Registration\u00a0for the\u00a0NY\u00a0Annual\u00a0Loon\u00a0Census\u00a0is officially\u00a0open. This year\u2019s\u00a0census\u00a0will take place from 8-9 a.m. on Saturday, July 18. This year, the deadline to register will be 5 p.m. on July 1.<\/p>\n
Last year, more than 800 volunteers participated in the\u00a0census, submitting 401 reports from 306 water bodies in New York. Last year was also the first time in the history of the\u00a0loon\u00a0census\u00a0that more than 1,000 loons were counted.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0NY\u00a0Annual\u00a0Loon\u00a0Census\u00a0started in 2001 and is organized\u00a0by the Adirondack Center for\u00a0Loon\u00a0Conservation (ACLC) based in Saranac Lake. The\u00a0annual\u00a0census\u00a0is important for creating a snapshot of the common\u00a0loon\u00a0population in New York State.\u00a0Results of the\u00a0census\u00a0are analyzed to\u00a0determine\u00a0trends in the\u00a0loon\u00a0population. <\/p>\n
Over the last two decades, the overall trend is that the population of loons in\u00a0New York\u00a0has been slowly increasing.\u00a0Because\u00a0loons\u00a0can live\u00a0for 30 to 40 years,\u00a0many of the adult\u00a0loons\u00a0currently seen on Adirondack lakes\u00a0could be\u00a0ones born in\u00a0the 1990s\u00a0as the population recovered from the effects of the insecticide DDT.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, data collected since 2001 also shows a slow decline in the presence of chicks. Loons are a slow-to-reproduce species\u00a0that face\u00a0many\u00a0threats to nesting success, including\u00a0nest flooding from increasingly prevalent torrential rain events\u00a0due to climate change.\u00a0ACLC research biologists are continuing to study potential causes of the decline in chicks, but data collected during the\u00a0census\u00a0is critical to understanding these trends over time. \u00a0<\/p>\n
New observers can log on to the new ACLC website to navigate to the\u00a0census\u00a0section of the research page or go to\u00a0adkloon.org\/research#commsci<\/a>\u00a0and follow the instructions for selecting a lake and registering.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Observers who\u00a0participated\u00a0last year will be automatically reassigned to the same lake or waterbody they\u00a0observed\u00a0in 2025.\u00a0If an observer wants to cancel their\u00a0registration, change their lake assignment or has any other questions, send an email to research@adkloon.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery\u00a0loon\u00a0you see, or don\u2019t see, tells part of a much bigger story. Our\u00a0census\u00a0is a chance for the community to contribute to real science,\u201d\u00a0said ACLC\u2019s new Senior Director of Science and Conservation, Lizz Schuyler, Ph.D. \u201cBy simply reporting what you see, you play a direct role in protecting one of the most iconic voices of the Adirondacks.\u201d<\/p>\n