Tiffany Farrell
This year Southern Maryland Audubon Society will award two scholarships to Southern Maryland residents to attend the Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine.
Since 1936, this Audubon camp has offered birding and nature programs for adults, teens, families, and conservation leaders on Hog Island in beautiful Muscongus Bay.
The scholarships offered by Southern Maryland Audubon are for the following Hog Island Nature Camp Programs:
For this year’s camp dates and more information on the application process, click here.
Field Ornithology includes excursions to both mainland and coastal habitats, including offshore islands, windswept blueberry barrens, lush grasslands, and sphagnum bog forests (sensitive puffin-nesting islands will be observed by boat). Immerse yourself in a week of all things avian, from bird biology to nesting behavior, songs, migration and conservation. Learn in small-group settings about field identification. Add some of the most respected bird experts in the country, and you have Field Ornithology on Hog Island. You’ll learn in the woods and on the water – experiencing the dawn chorus with experts in bird song at your side; landing on seabird nesting islands to observe nesting behavior at arm’s-length; discussing coloniality in the midst of a raucous heronry. You’ll come home with amazing memories – and a solid understanding of bird biology and ecology.
Mountains to Sea Birding for Teens is an exciting camp for teens ages 14 – 17. This intensive 5-night program will cover boreal to coastal bird species in Maine. Teens will spend part of the week at Maine Audubon’s Borestone Mountain Sanctuary looking for northern Maine bird species. The remaining part of the week they will stay on Hog Island and explore the coast for shorebirds, nesting species, and puffins! A service component will be included during the week so that teens can be hands-on and experience a tour of the Mad River Decoys by Audubon, including a paint-your-own decoy activity. Teens will learn about conservation projects around the world and see how decoys are produced to bring back species. An emphasis will also be placed on creating field notebooks throughout the week.
Our 2024 winner, John Lang, wrote: “The Mountains to Sea Teen camp was a very informative, engaging, and enjoyable trip across the diverse landscapes of Maine. It allowed for students to be involved in real research projects on the island, allowing me to appreciate the scientific side of birding that often seems mysterious.”
Read on for a testimonial by another one of our former scholarship winners!
A former board member also attended Audubon’s Hog Island camp. Read her story from the September 2017 Osprey newsletter.