Nature Notes: A Maine Naturalist Afield 5/31/26: Seabird Management in a warming Gulf of Maine, Part 1

Host/Producer: Glen Mittelhauser

Glen speaks with seabird biologist Linda Welch about her long-term work at Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, tracing her career from early research on contaminants in Bald Eagle populations to nearly three decades studying breeding seabirds along the Maine coast. Linda talks about the remarkable recovery of eagles, the life-history strategies of long-lived seabirds like Atlantic Puffins and Arctic Terns, and the growing challenges these species face as the warming Gulf of Maine alters food availability and reproductive success.

More information about Maine Natural History can be found at mainenaturalhistory.org.

About the hosts:
Glen Mittelhauser founded Maine Natural History Observatory (MNHO) in 2003 to fill the need for an organization that specializes in collecting, interpreting, and maintaining datasets for understanding changes in Maine’s plant and wildlife populations. Glen received his Bachelor’s in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic in 1989 with a focus in the biological sciences and received his Master of Science degree in Zoology (with a focus on ornithology and statistics) from the University of Maine in 2000. Glen was the Managing Editor for Northeastern Naturalist and Southeastern Naturalist for 18 years and has served as external graduate faculty for 3 graduate student committees at the University of Maine. Glen currently serves on the Baxter State Park Research Committee.

Logan Parker is an Ecologist residing in Waldo County, Maine. Logan started the Maine Nightjar Monitoring Project in 2017 and brought the project (and his passion for bird conservation) to MNHO when he joined the team in 2018. Logan is heavily involved in the ongoing Maine Bird Atlas where he both coordinates and participates in the project’s special species surveys. When “off the clock”, Logan enjoys birding, writing, gardening, and working alongside his wife, Hallee, on their off-grid home in the Maine woods. Logan is also a wildlife photographer and shares photos and field notes through his project, Here In The Wild.