big stakes

In the Gulf of Maine, seabirds and whales depend on schools of sand lance, and teams of researchers keep watch — on the wildlife and their changing ecosystem

CHERYL LYN DYBAS

It’s summertime on Stellwagen Bank, 50 miles north of Chatham, Massachusetts, in the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf of Maine. As the sun rises on this late June day, the bank hosts seabirds, many of them Great Shearwaters, and humpback, finback, and minke whales. For all these species, the season depends on a feast of tiny fish called sand lance, abundant in the region at this time of year. Shearwaters wheel above the 50-foot research vessel Auk. Alongside, humpback fins and tails break the ocean’s surface. Aboard ship, researchers have a front-row seat to a simultaneous aerial and underwater ballet. While they marvel at the show, they also work to keep tabs on all the players — from huge whales to small fish — to track the health of their ecosystem at…

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BirdWatching (Digital) - 1 Issue, May/June 2023

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