This weekend, despite some unseasonably chilly weather, lots of people will be getting out on the water for the first time. Boatyards have been scrambling to get docks in and boats launched for the Memorial Day holiday. This marks the beginning of what becomes an increasingly busy season on the water in Maine. There is a lot to be aware of as more boats try to navigate around each other, fishing gear, natural hazards and wildlife. I have written several columns about boating safety in the past with much of the content around avoiding the unnatural obstacles in and on the water. This one, however, is inspired by an unusual sighting on the water: a group of loons.

The recent foggy weather hasn’t made for the nicest May, but it brought a handful of calm days along the coast that are unusual in a typically windy season of transition. On one of these days, I took the opportunity to go for a short paddle. I first spotted a couple of distinctively marked loons. Nearby, I noticed a small cluster of other birds on the water and thought at first that they were cormorants, a pretty common sighting on the water. With the fog, it was difficult to tell until I stopped paddling and sat still for a few moments. Then, it became clear that their necks were far too short and their bills far too pointy to be cormorants. When I looked past them to see the couple of loons still floating there, I recognized the similarity in shape and realized what I was seeing were a group of juvenile loons — something I’d never seen on the water. I have had the good luck to see a baby loon riding around on its mother’s back, but I was less familiar with the juveniles.

Common loons (Gavia immer) are typically loners. These large birds are easy to recognize and look rather regal floating on the water solo. They can be over 2 feet long and have elegant, black-and-white markings on their backs with a long black bill they use to catch fish and shellfish, and a bright red eye. A loon’s distinctive wavering call also easily carries over the water and helps to readily identify it. While loons are easy to recognize in their adult breeding plumage, juveniles have much more bland coloration. Their gray-brown bodies don’t stand out nearly as clearly as the adults. Juveniles are made more common by the fact that they congregate in rafts — something that many other seabirds do as well. They also stick around coastal areas for longer than the breeding adults, making it their habitat until they are mature and ready to leave for freshwater breeding grounds.

Maine’s loon population is currently in pretty good shape. However, there are concerns about changes in the environment as well as human impacts that may threaten them in the future. Because loons breed along the shore in protected quiet areas, coastal development can reduce the availability of hospitable nesting sites. In addition, shifts in water temperature and water levels resulting from climate change can threaten loon populations. Increased temperatures can impact food availability, and water levels can reduce the area of shoreline they need for nesting. Maine Sea Grant is tracking the impacts of climate change on a number of species that are designated as “indicator” species for their susceptibility to these environmental shifts. Loons are one of these on the list and community scientists are helping to document changes in their population. Sea Grant has a good fact sheet about this at extension.umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/indicator-species/loon-fact-sheet/.

This small raft of juvenile loons didn’t even seem to notice me floating nearby. I also had a perfect view of them as I was right down at the waterline in my kayak. This is not the case, however, for many other watercraft that are higher above the water, larger and faster moving. In addition to environmental factors, boats can also cause harm to loons. Collisions are fairly rare, but boaters can inadvertently cut through a group of loons, separating young chicks from the adults they still depend upon. Boat wakes also can flood or wash away nests as they come ashore. Maine Audubon produced a thorough “Loon Guide” describing both their life history and the threats to their population including from boats.

As we head into boating season this weekend, it is certainly important to take care to be safe on the water around other boaters and obstacles but equally as important to be aware of the wildlife that is not always easy to see. I’m grateful to have had the rare opportunity to see this small cluster of juvenile loons appear out of the fog.

Susan Olcott is the director of strategic partnerships at Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.