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 of Mount Desert, Maine, 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 volunteer citizen-scientists who help monitor loon nesting sites on Mount Desert Island.  Volunteers and Sanctuary staff watch the loons throughout their 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.

Data summaries up to 2014 are available here.

View John Rivers loon photographs from MDI’s 2013 nesting season here.