MONHEGAN ISLAND - and Coastal Maine
September 22 to 28, 2012
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Monhegan Island lies twelve miles off the rocky Maine coastline and is arguably the best fall migrant trap in New England. This small and isolated island is steeped in rustic New England charm, with characteristic lobster boats, spruce forests, and rocky headlands. Our tour focuses on fall bird migration, which can be spectacular if the winds are right. A wide variety of both waterbirds and songbirds may be present and include Common Eider, Great Shearwater, Black Guillemot, Parasitic Jaeger, vireos, flycatchers, thrushes, 20 species of warblers, and sparrows. Monhegan is a great location for both expected migrant songbirds as well as unusual strays from the south and west…one never knows what might appear on the island’s beautiful forests, headlands, and fields!
PACE, WEATHER, AND TRAVEL CONDITIONS:
Our days in the field usually begin about 7:00 a.m. and will end about 6:00 p.m. The trip involves easy walking on flat ground and some moderately strenuous hikes on hilly terrain.
Temperatures will be cool to warm, though early morning and evening may be a bit nippy. Expect a wide range of temperatures with highs likely anywhere from 50-80F degrees. Rain or thunderstorms are always possible, so bring a poncho or rain jacket. Biting insects such as mosquitoes are usually scarce by this time of year.
The bulk of the tour is spent on Monhegan Island, where there is no vehicular transportation; all travel is done on foot. Our lodging is at the comfortable yet rustic Trailing Yew, with four home-cooked breakfasts and dinners included in the tour price. Please note that our accommodations on Monhegan have shared bathroom facilities only.
TOUR SIZE: Travel during this tour will be in vans, with no more than 7 participants plus a leader in one "12 person"
van. Tour size is limited to 12 participants.
Additional information about the tour, with specific meeting times, a list of participants, addresses of motels, lists of things to bring, a reading list, a list of probable/possible birds, further information about weather, dress, etc., will be mailed to all participants well in advance of the tour.
DATES: Saturday September 22, 2012 (meet at our hotel in Portland at 7:00 pm) to Friday September 28, 2012 (flights/drive home anytime)
PRICE: Cost for this tour is $1,295 based on double occupancy. Single supplement (if you request single occupancy, or we are unable to find a suitable roommate) is $300. A deposit of $500 will hold your place until July 22, 2012 when full payment becomes due.
PRICE INCLUDES: Hotel accommodations for six (6) nights, tour leadership, ground transportation while in Maine, ferry fees, and all breakfasts & dinners while on Monhegan Island.
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE: Lunches on Monhegan Island, alcoholic beverages, meals off Monhegan Island, items of a personal nature, or airfare/transportation to/from Portland.
SEND DEPOSITS & OTHER PAYMENTS TO:
NJ Audubon Eco-Travel
9 Hardscrabble Rd
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
tel. 908-204-8998 x10
Please make checkspayable to New Jersey Audubon.
TOUR LEADERS:
Scott Barnes began birding at the age of twelve and has been an avid naturalist ever since. Encouragement and learning came from his parents and many birders, including members of the Urner Ornithological Club and staff of New Jersey Audubon. An interest in travel and natural history has led him from northwestern Alaska to the desert southwest to Trinidad and Tobago in search of plants and animals. He began birding at Sandy Hook, where he is the Senior Naturalist for the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory. Scott is an eBird editor and manages the NJ eBird portal, compiles the Sandy Hook Christmas Bird Count, ten-year member of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee, leader on See Life Paulagics boat trips, and assistant director for the NJ Audubon Eco-Travel. Scott has led NJ Audubon tours to nineteen states and four countries.
Derek Lovitch grew up in central New Jersey where he began birding and joined NJ Audubon when he as 11 years old. He worked as an interpretive naturalist in Cape May and was the official counter at the Sandy Hook Migration Watch in 2000. A career biologist and naturalist with a life-long passion for birds, he
now lives in Pownal, Maine. He and his wife, Jeannette, own and operate the Freeport Wild Bird Supply, which serves as a vehicle to share their passion for birds, birding, and bird conservation. Derek goes birding nearly every day, all year long, and blogs about it at www.mainetoday.com Derek leads tours to Monhegan Island several times each year, and has led birding tours to New Mexico, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Michigan, and throughout Maine.