The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program announces a call for volunteers to survey loons on Adirondack lakes as part of the 18th Annual Adirondack Loon Census. The event will take place on Saturday, July 21, 2018, from 8:00-9:00 a.m. Participants can choose from a list of available lakes and ponds in the Adirondack region to sign up for and survey.

With the help of local Adirondack residents and visitor volunteers, the census enables WCS to collect important data on the status of the breeding loon population in and around the Adirondack Park and across New York State. The results guide management decisions and policies affecting loons.  

During the census, volunteers will report on the number of adult and immature loons and loon chicks that they observe. Other states will conduct similar loon censuses simultaneously, and the results will be collated to create a regional overview of the loon’s population status.

Anyone interested in volunteering can learn how to sign up by visiting www.wcsadirondacks.org, or by calling 518-891-8874 ext. 106 or emailing wcsaccp@gmail.com.  

 “We gain an important regional picture of the loon population each year through the Annual Loon Census,” says Zoë Smith, Director of WCS’s Adirondack Program.  “We are indebted to the hundreds of volunteers who participate as citizen scientists in this important research.  Only through the participation of this dedicated group of volunteers, are we able to assemble so much valuable information to help guide future management decisions.” 

The census has been conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society Adirondack Program since 2001, in collaboration with the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation in Saranac Lake. With the upcoming closure of the WCS Adirondack Program office in September 2018, the loon census will be conducted by the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation. “We want to ensure the continuation of the loon census for future years, and will be working with the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation in Saranac Lake to do that,” says Carrianne Pershyn, Coordinator of the Loon Census for WCS’s Adirondack Program.  “We've also been working together to bring the census digital - with a website to view lakes and past results, and an online form for observers to upload their data. We are trying to ensure that happens and can be a legacy of our work here in the Adirondacks”.

For live updates, follow @wcs_adirondacks on Twitter and Instagram.

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