Loons & Loon Count on Cross Lake
The Maine Audubon Official loon count is always from 7-7:30 am on the third Saturday in July.


The Common Loon (Gavia immer) is the only one of five different species of loon that breeds in Maine, including Cross Lake. Adult loons eat about two pounds of fish a day. They eat whatever then can catch and whatever is most common in a lake; they aren’t fussy eaters! They find fish by sight, so water quality is very important! Loons need clean, cold water with healthy fish populations, and that is FOCL’s goal, as well!
Male loons arrive first on Cross Lake soon after ice-out and start defending their territories, which range in size from 20 to 200 acres, but average about 100 acres, with good nesting habitat, as well as quiet areas where chicks are safe from waves, predators, and disturbance. Cross Lake is 2,479 acres, so could support lots of loons with the right nesting habitat. Loons do not mate for life, and pair bonds last on average about 7 years. Loons will battle to the death to defend their territories, but more often the weaker loon gives up, and the mate left behind typically stays. Breeding loons generally return to the same lake and often the same territories they’ve used before, near the lake where they were raised.
Loon Nests and Chicks

Loon nests are typically within a foot of the water’s edge because loons are heavy and their legs are located at the very back of their body, so they move awkwardly on land. The female lays two mottled brown eggs between mid-May and mid-June, and both parents incubate the eggs for about 37 days. The oldest known nesting loon is over 30 years old!
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Chicks often ride on the backs of their parents to rest, keep warm, and avoid predators. After just a week, they can dive short distances and catch some of their own food, although the parents regularly feed them minnows and small fish. Loon chick mortality is high, with an average of one in four chicks surviving through the summer! Young loons stay with their parents as long as possible (10-12 weeks ideally), until they can fly and fish for themselves. Young loons will remain on the ocean for several years before migrating inland to lakes. They are usually 6-7 years old before securing a breeding territory or a mate.
As the days shorten, adult loons gather in large flocks. Young chicks hatched late in the season are left to fend for themselves. The large groups feed together for a month or more before flying to the ocean for the winter. Juveniles flock together later, sometimes waiting until just before ice-in to fly to the ocean. Loons spend the winter on salt water or on large rivers and reservoirs in the south. They breed across most of Canada, and in three distinct regions in the U.S. (West, Midwest, and Northeast, including just Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont).
Who doesn’t love the call of loons?!
Loons have four distinct calls they use to communicate with their families and other loons:
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Tremolo: “crazy laugh” is used to signal alarm from a perceived threat and sometimes at night to vocally advertise and defend territories.
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Wail: may be used to regain contact with a mate during night chorusing and when answering other loon calls. Sounds like, “Where are you?”
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Hoot: quiet one-note call used by family members to locate each other to check on their well-being.
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Yodel: given only by males, it’s a long, rising call with repetitive notes lasting up to six seconds, and is used to defend territory or might be heard when another male enters a loon’s territory. It is distinct for each male loon.
There are many threats to loons, including fishing line and lead fishing tackle; boat wakes, boat activity, and boat strikes; water quality and invasives; water levels; and habitat loss.
The Maine Loon Project started in 1977 and includes managing the annual Maine Loon Count (established in 1983), conducting activities to restore the population through the Maine Loon Restoration Project, outreach around loon and lake issues, and advocating at the legislature for regulations and public policies affecting Maine’s loons.
If you’d like more information about loons in general, the annual loon count on Cross Lake or other County lakes, please contact us! Cheryl St. Peter is the Maine Audubon Aroostook County Loon Count Coordinator and is always looking for loon counters on more County lakes.
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If you care about improving and protecting Cross Lake, please join us by becoming a member ($25/person annual dues) or donating any amount, joining our LakeSmart program, and/or volunteering for a committee or program that interests you.
Thank you for caring about Cross Lake!
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The information above is from Maine's Common Loon found here The Maine Loon Project, which was included in FOCL’s Welcome Packet to all Cross Lake camp owners.