This Monday, the National Audubon Society opens registration for the legendary 6-day residential birding and environmental education programs at the historic Audubon Camp in Maine on Hog Island.
New for 2012 are Family Camp (ages 8-12) and a special special fall migration program with a trip to Monhegan Island.
The ever-popular Joy of Birding and Field Ornithology sessions for adults are in June, as well as two weeks of dynamic teen camp programs.
An Audubon Chapter Leadership Program focusing on Atlantic Flyway Initiative is in late August, and $225 scholarships available for individuals with matching funds from their local Audubon chapters.
The season begins and ends with hands-on service-learning sessions presented in partnership with Road Scholar (Elderhostel), where participants work side-by-side with National Audubon Society biologists and interns to census seabirds and restore nesting habitat on offshore seabird islands.
Earlybird special!
$50 discount for registrations received by December 15th.
Pete Dunne, Scott Weidensaul and many other expert ornithologists, naturalists, educators and authors will be in residence during the 2012 sessions.
All summer programs include field trips to nearby Eastern Egg Rock, where Dr. Steve Kress and his team of biologists have successfully restored an island colony of Atlantic Puffins, and Roseate, Arctic and Common Terns. Roger Tory Peterson was the camp’s first bird instructor in 1936 and many of America’s finest naturalists, including Rachel Carson, have spent time on the 330-acre wildlife sanctuary, located in mid-coast Maine, on Muscongus Bay.
Participants live in restored wooden buildings dating back to the early 1900’s and are treated to three fabulous meals each day, prepared by chef extraordinaire Janii Laberge.
Birders can expect a variety of field trips to different habitats, including salt water, fresh water wetlands, blueberry barrens, in addition to Hog Island’s own mature spruce-fir forest. June birding programs tally more than 100 species of land and seabirds.
There will be boat trips to seabird nesting islands, bird-banding demonstrations, lively evening presentations by some of the country’s most talented and expert ornithologists, and the unique and indescribable magic of living on a beautiful wooded Maine island. All programs include an opportunity to work on hands-on conservation projects of the Seabird Restoration Program in the Gulf of Maine.
As instructor Pete Dunne wrote recently in Birder’s World, “If your life is steeped in birds, then you owe it to yourself to visit the Source. If you have just discovered birds, there is an island where you can get a crash course in field birding that will link you to birding’s past and vault your skills into the future.”
For more information, photos and to enroll, visit http://hogisland.audubon.org or call (607) 257-7308 x.14. Some scholarships are available – check with your local Audubon chapter or birding club. See you on the island!
Useful Links
- Video about Hog Island Ornithology programs: http://youtu.be/le_CjB4F_Ks
- Testimonials from past campers: http://projectpuffin.org/hogisland/testimonials.html#AboutUs
- Registration page: http://projectpuffin.org/OrnithCampsRegistration.html
- Photo gallery: http://projectpuffin.org/hogisland/hogisland-gallery.html#Gallery
Recent print articles about Hog Island
- http://projectpuffin.org/pdfs/HogIslandBirdersWorldOct2010.pdf
- Recent Smithsonian article about Project Puffin: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/A-Puffin-Comeback.html
- Project Puffin video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-WFYZLWXmY
Quotes from 2011 campers
”I really felt that I was in the presence of some of the best birding people in the country, if not the world. How wonderful!”
”The staff was amazing. Friendly, helpful, funny, supportive. You have set the bar very, very high for all future camps, and trips with other people. ”
”When I came to Hog island I didn’t know what to expect. Five days later I had been rewarded with the most transformative professional development experiences I have had as a teacher.”
”Your program, staff, environs and heritage are an absolute TREASURE. Memories of the “Joy of Birding” week will live contentedly in my heart for a very long time. Thank you for caring about our wonderful world and it’s future.”
Read more testimonials from past campers: http://projectpuffin.org/hogisland/testimonials.html#AboutUs
