The Mount Desert Island Loon Monitoring Project began in 2002 as a collaboration between BioDiversity Research Institute of Gorham, Maine, the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary, and Acadia National Park. The goal was to acquire reproductive population data of Mount Desert Island’s nesting loons for comparison with Maine state-wide averages.
Each spring and summer the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary staff coordinates a group of committed volunteers and partner organizations to help monitor loon nesting sites on Mount Desert Island. Volunteers and Sanctuary staff watch the loons throughout the nesting season, recording information on behavior, nesting success, and disturbance issues. For more information on how you can help support loon conservation and research on Mount Desert Island, contact the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary.
We conduct regular surveys for territorial behavior, nesting efforts, chick survival with thorough documentation of observations; assist with volunteer and partner coordination.
The Downeast Loon Necropsy Collaborative (that works with College of the Atlantic, Dr. Mark Pokras, and other partners), and the Center for Wildlife (https://www.thecenterforwildlife.org/) in southern Maine try to keep up with the search for causes of loon deaths; indications of health, disease, and injury; and collection of tissues for later analysis by many researchers across the continent. Loon health is a good indicator of the health of their habitats – aquatic and marine.
Lead poisoning of loons is being recorded and documented as part of this collaborative. Learn more.
2024 MDI Loon Monitoring Data
2023 MDI Loon Monitoring Data
Loon Productivity Data
Most Productive Lakes
2002-2014 MDI Loon Data