Sarah Kelting and Sara Winchenback study herring gulls on the rooftops of Portland

Sarah Kelting (Environmental Science ’14) and Sara Winchenbach (Animal Behavior ’12) are currently working with Noah Perlut, Ph.D., assistant professor of Environmental Studies and Margaret Friar, Ph.D., associate lecturer in Biology, on the second year of a research project that explores the costs and benefits of roof-top nesting by herring gulls. Kelting’s involvement in the project is supported by a College of Arts and Sciences student summer research grant.

While herring gulls traditionally nest on islands—not on the mainland—Kelting and Winchenbach are studying a group of herring gulls who have made several buildings in Portland their home.  The Portland Museum of Art building, in particular, has attracted a large number of breeding pairs.

The researchers are gathering data on nest success, clutch size, nestling growth, and timing of nesting and comparing this urban population to an island population studied by researchers at Tufts and Cornell on Appledore Island, Isle of Shoals, off the coast of southern Maine.  In addition, they are color-banding both adults and chicks to follow their dispersal movements and survival.

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