Joy of Birding

Hone your birding skills with some of America's top birders, including famed authors Pete Dunne, Lang Elliott, Wayne Peterson and Scott Weidensaul, while reveling in more than 300 species of New England birds, from warblers and thrushes to puffins and guillemots.

Mid-June is the peak of the nesting season, and participants will take a boat trip to visit Eastern Egg Rock, home to Atlantic Puffins, Black Guillemots and Roseate, Common and Arctic Terns. At this time, the island is a hub of activity during the egg-laying and hatching season. A stop at nearby Wreck Island offers close-up views of a Great Blue Heron colony and views of chicks in large aerial nests.

On mainland trips we will visit nearby mainland birding hotspots that offer habitat for shorebirds, forest, and marsh birds. Hog Island itself is home to Bald Eagles, Ospreys and dozens of species of nesting songbirds, such as Parula, Blackburnian, and Black-throated Green Warblers.

"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."- Rick, CAD programmer, Pennsylvania

Whether you're a beginning birder or an old hand, our enthusiastic, engaging instructors, small-group field trips, and informal instruction will make you a far better birder. Read more about the difference between Joy of Birding and Field Ornithology.

• Two sessions for 2012
     June 10-15
     June 24-29

Prices include meals, housing, instruction and all boat trips. Participants must arrange transportation to and from the Audubon dock in Bremen at the start and end of the session (see directions page). Scholarships are availalble. Also check with your local Audubon chapter or bird club.

$895 twin bed in the Queen Mary loft, 6 beds total (women only)
$995 twin bed in a shared double or triple room, shared bathroom
$1095 Puffin room in the Crow's Nest (2 twin beds, private 1/2 bath)
$1295 single room in Porthole Lodge (only 2 available), shared bathroom
$1295 Osprey room, price per person (2) for room with double bed, private bath, ocean view
$1495 Helm Cabin, price per person (2) for private cabin with bathroom, double bed, porch, ocean view

"All mind-bogglingly wonderful! I had such a great time. I not only learned a lot, but it hit me for the first time, how much the birding leaders know: Weather, geology, geography, botany, entomology, predator-prey relationships........egad! I was frankly a little awed by being in the presence of such great leaders in the field. So impressive!" - Jan, occupational therapist, Connecticut