By Kathryn Skelton,Staff Writer
1,000 volunteers participate in the Maine Audubon loon count.

Two eggs in a nest on Thompson Lake hatched just in time for Saturday’s official loon count.

One thousand volunteers – nicknamed “loon rangers” by the Maine Audubon – hit lakes and ponds across the state first thing in the morning. Everything in the water from 7 to 7:30 a.m. got counted.

Since 1983, the state and Audubon have tallied the loon population, which was estimated last year at 4,300 adults, about the same as 2003.

“Having chicks is very exciting because it means the population is growing,” said Peggy Dorf, a Thompson Lake count organizer. She said babies will ride on their parents’ backs until they’re ready to swim.

Dan Fortin counted 18 adults and two chicks on Lake Auburn, more than last year, but he was still slightly disappointed. In a test count Wednesday, he found four chicks. He wanted to find all four again.

“I got loons mad at me today, I got a little too close. They really take charge and start hollering,” he said. The message: “Back off.” So he did.

Fortin works for the Auburn Water District and used a lake patrol boat. In his job, he’s out testing water once a week and looking for people tempted to swim on hot days (no body contact allowed since it’s drinking water).

He was surprised to find most of the loons hanging out together in two big clusters.

Taylor Pond in Auburn had one solo loon, which Peter Durgin, his wife and a friend found with the help of a kayaker. The couple has gone on the water to count each year since 1987.

Durgin suspects he’s had the same loon watch him while he fishes, waiting patiently for Durgin to reel one in and release it.

“If you catch a fish and you tire it out, they have a free meal,” he said. “There’s always one here yodeling; they put up quite a tune.”

Janet Cutter has put a loon nest out on Pleasant Pond for years. A mating pair laid two loons there this year, one of which hatched. After the little one gets the feel of the water, “then they move to a place over across the pond I call the nursery.’ It’s got mountains,” she said. Those three were the only ones she found.

Conditions were “smooth as glass, clear, just beautiful” for counting, she added.

Loons in Maine face threats from boaters, lead sinkers and shoreline development. A wildlife biologist at the Audubon said in a news release that this has been a tough year for loons, with high water threatening nests.