The annual Down East Spring Birding Festival provides a unique birding experience during spring migration and the breeding season with guided hikes and boat tours, all led by local guides with local knowledge

Festival Headquarters

Thursday Hours
Thu May 23, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm EDT
COBSCOOK INSTITUTE
Stop by to use the restroom, have a cup of coffee, fill your water bottle, take a rest, or get information.

Friday Hours
Fri May 24, 5:30 am - 8:00 pm EDT
COBSCOOK INSTITUTE
Stop by to use the restroom, have a cup of coffee, fill your water bottle, take a rest, or get information.

Saturday Hours
Sat May 25, 5:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT
COBSCOOK INSTITUTE
Stop by to use the restroom, have a cup of coffee, fill your water bottle, take a rest, or get information.

Sunday Hours
Sun May 26, 5:30 am - 8:00 pm EDT
COBSCOOK INSTITUTE
Stop by to use the restroom, have a cup of coffee, fill your water bottle, take a rest, or get information.

Monday Hours
Mon May 27, 5:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT
COBSCOOK INSTITUTE
Stop by to use the restroom, have a cup of coffee, fill your water bottle, take a rest, or get information.

Friday Morning

Breakfast
Fri May 24, 5:30 am - 9:00 am EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
Join us for an early morning cuppa & complimentary light meal.

Campobello Island with Susan Cline, Pete Colman
Fri May 24, 6:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
CANADA
This is a driving and walking tour within Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Campobello Island is a stopover for thousands of migrating birds. The habitat includes marine shoreland, salt and freshwater marshes, sphagnum bogs, coniferous, deciduous and mixed forest, forest edges, thickets, brushy and open fields, cliffs, banks, and ponds.
Event in EDT Time Zone

Machias Seal Island Boat Trip with Chris Bartlett  + $250.00
Fri May 24, 7:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
Machias Seal Island has the largest Atlantic Puffin colony on the Maine coast. The trip to the island takes about an hour. Weather and sea conditions permitting, you should have over two hours on the island, with 45-60 minutes in a blind with puffins all around. The rest of the time, you’ll be on a ground-level, open-observation platform. If the boat is unable to land, we will motor around the island with excellent opportunities to view the island’s birds.

Edmunds in the Morning with Maurry Mills
Fri May 24, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
We will caravan in our own vehicles to drive along the gravel roads inside the 8,800-acre Edmunds Division of the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, with stops to watch and listen for birds. This part of the refuge has more of the coastal spruce-fir habitat than the northern Baring Division. Starting in 1993 a series of 3-to-5-acre clear cuts were done to increase habitat for early successional species such as American Woodcock and Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Morong Cove Walk with Chris West
Fri May 24, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
The Morong Cove West Unit of Cobscook Bay Wildlife Management Area offers an easy 3.3-mile walk through former historical homesteads, orchards, and old fields. The trail winds through a diverse forest with access to the shoreline and offers opportunities for viewing waterfowl, eagles, tidal wading birds, and other upland bird species.

Orange River Canoe Paddle with Colin Brown, Spencer McCormick, Nathaniel Sharp  + $40.00
Fri May 24, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
Enjoy an easy flatwater paddle through the exemplary wetland and forested habitats of the Downeast Coastal Conservancy’s Orange River Conservation Area.

Friday Afternoon & Evening

Birding by Ear Workshop with Bob Duchesne
Fri May 24, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
Join this presentation by Bob Duchesne-avid bird guide, Bangor Daily News columnist, YouTube contributor, and author of the official guide to the Maine Birding Trail-as he helps you demystify birding by ear. In this popular presentation, Bob will offer simple tips for mentally organizing what you’re hearing and help you take advantage of what you already know. Experienced birders are encouraged to share their own tips.

Warbler Walks with Colin Brown, Woody Gillies, Bridget VerVaet, Doug Hitchcox, Bob Duchesne, Sandi McRae Duchesne, Nathaniel Sharp
Fri May 24, 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
Enjoy a non-strenuous walk especially for beginning birders on the Cobscook Institute campus and nearby trails. Birders of all levels are welcome to join us and “pass forward” the wealth of your experience. No driving is involved. We will get to exercise our birding-by-ear skills as well as our birding-by-eye skills, and observe the associations between birds and habitats.

Edmunds in the Afternoon with Maurry Mills
Fri May 24, 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
This excursion for birders of all levels involves driving in our own cars and non-strenuous walking along the roads and trails of the Edmunds Division of Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. We will exercise our birding-by-ear skills as well as our birding-by-eye skills, and observe the associations between birds and habitats.

Plants of the Northern Forest Walk with Louise Barteau
Fri May 24, 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
Along the trail we will identify and talk about the plants of the northern forest that line the trail.

Welcome Dinner  + $30.00
Fri May 24, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
Join your fellow Birding Festival participants for a delicious dinner catered by Angie Garrison. This will be a great time to catch up with organizers and old friends and to make new friends.

Keynote Talk: Maine is Weird with Bob Duchesne
Fri May 24, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
The Top Ten Reasons Maine is Weird will surprise even most Mainers. In fact, due to these historical quirks, the Festival area has won the title of birdiest coastal county in America multiple times. The state’s geology, geography and history are vastly different from other states, which explains why so many birds come here.

Saturday Morning

Breakfast
Sat May 25, 5:30 am - 9:00 am EDT
FESTIVAL HQ

Campobello Island with Susan Cline, Pete Colman
Sat May 25, 6:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
CANADA
This is a driving and walking tour within Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Campobello Island is a stopover for thousands of migrating birds. The habitat includes marine shoreland, salt and freshwater marshes, sphagnum bogs, coniferous, deciduous and mixed forest, forest edges, thickets, brushy and open fields, cliffs, banks, and ponds.
Event in EDT Time Zone

Bold Coast Hike with Doug Hitchcox, Bridget VerVaet
Sat May 25, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
Boot Head Preserve of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust features some of the most dramatic views of the Maine coastline. Enjoy them, along with an excellent variety of bird sightings, during this circular hike a little more than 2 miles long.

Machias Seal Island Boat Trip with Mike Boardman  + $250.00
Sat May 25, 7:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
Machias Seal Island has the largest Atlantic Puffin colony on the Maine coast. The trip to the island takes about an hour. Weather and sea conditions permitting, you should have over two hours on the island, with 45-60 minutes in a blind with puffins all around. The rest of the time, you’ll be on a ground-level, open-observation platform. If the boat is unable to land, we will motor around the island with excellent opportunities to view the island’s birds.

Edmunds in The Morning with Maurry Mills, Chris West
Sat May 25, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
The older spruce-fir and early successional forests of the area are habitat for a wide variety of birds, including warblers, thrushes, and raptors, with possibilities for Spruce Grouse, and Canada Jay.

Barn Meadow Trail with Becca Cusick
Sat May 25, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
NORTHERN REGION
We begin with an easy 3-mile hike along the Barn Meadow Trail through a variety of habitats: various ages of hardwood and softwood forest, a managed oak stand, wetlands, and fields.

Reynolds Brook with Bob Duchesne, Sandi McRae Duchesne
Sat May 25, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
This easy walk along a sparsely inhabited flat gravel road passes through both boreal and early successional forests, with a mixture of shade and sun. This varied habitat offers a wide variety of birds, including warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers, with the possibility of Spruce Grouse, and Canada Jay.

'Round The Bay with Colin Brown
Sat May 25, 7:00 am - 11:00 am EDT
EASTERN - CENTRAL REGION
The many birds likely to be seen include warblers, Bobolinks, ducks, raptors, and more; and there will be an up-close visit to a Bald Eagle nesting site.

Saturday Midday

Pennamaquan Alewives Moving Event with Fred & Linda Gralenski, Chris Bartlett
Sat May 25, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
CENTRAL REGION
This event consists of several short easy walks and a very small amount of driving for a close-up experience of fish ladders in the Pennamaquan River and Pennamaquan Lake. It focuses on the alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, an anadromous fish that migrates up rivers at this time of year to spawn in lakes.

Head Harbor Passage Boat Cruise with Woody Gillies, Pete Colman, Bridget VerVaet  + $100.00
Sat May 25, 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm EDT
CENTRAL REGION
The Pier Pressure, a Coast-Guard-certified whale-watching boat, will transport you throughout Head Harbor Passage and its many Canadian islands for 2-½ hours. Amid spectacular scenery and plentiful wildlife, we'll explore Head Harbor Passage in search of  nesting Black Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Bald Eagles, and three species of gulls. Razorbills and Common Eiders are also routinely seen. Seals, porpoises, salmon pens, and lighthouses will be part of the tour.

Habitat Management at Moosehorn Wildlife with Maurry Mills
Sat May 25, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EDT
NORTHERN REGION
Habitat Management, Monitoring, and Research for Birds at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Past, Present, and Future.

Whiting Bay Kayak Paddle with Spencer McCormick, Cathy Lookabaugh  + $40.00
Sat May 25, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
Launching from Whiting Bay Beach we’ll explore the sheltered inlets of Whiting Bay, which make up the innermost reaches of Cobscook Bay. These waters are home to abundance of eagles and seals; and one can often spot kingfishers, cormorants, and yellowlegs among other shorebirds while paddling in this ecological treasure.

Plants of Wetlands and Northern Forests with Louise Barteau
Sat May 25, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
NORTHERN REGION
Along the path we will identify and talk about the wetland and northern forest plants that line the trail.

Saturday Afternoon

Open House at Downeast Lakes Land Trust
Sat May 25, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT
NORTHERN REGION

eBird Tutorial with Doug Hitchcox
Sat May 25, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm EDT
NORTHERN REGION
eBird is a computer application developed by the Cornell Ornithological Laboratory in 2002 to record sightings of birds worldwide. It has established an enormous global database that is used by hundreds of thousands of birders and scientists. This workshop will show you how to set up a free account, record bird sightings for your outings, use features of the program to explore the complete database to plan your own birding trips both locally and around the world, and access your personal bird species list.

Bird Trivia & Beer with Colin Brown
Sat May 25, 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm EDT
CENTRAL REGION
Join Downeast Coastal Conservancy Staff for games and fun at Horn Run Brewery! Cash Bar

Saturday Evening

BBQ at Downeast Lakes Land Trust
Sat May 25, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT
NORTHERN REGION

Rails, Wrens, & Nighthawks; Whippoorwills, Woodcocks, & Owls with Woody Gillies, Maurry Mills, Becca Cusick
Sat May 25, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm EDT
NORTHERN REGION
This event begins in the YCC Building with a brief orientation including photographs and calls of some of the species we hope to encounter. We will then caravan north in our own vehicles to the abandoned railroad grade off US Route 1, parking along the highway. We will walk along the old rail bed which goes through two impounded wetlands. Listen for the calls of
secretive Soras and Virginia Rails.

Sunday Morning

Breakfast
Sun May 26, 12:00 am - 3:30 am EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
Join us for an early morning cuppa & complimentary light meal.

Boot Head Hike with Bridget VerVaet, Louise Barteau
Sun May 26, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
Boot Head Preserve of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust features some of the most dramatic views of the Maine coastline. Enjoy them, along with an excellent variety of bird sightings, during this circular hike a little more than 2 miles long.

Pottle Tree Farm Walk with Fred & Linda Gralenski, Nathaniel Sharp
Sun May 26, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
CENTRAL REGION
Pottle Tree Farm has diverse habitats, including hayfields, grown-up farmland, a working forest of mixed hardwood and softwood through which Boyden Stream runs, and surrounding lowlands. Apple trees and overgrown cellar holes are scattered throughout, mixed with alders, cherries, roses, and other shrubs.

Songbirds on Commissary Point with Doug Hitchcox
Sun May 26, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
This area attracts a variety of bird species including warblers, vireos, flycatchers, woodpeckers, and raptors.

Machias Seal Island Boat Trip with Colin Brown  + $250.00
Sun May 26, 7:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
Machias Seal Island has the largest Atlantic Puffin colony on the Maine coast. The trip to the island takes about an hour. Weather and sea conditions permitting, you should have over two hours on the island, with 45-60 minutes in a blind with puffins all around. The rest of the time, you’ll be on a ground-level, open-observation platform. If the boat is unable to land, we will motor around the island with excellent opportunities to view the island’s birds.

Pike Lands with Woody Gillies
Sun May 26, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
The highlight of this walk is the great variety of warblers and other
bird species including vireos and flycatchers that may be seen in the
apple orchard. The trail leaves the orchard and goes through a
forested area, saltwater marsh and follows the Cobscook shore to a
gravel bar.  Thrushes, Swamp and Nelson's Sparrows, Great Blue Heron,
Bald Eagle (active nest likely), and perhaps shorebirds can be seen
along these varied habitats on the way to the gravel bar.

Eagle Bog Excursion with Bob Duchesne, Sandi McRae Duchesne
Sun May 26, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
CANADA
This moving event offers a rare opportunity to bird a bog via boardwalk. Unusual resident species are often close to the path. Magnolia, Nashville, and Palm Warblers should be easy. More difficult targets include Lincoln’s Sparrow and Northern Goshawk.
Event in EDT Time Zone

Sunday Midday

Bird Sketching with Mike Boardman
Sun May 26, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
Wildlife artist and Maine Master naturalist Michael Boardman will teach a class pairing nature journaling and art skills with looking at birds. We’ll work from mounted specimens in the classroom, going over basic drawing techniques and strategies for capturing the gesture of live birds the field.  Nature journaling is a great way to learn and meditate about the world around us, and drawing what we see helps us better understand and explore the wonder of the natural world.

Beach, Birding & Beer with Cathy Lookabaugh, Doug Hitchcox
Sun May 26, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
Explore the shoreline habitats of Mowry Beach Preserve, an uncommon and beautiful example of sandy beach in the region. Proceeding along an all-accessible beach and marshland boardwalk, we’ll search for shorebirds, warblers, gulls, and more. The trip will conclude at Lubec Brewing Company. CASH BAR

Head Harbor Passage Boat Cruise with Chris Bartlett, Fred & Linda Gralenski  + $100.00
Sun May 26, 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm EDT
CENTRAL REGION
The Pier Pressure, a Coast-Guard-certified whale-watching boat, will transport you throughout Head Harbor Passage and its many Canadian islands for 2-½ hours. Amid spectacular scenery and plentiful wildlife, we'll explore Head Harbor Passage in search of  nesting Black Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Bald Eagles, and three species of gulls. Razorbills and Common Eiders are also routinely seen. Seals, porpoises, salmon pens, and lighthouses will be part of the tour.

Plant Walk- Quoddy Head Bog with Louise Barteau
Sun May 26, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
In the bog there is a raised boardwalk of 0.2 miles from which to view, and identify bog plants and shrubs of the northern forest that thrive in conditions of high levels of acidic water and few nutrients.

Sunday Evening

The Bird Tally! with Doug Hitchcox
Sun May 26, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT
Festival HQ

Bird Tally Celebration Dinner with Minor Characters  + $15.00
Sun May 26, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
We will be celebrating our Bird Tally over dinner. The  Minor Characters will be playing their lively blend of Traditional Jazz, Gypsy, Gypsy Jazz and Fiddle tunes.

Woodcock Walk with Woody Gillies, Maurry Mills
Sun May 26, 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm EDT
EASTERN REGION
This evening event in the Edmunds Division of the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is timed especially for observing the fascinating courtship flight of the American Woodcock. We will be visiting areas managed specifically by the US Fish & Wildlife Service to provide habitat for this bird and a variety of other species that require young forests.

Monday

Breakfast
Mon May 27, 5:00 am - 8:30 am EDT
FESTIVAL HQ
Join us for an early morning cuppa & complimentary light meal.

Campobello Island with Susan Cline, Pete Colman
Mon May 27, 6:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
CANADA
This is a driving and walking tour within Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Campobello Island is a stopover for thousands of migrating birds. The habitat includes marine shoreland, salt and freshwater marshes, sphagnum bogs, coniferous, deciduous and mixed forest, forest edges, thickets, brushy and open fields, cliffs, banks, and ponds.
Event in EDT Time Zone

Blueberry Barrens Tour with Maurry Mills
Mon May 27, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
WESTERN REGION
Woods, ponds, marshes, and creeks provide habitats for a variety of birds that can be found as we travel through the barrens. We often see Palm Warblers, Field Sparrows, Eastern Towhees, Brown Thrashers, and Eastern Bluebirds along the roads. Prairie Warblers are rare on the barrens and there are a few reports of Eastern Meadowlarks.

Moosehorn- North Trail with Bob Duchesne, Sandi McRae Duchesne
Mon May 27, 7:00 am - 10:00 am EDT
EASTERN REGION
The refuge is primarily managed as a breeding area for American woodcock, but it also attracts a nice diversity of warblers, thrushes, flycatchers, woodpeckers, raptors, and both ruffed grouse and spruce grouse.

Petit Manan Walk & Boat Trip  with Chris Bartlett, Doug Hitchcox  + $120.00
Mon May 27, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
WESTERN REGION
This event explores Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge by land and by water. We will meet at the Acadia Puffin Cruise wharf in Steuben at 9:00 am to scan the shore for shorebirds and seabirds. We will then drive/carpool to one of the mainland trails to look for birds within the coastal spruce forest such as Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Swainson’s Thrush.

Bag Lunch Options

FRIDAY- Vegan Sandwich  + $18.00
Fri May 24, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

FRIDAY- Turkey Sandwich  + $18.00
Fri May 24, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

SATURDAY- Vegan Sandwich  + $18.00
Sat May 25, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

SATURDAY- Roast Beef Sandwich  + $18.00
Sat May 25, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

SUNDAY- Vegan Sandwich  + $18.00
Sun May 26, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

SUNDAY- Turkey Sandwich  + $18.00
Sun May 26, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

MONDAY- Vegan Sandwich  + $18.00
Mon May 27, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

MONDAY- Roast Beef Sandwich  + $18.00
Mon May 27, 6:00 am - 1:30 pm EDT
Pick-up at Festival HQ - PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

Date: May 24 -27, 2024

Location:

Various Venue in Lubec

Click here for more Information