Events

Annual Meeting

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Monthly Naturalist Happy Hours (Virtual, via Zoom)

2nd Thursday of the month, at 7:30 PM EST
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Past Events

Wednesday, April 19, 7:30 PM
Pelagic Seabirds: How to ID Those Tricky Species
with birding extraordinaire Bob Duchesne!

Join us as we host expert birder and creator of the Maine Birding Trail, Bob Duchesne! We will take a closer look at examining the unique characteristics of offshore seabirds and how to ID those tricky species such as jaegers, skuas, and petrels!

We will also learn a little bit of their life history. One major take-away is learning how to help passengers figure out what they are looking at so they can appreciate these amazing species. We get many birders on our trips, which appreciate guides pointing out those "lifer" species.

A bit about Bob:

"Upon his departure from a 31 year career in radio, Bob won a seat in the Maine House of Representatives and served six terms, chairing the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, and later the Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Committee. Today he serves on the the Maine Board of Environmental Protection.

Concurrently, Bob started a bird guiding company, and later began writing a weekly birding column for the Bangor Daily News, as well as a Woods & Waters column for Bangor Metro magazine."

Special Event on February 16, 2023: Humpback Whales of Bermuda

Presenter: Andrew Stevenson

Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 7:30 PM
The Humpback Whales of Bermuda: Abundance Estimates, Acoustic Analysis and the Need for Cetacean Conservation Measures.

 The virtual talk will be presented by Andrew Stevenson, founder of Whales Bermuda.  

Abstract:

"A visual presentation summarizing three University of Edinburgh postgraduate papers, focused on humpback whales in Bermuda and using data collected by Whales Bermuda. The first paper accesses a catalogue of some 1,500 humpback

whales identified by their unique black and white pigmentation patterns on their tails, known as fluke IDs, to review resighting data year-to-year over a ten-year period as the basis for a capture-recapture methodology to suggest annual abundance estimates of the numbers of humpbacks passing by Bermuda (a more detailed presentation will be given by Tom Grove).

Employing JASCO Autonomous Multichannel Acoustic Recorders (AMARs) deployed on the SW corner of the Bermuda seamount and on the crown of Challenger Bank, 7 and 15 miles offshore, the second paper examines the seasonal, diel, and song patterns of vocalizations of humpback whales migrating through Bermuda.

These acoustic results over a 12-month period corroborate visual data and reveal Bermuda's importance as a stopover migration site for North Atlantic humpback whales demonstrating a preponderance of nocturnal singing activity in the spring and winter months from mid-December to mid-May. Details of these results are available online in a recent Frontiers in Marine Science publication.

Finally, the third paper addresses the outcomes of the first two papers, namely the steady increase in humpback numbers and importance of song during the humpbacks' northern and southern migratory journey, and the overlap and impact of rapidly growing human activity within the marine environment as a direct physical threat as well as the acoustic masking consequences of increasing noise pollution. This pioneering study examines the need for a new Area-based Management Tool for cetacean conservation in Bermuda and the evidence to support its designation as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area."

Special Event on March 8 (new date), 2023, 7:30 PM EST:  

US Navy Marine Species Monitoring and Mitigation 

Presented by Jacqueline Bort Thorton, Natural Resources Management NAVFAC

Abstract
The U.S. Navy is responsible for compliance with a suite of Federal environmental laws and regulations that apply to marine mammals and other species, including the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The Navy's Marine Species Monitoring Program is a part of the regulatory compliance process associated with these Acts. The program consists of a collection of broad studies intended to address questions such as whether or not marine mammals and sea turtles are exposed to mid-frequency sonar at levels that result in adverse effects, and what are the behavioral responses, if any, of that exposure. Monitoring methods used across the range complex monitoring plans include a combination of field techniques designed support range complex-specific monitoring as well as contribute data and information to the broader scientific community. These field methods include but are not limited to: visual surveys, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), short and long-term animal tagging, biopsy sampling, and photo identification. This talk will focus on the monitoring program overall, as well as a review of mitigation measures in place during Navy training and testing at sea.

Contact us for more info on this talk