The Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Adirondack Program is seeking volunteers to help census loons on Adirondack lakes as part of the fourteenth Annual Adirondack Loon Census taking place from 8:00–9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 19.

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 help guide management decisions and policies affecting loons.

Census volunteers report on the number of adult and immature loons and loon chicks that they observe during the hour-long census. Similar loon censuses will be conducted in other states throughout the Northeast simultaneously, and inform a regional overview of the population’s current status.

Anyone interested in volunteering can get more information about how to sign up by visiting www.wcsadirondacks.org, by calling 518-891-8872, or by emailing adkloon@wcs.org.

This year, the Wildlife Conservation Society is including an additional set of questions to gather information on the types and amount of on-water recreation during the census period. This optional datasheet will be included as an extra page, and is available on the website.

The Annual Loon Census is a project of the Wildlife Conservation Society Adirondack Program and is conducted in partnership with the Biodiversity Research Institute.