All the campers arrived on Sunday afternoon in June of this year, and were taken with all their gear by boat to the island. An orientation was held and we were introduced to the staff, and we introduced ourselves to all assembled, including where we were from, our experience in birding and if we had been to Hog Island before and quite a few had been. We then were given our building and room assignments, got acquainted with our roommate(s) and headed for dinner. That night the evening’s program was on the history of Hog Island and Project Puffin.
For the next four days at 5:45 AM we had our early morning bird walk and or bird banding. After breakfast we were broken into four color teams for the rest of our time there. On Monday, two teams did a shakedown cruise of the waters around Hog Island and some of the other islands in the area. The other two teams did “Introduction to Birding.” Half way thru the morning we switched courses.
Lunch was at 12:30 PM and then we had the afternoon courses such as a trip by boat to Wreck Island to see the colony of Great Blue Herons or a 2-1/2 mile hike thru Hog Island. At dinner each night Dr. Steve Kress the director of Hog Island and Project Puffin gave some notes of interest to all assembled. After dinner we had our evening programs which usually started with a short topic on ornithology, then the nightly bird check list and the evening’s main program consisting of “Bird Art & the Evolution of Field Guides.” Another topic was the “Art of Pishing” which is making bird calls with your mouth,. The course was given by the well known birder and author, Pete Dunne and Pete is a fantastic “PISHER.” The days were long and sleep was much appreciated. The lobster boats and their diesel engines started at 4:30 AM and you could not escape the noise.
For the next three days the morning and afternoon schedules included boat rides out to Eastern Egg Rock Island where we saw the Puffins and seals, a trip inland to a blueberry farm, the Medomak Bird Hike (in the rain), workshops on “gardening for birds,” “bird feeding basics” and “birds of Maine.” A total of 57 species were recorded.
The last evening we had a farewell dinner with soup, salad, lobster with all the trimmings an a surprise desert was an individual little cake in the shape of an Atlantic Puffin.
It was a wonderful experience even though as a senior, the climbing on the large rocks on the coast of Wreck Island were a bit difficult to the point that some of the staff had to helpme. They were great. When I arrived home and told my family about my experience, they were quite proud of me. A week later my daughter-in-law presented me with a tee shirt that had a bird on it and below it said “#1 Pisher.”
-Myron Mendelson
Shala and I took The Joy of Birding Class at Hog Island a few years ago and had a great time birding with Scott Weidensaul, Julie Zickefoose, and Bill Thompson III. Their presentations were top notch as they are passionate speakers and wonderful orators. The chef on Hog Island is amazing, especially with Maine lobster. We ate like kings.
ReplyDeleteAfterwards we visited Machias Seal Island 'Down East' where I took 100s of point blank range puffin pictures... a few in focus. Seeing them on their nesting site behind blinds is a must if you visit Maine.
Then we went whale watching at Bar Harbor and the highlight was seeing SAS members on the same boat...totally unplanned. And yes, we did smell and see a few whales.