Chris Martin
Host, Something WildChris Martin has worked for New Hampshire Audubon for over 31 years as a Conservation Biologist, specializing in birds of prey such as Bald Eagles, Ospreys, and Peregrine Falcons.
Chris Martin has climbed to eagle nests in Alaska's Katmai National Park, counted seabirds near the Aleutian Island archipelago, coordinated Peregrine Falcon restoration at Lake Superior’s Isle Royale, and studied how a southern Indiana forest responded after a devastating tornado.
Since moving from the Midwest to New Hampshire in 1990, Martin has worked frequently with colleagues at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and other agencies to recruit and train volunteer wildlife observers. He has advised electric utilities on how to establish safe nesting sites for Ospreys, partnered with rock climbers to collect Peregrine Falcon eggs to sample for contaminants, and studied New Hampshire's only known breeding population of American Pipits in the alpine zone atop Mt. Washington.
Martin received an Environmental Merit Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boston in 2006 for outstanding efforts in preserving New England's environment. “I love motivating folks to document what's happening with wildlife populations in the Granite State, and also helping people hone their wildlife observation skills. That's one of the reasons why contributing to Something Wild is so much fun.”
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The North American river otter population is doing swimmingly! They are found in abundance in New Hampshire’s waterways, but they can be hard to spot until winter brings them out to play on the ice and snow. -
From unexpected sightings in backyard gardens to near-misses — or worse — on our roads, white-tailed deer seem to be everywhere. An extensive study is uncovering new insights into this iconic creature of eastern forests.
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Learning about where native bats roost in winter can help us protect the bat population in N.H.
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This has been an epic season for finding mushrooms. We're just beginning to learn how important the fungi kingdom is for forest health.
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Autumn in New Hampshire is a wonderful time to watch and observe some easily recognizable stages of natural cycles. But there are varying degrees of “cyclical” activity that can be quite complicated.
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New Hampshire's osprey population, in jeopardy 40 years ago, now thrives. We talk about the key to the raptor’s success with a researcher who monitors the population, and find out how to identify an osprey as it migrates.
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The sound of crickets invokes warm summer evenings; Nathanial Hawthorne called it "audible stillness." Listen closely to the cricket song, and by doing some math, you can figure out how warm it is!
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In the Something Wild series about Mount Washington’s ecological zones, we explore the distinctly different forest zones on the flanks of Mt. Washington, and discover why birch trees shed their bark.
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New England’s highest peak is unforgiving above treeline. But for some species of flora and fauna, the alpine zone provides exactly what they need to survive.
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The dark form of a turkey vulture soaring overhead is a sight seen across the U.S. There are many things to appreciate about the bird.
