This session aims to provide a better understanding of birds while expanding upon your skills in identifying by sight and by ear. Surround yourself in the splendors and nurturing land and seascapes of coastal Maine, while living on a quiet island surrounded by birds.
With a multi-talented staff to help guide you, the emphasis will focus on building upon your birding skills and enhancing your joy, while showing you some of the iconic coastal Maine bird life. Think puffins, terns, guillemots, warblers, Bobolinks, and more!
We’ll provide engaging workshops, field trips, and programs each day, offering you a front-row -view to dynamic seabird colonies, lush summer landscapes on the mainland, and the rich and historic forests and trails that exist on Hog Island itself.
A focus will be on techniques such as: birding by ear, optimizing your optics, using apps for birding, field identification techniques, and more. You will take-away new birding skills and expand on those you already have – useful for wherever life takes you.
Join us in experiencing the transformative magic of Hog Island Camp. Absorb nature’s rich boost of relaxation, a renewed sense of wonder and discovery, while learning with new friends. It will be a joy that will last a lifetime.
Please note that this session runs concurrently with Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens. You will overlap with the teen campers during meals and evening programs, which makes for a wonderful opportunity for sharing the joy of birding across different ages!
Pricing: $1,725
Maine residents are eligible for a $150 in-state discount for this session! After you register, contact hogisland@audubon.org to confirm your residency and the discount will be applied to your account.
The base registration fee includes meals, housing, instruction, and all field trips. This price is based on a standard shared room (with 2 twin beds) a shared bathroom. A limited number of upgraded accommodations are available for an additional cost. Two upgrade options are a single room for solo travelers or a room with a private bath for two people traveling together. There are no single rooms with private bathrooms available. Please see our lodging page for more information.
Participants must arrange their own transportation to and from the Audubon dock in Bremen at the start and end of the session. Please see our transportation page for more information.
There are several scholarship opportunities available to help participants attend Hog Island sessions! Please see our scholarships page for more information about Hog Island Scholarships. You should also check with your local Audubon chapter or bird club for additional opportunities.
Requirements: There are no prerequisites for this program! Birders of all skill levels are welcome as are less experienced/enthusiastic partners, friends, or family.
Director: Holly Merker
Holly Merker has been in awe of birds and the wonders of the natural world since childhood. She shares her passion by connecting others to nature in her work as a professional birding guide and nature-based wellness specialist, award-winning author, and public speaker. Combining professional backgrounds in bird identification, art therapy, certification in nature and forest therapy and wellness counseling, and mindfulness practice, she works as a global advocate for Mindful Birding. With dedication to bird conservation, Holly has been the eBird state coordinator/data reviewer for Pennsylvania since 2005 and was a two-term voting member and Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee. She considers herself a migration junkie and lives her life around the seasonal journeys of birds. Holly believes strongly that birding holds a key to wellbeing, co-authoring two books on this subject, and founding the Mindful Birding Network and co-hosting the Mindful Birding Podcast.
Instructors: Whitney LanFranco, Drew Weber, Justine Weber
Whitney LanFranco's passion for nature began in her childhood while growing up on a ranch in rural Central Texas, where she spent her time learning the names of wildflowers and observing bacteria under her microscope. While earning her degree in zoology from Texas A&M University, she discovered that her true passion was birds. She completed an ecological study abroad in South Africa before working as an aviculturist at the San Antonio Zoo.
Realizing that her greatest joy came from educating others and sharing her passion, she transitioned into bird guiding and ecotourism, beginning her new career as a guide at King Ranch in South Texas. This experience opened many doors and led to numerous adventures in exotic locations.
In 2020, she joined the optics industry and now wears two hats: she is a guide for Sabrewing Nature Tours and is the optics retailer at birding festivals around the country.
Drew Weber has been birding since he was a kid, but it took a serious turn in college with summer bird banding jobs, which led to several summers of bird surveys honing his sound identification skills, and winters tracking radio tagged saw-whet owls from dusk to dawn. His passion for combining birding and technology led him to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where he leads the mobile engineering teams for Merlin and eBird and manages web projects for eBird and the Macaulay Library. Drew enjoys the challenge of connecting the birding community with engineering teams to develop tools that introduce millions to birding and serve dedicated birders alike. His favorite project has been the development of Sound ID in Merlin, and its potential for monitoring birds in remote places.
Junior Instructor: TBA
NOTE: Audubon reserves the right to alter itineraries, instructors and particular arrangements, or to substitute similar itineraries or arrangements, at no penalty. If Audubon cancels a session, it will issue full refunds of all deposits or payments to the paid participants.
Testimonials:
“Remarkably good staff – all congenial, work great together, helpful and accessible. All experts in their field.” - 2025 Camper
“We were so lucky to have so many passionate and knowledgeable folks leading our group activities and sharing their expertise so generously over the course of the camp. We are inspired by all of them.” - 2025 Camper
“A wonderfully warm, inclusive community. I loved every minute.” - 2025 Camper
“This experience has been such a gift. Thank you to everyone who makes this camp possible. I can’t wait to come back in the future and will endlessly tell everyone who will listen that this is the place to be!” - 2025 Camper
“It was very exciting to share camp with the teens. Having the programs together was a highlight that added significantly to the program” - 2025 Camper
“From the first interactions with [Hog Island staff] to bay birding, walks around the island, and the boat trips. This was a wonderful experience” - 2025 Camper
“Amazing staff, volunteers and instructors. Absolutely approachable and with a genuine love of birds. I learned so much!” - 2025 Camper
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