Register now for a FREE OLLI LECTURE "How Thinking Like a Puffin Saves Seabirds" by Dr. Stephen Kress on Wednesday, January 20 at 3 PM.
(Registration information at the bottom of this page.)
Worldwide, about one-third of all seabird species are now globally threatened because of the effects of invasive predatory mammals, marine pollution, coastal development, and climate change. Against this grim background, Dr. Kress’s presentation about the restoration of Maine seabirds offers hope and inspiration that people also have the capacity to bring seabirds back to some of their historic nesting places and to be better stewards of nesting islands and the essential forage fish which seabirds require. The methods used to bring puffins and terns back to Maine islands are now used worldwide, and he will share a few of these exciting restoration projects.
Dr. Kress will also discuss insights into the Gulf of Maine's changing marine climate as revealed by Maine seabirds. His research has shown revelations about the connections between warm water, plankton blooms, and the forage fish, seabirds, and all coastal life. He will also share the discovery of where the puffins that nest in Maine spend their winter and how this helped to establish the first marine national monument on the east coast- the ‘Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument.’
STEPHEN KRESS is the founder of the National Audubon Society’s Project Puffin and a Visiting Fellow of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. He previously served as Vice-President for Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society and Director of the Hog Island Audubon Camp in Bremen, Maine. His career focus is the development of techniques for managing nesting seabirds. Hundreds of professional seabird biologists can trace their first interest in seabirds to internships with Project Puffin, and the many innovative seabird conservation methods that he developed in Maine are now standard practice worldwide. Dr. Kress received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and his Master’s and undergraduate degrees from Ohio State University. He is co-author with Derrick Z. Jackson of Project Puffin: The Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird back to Egg Rock and the recently published ‘The Puffin Plan,’ his autobiography for 12+ readers. He is also the author of many books on bird watching, gardening for birds, online courses about birds, and scientific papers about seabird conservation.
TO REGISTER:
You can register by sending an email with your name to olliatusm@maine.edu. We will send you a link to the lecture on January 19.
Registration closes on January 18 at 5 PM, so be sure to register now.
Please contact Donna Anderson at donna.anderson@maine.edu if you have any questions!