MISQUAH — The first loon chicks of the season were sighted on Big Pelican over the weekend — two of them, riding low on their mother’s back near the Loon Ridge shoreline — prompting the Chain’s loon-count volunteers to revise their tally upward and the resort, once again, to ask its guests to slow down.

Loons nest at the water’s edge and are vulnerable to wave action from passing boats, which can wash out nests and separate chicks from parents. The Department of Natural Resources reminds boaters that the marked no-wake zones near nesting areas are in force through midsummer, and that the chicks, in the words of the area wildlife officer, “did not sign up for a wake.”

Loon Ridge general manager Renée Fontaine said the resort had posted additional reminders at the marina and the boat rental and would “gently mention it” to guests heading out. The geese on the seventh fairway, asked to comment, did not.

Volunteers will hold the annual Chain-wide loon count Monday at dawn from the public landings. The loons, as in every prior year, are not expected to cooperate and will be estimated.