Annual loon count needs counters in Hancock County BAR HARBOR—As signs of spring emerge, loons return from their wintering grounds to start raising families across Maine’s lake landscapes. That’s also a sign for Maine Audubon to begin gearing up for one of its signature events—the Maine Annual Loon Count. Scheduled for Saturday, July 17, from 7–7:30 a.m., this event has engaged more than a thousand volunteers for nearly four decades in a yearly census of Maine’s common loon population. Participants head out in skiffs, kayaks and pontoon boats to tally the loons they sight on more than 300 lakes across the state.