Facilities and Equipment Manager
mike.chickering@briwildlife.org
207-839-7600 x123

Mike joined BRI in 2006 as a field biologist, studying Common Loons. As a child, he spent many long hours in the woods and on the water hunting, fishing, and observing animals in their natural environment, fueling his passion for working with wildlife.

Mike Graduated from Unity College (Unity Maine) in 2007 with a degree in wildlife conservation. While in school, he spent summers working for LPC out of NH and winter breaks working in his family’s body shop. He joined the BRI team in May of 2006 and became a full-time staff member in 2009. In his early years at BRI, Mike held the position of Maine field coordinator for the loon program. He organized staff and activities for fieldwork in the Rangeley area, where BRI has established a biostation. While in Rangeley, Mike and his crew would spend days monitoring the behavior and productivity of the loon population. They would spend their nights capturing loons on the local lakes, banding them, and collecting blood and feather samples, which are later analyzed at BRI’s mercury lab. While Mike’s research focuses on the Common Loon, he has also worked on several other projects studying freshwater fish, fur-bearing mammals, and waterfowl.

Recently Mike has taken on the roles of fleet and facility’s manager, and permits and band manager. While no longer doing long nights of field work Mike fills a critical role in ensuring that the rest of the field staff at BRI can continue to do so.

• B.S., Wildlife Conservation, Unity College, 2007

Research Interests

• Tracking animals with satellite telemetry
• Toxicity in freshwater fish

Expertise and Experience

•  Experience catching loons at night with a dip net and during the day with use of underwater mist nets and decoys
• Collecting blood, tissue, and feather/fur/scale samples from birds, mammals, and fish