Days on Hog Island

Based on the natural history of the Maine coast, our sessions at Hog Island Audubon Center provide a well-rounded learning experience that includes a global conservation perspective. Each session highlights the particular expertise of its instructors.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll find waiting for you.

Daily Schedule

Daytime Activities

The “shakedown cruise” is a 90-minute trip on the waters surrounding Hog Island. You’ll pass through Hockomock Channel into Greenland Cove—rich lobstering areas and habitat for osprey, eagles, harbor seals, great blue heron, and more. This orientation trip proceeds up the west side of Hog Island before returning through the channel, where you may visit the shipwrecked remains of the 100-year-old Cora Cressy, a former five-masted schooner. 

Hikes to explore Hog Island take you through one of the best examples of spruce-fir forest on a Maine coastal island. Most of the 333-acre island has mature forest, interrupted only by hay-scented fern “balds” that date back to hurricane disturbances. In addition to its varied bird life, Hog Island has a rich human history, including the historic summer cottages of Mabel Loomis Todd, an editor of Emily Dickinson's poetry and donor of Hog Island to Audubon.

An all-day boat trip aboard Puffin IV cruises Muscongus Bay islands. You’ll head down the east shore of Hog Island and pass Wreck Island on the way to Eastern Egg Rock island, a restored puffin and tern nesting site eight miles south of Hog Island. Continuing to Franklin Island—home to a gull, eider, and guillemot colony—you’ll see Franklin Island Light, an automated light commissioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1805. We may also land on Harbor Island, a 300-acre privately owned island, with an eight-acre Audubon sanctuary established by the owners to honor a past director of Hog Island Audubon Center. Following a picnic lunch on the island, camp staff will offer optional hikes through a spruce forest to stunning cliffs or forays into a bayberry meadow to see spectacular views over looking Muscongus Bay.

Intertidal exploration offers the chance to participate in a group investigation of the rocky inter-tidal communities of Hog Island. You may get your feet wet as you wade in and search for marine plants and animals. We’ll discuss adaptations that allow these organisms to survive tidal fluctuations. Instructors may bring live animals back to our flow-through “touch tank” for closer inspection before releasing them back into the bay.

Sea change introduces you to the mechanics of tides, salinity gradients, turbidity, and the influence of these physical forces on plant and animal communities. We’ll collect and examine plankton and discuss the role of plankton populations in marine ecosystems.

“All About Lobsters” is a special presentation by staff of The Lobster Conservancy, a research and conservation education organization focused on the life history and fishery conservation of this popular, edible crustacean.

Focus on insects explores the fascinating and beautiful world of the most numerous animal species in the world. You’ll investigate various groups of insects such as butterflies and bees in a bayside meadow, while Hog Island instructors illuminate the insects’ ecological roles and the many adaptations that allow insects to thrive.

Citizen science projects across the nation offer birders and others interested in science and wildlife conservation the chance to participate in an amazing variety of projects that monitor, study, and conserve birds and other wildlife. We’ll introduce you to some of these projects and explain how to become involved in them. Projects include the Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, Breeding Bird Survey, Cavity Nest Network, statewide bird counts, amphibian monitoring projects, and others.

In the Evening

Gather with fellow campers in the evening for slide and video presentations, book signings, and discussions that give you the latest news about nature- and conservation-related research and projects. You’ll appreciate the relaxed atmosphere and rare opportunity to learn from scientists, naturalists, authors, and other experts working on the frontlines of wildlife conservation.

Sample topics include:

Worldwide Challenges to Seabird Conservation. This program will help you understand the status of the world's ocean-going birds and why they face different threats than land birds. We’ll discuss the vulnerability of island-nesting birds, the threat of introduced predators, and seabirds’ conflicts with human activities such as long-line fishing, pollution, and coastal development. You’ll gain insight into the future to see what humans can learn and apply to preserving the world’s seabirds.

A Marine Biologist Visits Antarctica. Marine instructor Steve Berkowitz shares impressive slides, intriguing videos, and expert narrative to help you experience what he did during years of exploration aboard a research vessel charged with diverting icebergs. You'll see whale behavior and witness the antics of chinstrap penguins as you learn about spectacular Antarctica. Steve makes the presentation “local” by including fascinating comparisons between Antarctica and the Gulf of Maine.

Butterflies We Can Watch. Butterfly watching is fast becoming as popular as bird watching. After this presentation, you’ll know why—and you’ll know how and where to watch butterflies. We’ll hear about the latest research and findings about butterfly metabolism, migration, and other astounding aspects of their life histories.

A Naturalist’s Imperative. Great leaders and ordinary citizens have been inspired by the words, actions, and lifestyles of naturalists throughout history. During this evening, we’ll share readings and stories of how those wise words guide and give us meaning.