in 2001 and is organized by the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLC) based in Saranac Lake. The annual census is important for creating a snapshot of the common loon population in New York State. Results of the census are analyzed to determine trends in the loon population. Over the last two decades, the overall trend is that the loon populations in New York have been slowly increasing. Because loons can live 30 to 40 years, many of the adult loons currently seen on Adirondack lakes could be ones born in the 1990s as the population recovered from the effects of the insecticide DDT. However, data collected since 2001 also shows a slow decline in the presence of chicks. Loons are a slow-to-reproduce species that face many threats to nesting success, including nest flooding from increasingly prevalent torrential rain events due to climate change. ACLC research biologists are continuing to study potential causes of the decline in chicks, but data collected during the census is critical to understanding these trends over time. New observers can log on to the new ACLC website to navigate to the census section of the Research page, or go to adkloon.org/research#commsci and follow the instructions for selecting a lake and registering. Observers who participated last year will be automatically reassigned to the same lake or waterbody they observed in 2025. If an observer wants to cancel their registration, change their lake assignment, or has any other questions, send an email to research@adkloon.org. "Every loon you see, or don't see, tells part of a much bigger story. Our census is a chance for the community to contribute to real science," said ACLC's new Senior Director of Science and Conservation, Dr. Lizz Schuyler. "By simply reporting what you see, you play a direct role in protecting one of the most iconic voices of the Adirondacks." Results of the 2025 census can be viewed at adkloon.org/research#commsci.

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Registration for NY Annual Loon Census open now to July 1

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