Concluding a conversation with Linda Welch, this episode examines the dramatic decline of Common Eider populations along the Maine coast and the many interacting factors that may be contributing to their collapse. The discussion also explores how advances in tracking technology are transforming seabird research, allowing biologists to follow species movements across vast oceanic distances.
16 June 2026
Reflecting on her path into wildlife biology, Linda Welch describes how a love of animals eventually led her to a career working on Maine’s coastal islands. The conversation then turns to the growing challenges facing seabird colonies, including the spread of invasive plants and increasing predation from mink and otter, which have contributed to the decline or abandonment of some nesting islands along the Downeast coast.
Continuing a conversation with Linda Welch, this episode takes listeners inside the day-to-day work of monitoring seabirds along the Maine coast, from tracking diet and chick growth to documenting survival and productivity across multiple islands. Drawing on observations from sites like Petit Manan Island, Linda describes the seasonal timing of breeding and how food availability shapes the success of species.
by Logan Parker
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.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
In this episode, Celeste reads an essay by Rob Speirs exploring whether the apparent increase of rare birds in Maine reflects real change or simply more observers equipped with better tools. From early phone trees to modern platforms like Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird and Merlin apps, he traces how advances in communication and technology, combined with a growing and increasingly skilled birding community, have transformed the detection and documentation of avian rarities.
May 2026
