Hog Island Session Leaders

Hog Island Audubon Camp sessions are led by some of the most respected naturalists and environmental educators in the nation.

Steve Berkowitz (Natural History of the Maine Coast, Educators Workshop) is a professor of marine science at Coastal Carolina University. Plankton, tides, ocean currents, and Antarctica are among the topics he will be teaching during this camp session. Steve’s enthusiasm for kayaking and his video footage of whales and penguins from several years studying in Antarctica are always among camp favorites.

Bonnie Bochan (Field Ornithology, Natural History of the Maine Coast, Bird Migration and Conservation)is former coordinator of the Atlas of the Birds of Maine as well as an expert on neotropical migrants. She has extensive field experience in Ecuador, has lead natural history tours worldwide, and has a passion for teaching folks about all aspects of natural history.

Greg Budney (Field Ornithology) is curator of the Library of Natural Sounds at Cornell University. His specialty is in techniques for recording bird songs. Greg will introduce us to recording equipment and lead us through some very informative hands-on workshop sessions.

Diane Cowan (Natural History, Educators Workshop, People and Place of Midcoast Maine) is the senior scientist and founder of The Lobster Conservancy, a unique research and education facility d edicat ed to understanding lobster population dynamics and fishery sustainability. The “All About Lobsters” presentation is a new collaborative effort between Audubon and the Lobster Conservancy.

Mark DiGirolamo (Naturalizing by Kayak) is owner and senior guide of Breakwater Kayak Co., and returns this year as lead kayak guide. Before starting his company, Mark work ed as a Register ed Maine Sea Kayaking Guide for 10 years with a number of touring companies on the coast of Maine . He also has work ed as an environmental educator for Hog Island ’s Youth Camp session and for other camps in mid-coast Maine. He is also a licensed massage therapist.

Denise Ellsworth (Youth Camp) is an instructor at Ohio State University, where she teaches horticulture, environmental education, and entomology in her role as a county extension agent in the Akron-Canton area. She has a bachelor of science degree in Plant Pathology and a master’s degree in Environmental Education from Ohio State University. For the past decade, she has been training Master Gardener volunteers, leading day camps and school programs for children, and teaching elementary school teachers. Her hobbies include running, gardening, naturalizing, and spending time with her two children.

Mark Garland (Natural History of the Maine Coast, Educators Workshop) is the senior naturalist at the Cape May Bird Observatory in New Jersey. He teaches a variety of natural history programs and leads trips throughout the world. He is a former naturalist and trip leader of the Audubon Naturalist Society. Mark will conduct workshops on insects and field and pond interpretation, and has prepar ed a special evening slideshow on butterflies.

Kenn Kaufman (Field Ornithology) is one of America's best naturalists and field birders. He is a field editor for Audubon magazine, a columnist for numerous additional magazines, and the author of the Peterson Field Guide to Advanced Birding, Lives of North American Birds, Kaufman Focus Guides, and Kingbird Highway.

Dr. Stephen W. Kress (all sessions) is Audubon’s vice president for bird conservation and director of its Seabird Restoration Program. He is well known to former Hog Island Audubon Camp participants, as he serv ed as ornithology instructor from 1969-81 and direct ed adult programs at the camp from 1982-86. He also teaches field ornithology courses for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York. He is author of several Audubon books including BirdGarden, Birders Handbook and Project Puffin.

Tom Leckey (all sessions, except for Youth Camp) is a world-traveling naturalist, having studi ed in the Middle East, Africa, the Galapagos Islands, Central America, and throughout North America. He has participat ed in the California Condor Recovery Program and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary raptor migration studies in Pennsylvania, and returns for his fourth summer to Hog Island. He is currently a tour leader for Treks, Ltd.

Laurie McLaughlin (Coastal Maine Bird Studies) is an Instructor at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center at Penn State University where she teaches outdoor education and teambuilding facilitation. Her passion is helping people learn to connect with the natural world through positive outdoor experiences—especially birding! Laurie earned a B.S. in Environmental Education from Penn State University, and an M.A. in Experiential Education from The University of Colorado.

Dr. Sara Morris (Field Ornithology) is an assistant professor of Biology and coordinator of the Environmental Science Program at Canisius College where she teaches courses in field ecology, ornithology, and vertebrate zoology. Her research interests focus on the ecology of songbird migration.

Sue Schubel (all sessions) is known as “Seabird Sue” for her many years of seabird island research stints and her traveling classroom appearances at schools throughout the state of Maine. Sue leads our tidepool explorations and keeps a close eye on the Queen Mary Lab, especially the touch tank (aid ed by her daughter Ayla). Sue shares the sanctuary’s year-round caretaking position with her husband Anthony Liss.

Mike Shannon (Natural History of the Maine Coast, Educators Workshop) is a naturalist and former director of the Audubon camps in Connecticut and Maine. He and his wife, Margie, live off the grid in a solar home on nearby Frye Mountain, where they grow and raise a year-round food supply. Mike is an adjunct professor at Unity College where he teaches courses in nature education and ornithology. At Hog Island, he leads a “spruce woods walk” and shares “A Naturalist’s Imperative.”

Doug Wentzel (Coastal Maine Bird Studies) is a program director, naturalist and instructor at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center . He develops and/or coordinates internship and membership programs, facility enhancements, and summer day camps and birding programs. He contributes field data to national programs on the distribution and abundance of birds, reptiles, butterflies and amphibians within the park, and his ongoing interest is fostering the awareness of the diversity of life in our own backyards.

Scott Weidensaul (Field Ornithology and Bird Migration) is a naturalist-writer educator who hails form eastern Pennsylvania. He is a prolific author of books and articles on natural history, particularly birds. A recent book, Living on the Wind, was nominat ed for a Pulitzer Prize, and is a testimony to the author’s knowl edge and passion for bird migration. He is a bird bander and an exceptional storyteller.