Elliot Johnston

10/19/25: A Discussion with Elliot Johnston

Elliot, an ecologist at Maine Natural History Observatory, discusses his work on purple sandpipers, island songbirds, and upcoming research on mammals and Black Guillemots. He also reflects on his path into field biology, from backyard bird feeders to graduate school at the University of Maine, and shares his perspective on Maine’s islands as unique self-contained ecosystems with rich opportunities for future research.

Purple Sandpiper Surveys

Repeating Historical Purple Sandpiper Surveys to Update Status of Overwintering Population In the early 2000s, Glen Mittelhauser and collaborators at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife conducted the first systematic survey of coastal Maine to document the distribution…

Coastal Songbirds

Maine's small islands—particularly those along the Downeast coast—may act as important refuge from climate change for boreal bird species...