New Hampshire’s iconic waterfowl will be celebrated and studied Saturday, as the Loon Preservation Committee conducts an annual census on lakes across the state, then hosts its 45th annual Loon Festival in Moultonborough.

“The Loon Census is a valuable part of our annual data collection,” said LPC biologist Caroline Hughes. “It helps us to get a count of the number of paired, as well as unpaired, adult loons and loon chicks that are present in our state.” 

Unpaired adult loons are those that do not develop a bond with a mate and do not defend a territory in a given year. They are not tied to any particular lake, which makes it harder for biologists who usually focus on particular locations to get an accurate count.

The census also helps monitor the progress of known loon nests, discover previously unknown nests, check on chicks that have hatched in previous weeks, and detect new loon chicks that may have hatched since biologists last surveyed a given water body. LPC is seeking additional Loon Census volunteers, and those who are interested should call (603)476-5666 for more information.

The census creates a snapshot that gets incorporated into LPC’s summer-long monitoring.

New Hampshire’s loons have been making a long, slow comeback from the mid-1970s, when fewer than 100 nesting pairs were here. More than 320 nesting pairs have been found in recent years plus more than 100 unpaired adults. The species still faces threats, however, from ingesting lead fishing gear to development and predation.

New Hampshire’s Loon Census is part of a much larger regional effort to track the birds’ status. Maine, Vermont and New York will be holding similar census events.

The Loon Festival will be held at the Loon Center in Moultonborough from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will feature loon presentations given by LPC biologists, face painting, balloon animals, loon-themed crafts and games for kids, a Discovery Table and live animals from the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, a fun and educational display about lake ecosystems from the NH Lakes Association, and a dunk tank where a correctly-answered loon trivia question will earn participants a chance to dunk a loon biologist. Hot dogs and ice cream will be served to festival attendees courtesy of the Meredith Rotary Club. 

For further information call (603) 476-5666 or email info@loon.org.