In this episode, Logan explores the winter irruption of Bohemian Waxwings into Maine, where flocks descend from boreal breeding grounds in search of lingering fruits such as crabapples and mountain ash. He describes their gregarious behavior, fruit-based courtship rituals, and surprising presence in towns and cities, reminding us that even in winter’s apparent scarcity, the landscape still holds abundance.
Logan explores the hidden world of Eastern Meadow Voles living within the subnivean zone beneath Maine’s winter snowpack. He describes their tunnel networks, grass-lined nests, and winter survival strategies, placing these small mammals within the broader ecology of predators, seed dispersal, and seasonal population cycles.
Saturday, March 7th, 2026
In this episode, Logan introduces listeners to the robber flies—voracious predatory insects with names like “marauder,” “bandit,” and “thief”—and describes their surprising diversity in Maine, from garden-perching hammertails to the formidable marauders of the pine barrens. He also highlights their ecological value, noting how these agile hunters help keep insect populations in balance despite their fearsome reputation.
In this episode, Logan shares nighttime experiences studying whip-poor-wills in Maine’s barrens, describing the shifting soundscape, dense scrub oak nesting sites, and the remarkable protection these habitats offer to ground-nesting nightjars. He also highlights other rare wildlife that depend on these young forests, from Black Racers to New England Cottontails, underscoring the importance of conserving these resilient but vulnerable landscapes.
In this episode, Logan explores the plant communities of Maine’s pitch pine–scrub oak barrens, from fire-adapted pines and dense thickets of scrub oak to rare wildflowers, grasses, and sandplain specialists. He highlights the insects and butterflies that depend on these habitats, including several rare species, and the management efforts that help maintain these declining ecosystems.
In this episode, Logan introduces Maine’s rare pitch pine–scrub oak barrens, explaining how glacial sands, fire, and other disturbances shaped these unusual habitats and how development and fire suppression have contributed to their decline. He also reflects on how his nightjar research led him into these ecosystems, which support several rare species despite their limited extent.
August 2025
After being temporarily stranded across Moosehead Lake's Northwest Cove, Logan set out to Seboomook Island and the conclusion of his multi-trip effort to document Red-breasted Merganser breeding in Maine.
The final opportunity to document breeding Red-breasted Mergansers arrives, but events take an unexpected turn with the shifting of the wind.
The search for mergansers continues and leads to lake isles crowded with colony nesting birds on Maine's largest lake while subsequent efforts are dashed by fickle conditions.
A noteworthy observation on Moosehead Lake sparks a determined effort to document one of Maine's rarest breeding waterfowl.
June 2025
Logan explores the evolving presence of sharks in the Gulf of Maine, from childhood memories of touch-tank dogfish to the modern realities of Great White Sharks along Maine’s coast. This episode examines shifting shark populations, seal recovery, and how modern tracking research is reshaping our understanding of these apex predators.
Logan describes the character of the "wet woods" surrounding his home, spring "big nights," and his elusive four-toed neighbor.
This piece is a reflection on the ecological stirrings of early spring, centered on the thaw and renewal of a small brook. As the snowmelt surges through the brook, it awakens a vibrant world of birds, amphibians, and aquatic life, offering a fleeting season of beauty before the forest fully leafs out.
Learn about the ecoregion known as the Upper Saint John Wet Flats with Logan Parker.
Learn about the elusive Gray Fox with Logan Parker.
7 February 2025
Found atop the Western Maine Mountains and along the rugged Downeast coast, the humble mountain-ash is a boon to wildlife, large and small.
Late autumn isn't usually a time associated with butterflies, yet a few hardy species persist despite chill and frost.
Hollies have long been associated with winter celebrations, both "across the pond" and here at home. Here we introduce Maine's three native species: winterberry, mountain holly, and inkberry.
9 January 2025
Is that truly a hawk you hear? Learn the deceptive tactics jays employ to secure their share of the acorn crop.
The transition from summer to autumn ushers in more than just magnificent foliage. Join Logan on a stroll through a Maine landscape in flux.
Maine’s cuckoos are among the most secretive birds to breed within our woodlands. Here we explore their fascinating natural history through the lens of field observations.
by Lance Benner and Logan Parker
by Laura Sebastianelli and Logan Parker
by Logan Parker and Doug Hitchcox
Monitor a Nest Box on your property! Each spring, Maine experiences an influx of hundreds of migratory breeding birds, many of whom utilize cavities for nesting sites. Our state, with its rich mosaic of different habitat types, provides suitable breeding…
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - 6:30pm with David Brinker and Logan Parker
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 - 6:00pm with MNHO ecologist, Logan Parker
Thursday, April 15, 2021 at 6:00pm with MNHO ecologist, Logan Parker
Maine’s Eastern Whip-poor-wills and Common Nighthawks have undergone significant declines in recent years and MNHO is partnering with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Biodiversity Research Institute to try to figure out why and what can be done.
by Logan Parker
by Logan Parker
by Logan Parker
by Bob Duchesne
by Logan Parker
by Logan Parker
by Logan Parker
