Saranac Lake, NY – Registration for the NY Annual Loon Census will open on May 21 for all new census observers. The census will take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, from 8 to 9 a.m. and is an opportunity to participate in community science that contributes to our understanding of the common loon population in the Adirondacks.
The Annual Loon Census started in 2001 and is organized by the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLC) based in Saranac Lake, NY.
Observers who participated last year will be automatically reassigned to the same lake or waterbody they observed in 2024. If an observer wants to cancel their registration, change their lake assignment, or has any other questions, send an email to research@adkloon.org.
New observers can log on to the ACLC website or go to adkloon.org/ny-loon-census on May 21 and follow the instructions for selecting a lake and registering.
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 population of loons in NY has 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.
While the number of adult loons reported on census lakes remains high, the percentage of lakes where young loons have been observed has been gradually declining over the last couple of years. 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.
In 2024, 29 percent of all confirmed and suspected nest failures were due to flooding from water level rise.
In 2024, 647 people volunteered as observers on 255 lakes and submitted 326 reports. A total of 843 loons were counted, 85 percent of which were adults, 13 percent were chicks, and two percent were immature loons.
“The NY Annual Loon Census is a community science project that relies heavily on dedicated observers like you to help us gain insight into potential trends in the Adirondack loon population,” said ACLC Research Biologist Griffin Archambault. “Having a greater number of observers cover a greater number of lakes increases our ability to identify potential trends, so please consider signing up and helping us with this effort!”
Results of the 2024 census are now available to view at adkloon.org/ny-loon-census-results.
The Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation is a 501(c)3 non-profit that conducts scientific research and engaging educational programming to promote and inspire passion for the conservation of Common Loons (Gavia immer) in and beyond New York’s Adirondack Park.
To learn more about the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation visit www.adkloon.org or www.facebook.com/adkloon, or contact info@adkloon.org or (518) 354-8636. The Adirondack Loon Center at 75 Main Street in Saranac Lake is free to visit.
Photo at top: Researchers use census data to track trends in the New York loon population. Photo provided by the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation.