Loons are declining across most of their breeding range, a study finds

Breeding regions studied

11 regions in decline 1 region stable

Loons show substantial long-term declines in 11 of the 12 breeding regions studied, with the steepest in the Atlantic and Prairie provinces. Only northern Maine was relatively stable.

Yearly drop in chicks raised

0.5–2.5 % a year

The number of chicks per pair surviving past six weeks fell by 0.5 to 2.5 per cent a year over two to four decades, across more than 45,000 breeding records from 3,421 lakes.

"We are probably detecting the leading edge of a broad decline in the loon population that is likely to continue in coming decades," said co-author Walter Piper. Researchers suggest climate change may play a role.

— Walter Piper, study co-author

And us?

Canada holds about 94 per cent of the species, an estimated 254,000 breeding pairs, and the bird is on the one-dollar coin. Loons are not endangered, and a Birds Canada follow-up study is looking for the causes.