The lake is still – so still a casually thrown pebble would shatter its slick surface into a thousand outward ripples, blending and erasing the smudged reflections of the trees that line its shore.

It is 6:30 on a Saturday morning – much too early for some. But Raymond resident Jack Quirk has downed his coffee and is preparing to count the loons on Thomas Pond.

Quirk, human resources director of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, has been a volunteer counter for Maine Audubon’s annual loon count since 1996.

“A friend of mine got me interested,” Quirk said. “He knew I liked being outdoors.”

Quirk joins over 1,000 other Maine volunteers who count adult loons and their chicks from 7 to 7:30 a.m. on this one morning a year.

“The volunteers don’t get much training,” said Susan Gallo, wildlife biologist and director of the Maine Loon Project for Maine Audubon. “They get lake maps to record where they saw the loons and what time. For the most part the loons are easy to identify, but if we get a report of a loon with ten chicks, we know it’s a merganser.” On average, loons hatch only one chick every other year.

This year, the group anticipates fewer numbers of chicks because lake levels were high this spring, flooding nesting sites and washing away existing nests. According to Gallo, there are currently 4,300 loons in Maine.

Once the organization receives the raw data from the count, they work through an array of mathematical computations to make a statewide estimate that can be compared to other years.

Now after 22 years of counting, the project has the data to help them “keep on top of clean water and mercury issues.”

Lakes in Maine have higher mercury levels than any others in the country, according to the Maine Audubon’s information on the common loon, available on their Web site, www.maineaudubon.org.

Because fish ingest and absorb mercury from the water and loons subside almost exclusively on fish, many loons have high mercury levels, as well. This renders them less successful in reproducing.

These high mercury levels are also a red flag for humans.

“Loons are the first thing to tell us when there’s a problem,” said Quirk. “It’s like the canary in the coal mine.”

As he heads away from the dock, Quirk scrutinizes the shoreline with his binoculars. He knows every cove, every outcrop that has been host to loons.

Within minutes he spots a pair, too far away to be seen without magnification. He notes them on his map and moves on.

Continuing his lazy pace around the lake, Quirk searches for more in vain. At the end of the half-hour, he has only seen the two.

The greatest number of loons Quirk has ever counted in the allotted time is seven – “a pair and five bachelors.” On Saturday, he tied his record for the fewest.

Back at his house, Quirk stresses the importance of loons. Not only are they indicators of potential danger to humans, as with the high mercury levels, but their decline would hurt property values and Maine’s tourist business, as well.

“If we could get people to be conscious about that now,” said Quirk. “It’s great how loons are on the pond. And you can see them with a pair of 7×35 binoculars. Getting your boat up close to them disrupts their life. Getting up close is not a good thing to do.”

If you would like to participate as a volunteer in the 2006 loon count, call Susan Gallo at 781-2330, extension 216 for more information.

Raymond resident Jack Quirk looks for loons on Thomas Pond in Casco. Quirk is one of over 1,000 volunteers who participate in Maine Audubon

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