Oceans

21/21/25: A Conversation with Seabird Researchers, 2025

This episode features a discussion with Coco and Tracey Faber, Alison Ballard, and Peyton Caylor, seabird researchers who worked on Maine’s offshore colonies this summer. Together they reflect on the role of these islands beyond nesting seabirds, describing their importance as stopovers for migrating shorebirds and staging areas for gulls. They share observations of sandpipers, plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, and other migrants, and note how islands like Eastern Egg Rock can host large flocks during peak migration.

12/14/25: A Conversation with Peyton Caylor and Colleagues, 2025

This episode begins with an interview with Peyton Caylor about her work on Matinicus Rock, comparing seabird research there with her season on the Farallon Islands. The conversation expands to include Coco and Tracey Faber from Seal Island and Matinicus Rock, and Alison Ballard from Eastern Egg Rock, as they discuss seabird dynamics across colonies, unusual visitors like the Tufted Puffin, and the parallels and contrasts between Atlantic and Pacific seabird systems.

12/7/25: A Conversation with Alison Ballard, 2025

Alison Ballard, who spent the summer supervising Eastern Egg Rock for Project Puffin, reflects on the differences between working on Matinicus Rock and Egg Rock, the unique mix of seabirds found at this nearshore colony, and the challenges of monitoring puffin productivity in such rocky terrain. She also shares insights into the colony’s growth, from new burrows to the dense nesting of puffins in limited space.

11/30/25: A Conversation with Coco and Tracey Faber, 2025, part 4

This episode is part 4 of an interview with Coco and Tracey Faber, who have spent the past decade working in Maine’s offshore seabird colonies. They reflect on broader patterns observed across years of fieldwork, including tern foraging strategies during food shortages, the recurring mid-July drop in forage fish, and the stark differences in survival between early- and late-hatched puffin chicks.

11/23/25: A Conversation with Coco and Tracey Faber, 2025, part 3

This episode is part 3 of an interview with Coco and Tracey Faber, who have spent the past decade working in Maine’s offshore seabird colonies. They discuss the challenges facing Arctic and Common Terns, from poor body condition on return from migration to storms, food shortages, and gull predation. Despite these pressures, they describe moments of resilience when chicks recovered rapidly once conditions improved.

11/16/25: A Conversation with Coco and Tracey Faber, 2025, part 2

This episode is part 2 of an interview with Coco and Tracey Faber, who have spent the past decade working in Maine’s offshore seabird colonies. They discuss the struggles and resilience of seabirds facing storms and changing conditions, share the story of a record-aged puffin still breeding at 36 years old, and reflect on long-term changes in island vegetation and tern colony numbers.

11/9/25: A Conversation with Coco and Tracey Faber, 2025, part 1

This episode is part 1 of an interview with Coco and Tracey Faber who have spent the past decade working in Maine’s offshore seabird colonies. Coco shares her experiences on Seal Island, the state’s largest puffin colony, while Tracey describes her work on nearby Matinicus Rock. Together they reflect on a season of challenges and surprises in the Gulf of Maine, from poor prey availability and storm impacts on terns and Razorbills to unexpectedly strong productivity among puffins.

10/12/25: Sailing the Maine Coast, part 7

In this episode, Glen rows and sails along Mount Desert Island’s south shore, recalling his early days learning plants and birds and the beginnings of his field ecology career. He describes the quiet rhythm of rowing and decades of ecological surveys along the Maine coast.

10/5/25: Sailing the Maine Coast, part 6

Leaving Marshall Island after a rainy night at anchor, Glen sails east toward Mason Ledge, a long-time seabird colony. Along the way, he notes loons now commonly seen on saltwater in summer, lines of Black Guillemots, and flocks of southbound Semipalmated Sandpipers.

9/28/25: Sailing the Maine Coast, part 5

Anchored in Boxam Cove on Marshall Island, Glen reflects on a rainy night lit by the glow of bioluminescent plankton. Morning brings fog, eagles, schools of fish, and the striking contrast of dark spruce forests against patches of blue sky as Glen shares the beauty and solitude of Maine’s wild offshore islands.

9/21/25: Sailing the Maine Coast, part 4

As Glen sails past Roberts and Brimstone Islands south of Vinalhaven, he reflects on decades of baseline research in collaboration with Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge—mapping vegetation, inventorying plants, and surveying birds to track long-term ecological change. Along the way, he shares the challenges of island fieldwork, a close puffin sighting far from a breeding colony, and the occasional mishap with lobster buoys.

9/14/25: Sailing the Maine Coast, part 3

Drifting in Penobscot Bay, Glen shares the sounds of a ringing bell buoy, a close encounter with harbor porpoises, and surprising concentrations of moon jellyfish. When the sea breeze arrives, he sails south of Vinalhaven, reveling in a fast and lively run along the Maine coast.

9/7/25: Sailing the Maine Coast, part 2

This episode takes listeners to a bustling gull and cormorant colony on Garden Island near the Mussel Ridge Channel, where the air is filled with noise, movement, and the pungent scent of seabird guano. Glen describes colony counts using aerial imagery and the ingenious ways cormorants keep cool on hot days, blending science with the sensory details of a summer visit.

8/31/25: Sailing the Maine Coast, part 1

In this episode, Glen shares observations about terns, cormorants, Black Guillemots, and eider as he sails Maine’s midcoast, from seabird-rich Muscongus Bay to the narrow Muscle Ridge Channel.

5/25/25: Shark Alley

Logan Parker 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.

3/30/25: John on Isle au Haut, part 2

Glen and Logan speak with John on Isle au Haut about the changes in the island's biota he has observed over the past few decades. This is the second part of their conversation.

3/23/25: John on Isle au Haut, part 1

Glen and Logan speak with John on Isle au Haut about the changes in the island's biota he has observed over the past few decades. This is the first part of their conversation.

1/5/25: Maine Seabird Crew, 2024, part 1

This episode is part 1 of an interview with Tracey Faber, Liv Ridley, and Coco Faber who are field biologists working out on offshore seabird colonies in Maine.

12/29/24: Maine Seaweeds, part 2

This episode is part 2 of an interview with Amanda Savoie and Jordan Chalfant who are field biologists working to build a field guide to the seaweeds of Maine.

12/22/24: Maine Seaweeds, part 1

This episode is part 1 of an interview with Amanda Savoie and Jordan Chalfant who are field biologists working to build a field guide to the seaweeds of Maine.