Summer Birding Adventure

With fall migration season in full swing, I am reminded of my big birding adventure from last year! I was invited to Audubon’s birding camp on Hog Island, Maine, where I joined the field ornithology camp as it seemed like a good chance to get a flavor for all things birds. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I approached it with an open mind. A chance to go on an adventure was something I couldn’t refuse. It was also my first time traveling to the United States since 2014, and unlike my other travels (which were short in comparison), I was going to be spending 25 days in Maine! With any adventure, you always run into some sort of issue and for me it was my flight, which was almost cancelled. Then my luggage did not arrive for the first 3 days of the trip. But everything worked out in the end because the Audubon Boreal Conservation program had a team strategy meeting just prior to the camp. Not only was it a lot of fun to work face-to-face with the team and get to know everyone better but it also provided the time for my luggage to arrive before leaving for Hog Island.

This was my first bird camp experience, and I was excited. What made the camp so memorable were the great people who participated. The lead instructor for this camp was Scott Weindensaul. As anyone who knows Scott could tell you, he is both incredibly knowledgeable and humble. It was a real honor to be taught by someone with his level of expertise! And of course, I must mention the other instructors who were also wonderful. It was a privilege to learn from and have fun along the way. Also in attendance were three members of the Seal River Watershed Alliance. They are incredible individuals! I can’t emphasize enough how important the work they are doing is. If you’d like to read their experiences in Maine you can read Chaz Collier’s blog. 

For those who have never been to an Audubon camp, it started on Sunday and ended the morning of the following Friday. Every day was packed with learning experiences draped over the beauty of Maine. I found the entire week enjoyable, and the weather was so pleasantly hot, but apparently to the others it felt a little cool for June. I told everyone that I was sleeping with a fan on at night which led to a few strange looks and only reinforced the stereotype that Canadians love the cold! The week flew by; we were out on the bay for cruises and then on the mainland for birding. The days ended with bird counts and then with informative lectures from the instructors, which was one of my favorite parts of the experience. On one of our cruises, we went to Eastern Egg Rock to see Atlantic Puffins. I had only seen puffins in person a few days earlier and was excited to see them again in their natural habitat. I would suggest to those who would like to learn more about puffins to check out Project Puffin—a huge restoration effort to bring Atlantic Puffins back to Eastern Egg Rock off the coast of Maine started by Stephen Kress. You can learn more about this amazing project here. 

Another highlight of the camp was seeing and landing on Allen Island. This was the first time a camp group was allowed to land on an island, explore, and meet with the researchers from Colby College who were conducting research on the island. We observed bird banding which was fascinating and a process I hadn’t seen before. I watched keenly, imagining this would give me a head start on what I would be doing after the camp ended. I was soon to find out that watching the process of bird banding and actually handling birds are two very different things! 

The end of my adventure did not come to a close with the end of the bird camp. I had such an incredible experience at the camp, and now I was ready to head to the Seabird Institute for two weeks at the invitation of Don Lyons. We were on our way to Pond Island where Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) breed every year. 
Before I even headed out, I was told numerous times that I should expect to be pecked at and (as most people can imagine with birds flying overhead) to be pooped on. In preparation for this, I decided to buy a hat that I was willing to let be destroyed. I also heard that it was a badge of honor to have your hat pooped on and then not wash It off (your first time being out), so I thought this would be a good idea. But I (luckily) received a text letting me know that the terns had gotten good at aiming for your face, and a wide-brimmed hat was recommended. So, I had to borrow one instead. No badge of honor for me this time but perhaps in the future! I had heard that it was good luck when a bird poops on you, so after two straight weeks of bird poop, Iwas the luckiest man alive!

I was picked up by two of my colleagues from a little beach to head to Pond Island in a little rubber boat. Now, on a nice clear day this would have been a fun ride. Unfortunately, when the fog rolled in as it did the day of my travels, the ride becomes far less fun. It’s freaky to be in a small boat sharing the waterway with larger watercraft on the ocean. It would be easy for a boat to suddenly appear out of nowhere or for your boat to be abruptly heading straight into another. Luckily the island was a short distance from the beach and our experienced captain got us there safely. 

I was told Pond Island was one of the “cooler” islands because you can use your phone without issue since it is close to the mainland. In hindsight, they could’ve just told me that as a way to soften the blow that I was about to be living on an island that was the heart of a tern colony, meaning it was loud day and night. In the early mornings, it did seem to quiet down but only for about four or five hours then back to the continual cacophony. I’m not sure how common it is for people in bird conservation to live in the bird colonies but at least now I can say I was one of the people able to experience this! 

The terns were in their breeding period so the island was covered with adult terns, baby terns, and tern eggs. Unfortunately, the weather on Pond Island didn’t cooperate as much as it had the previous week, but we still did the work as best we could.  One thing I hadn’t realized before my trip was that when you work with birds and their chicks, a lot of the work depends on the weather. So, when the weather was unfavorable, all we could do was wait it out. 

Now when I first landed on Pond Island I didn’t get attacked or pooped on. This led me to believe that perhaps I was a secret tern whisperer, and they knew I wasn’t there to harm them. But, of course, that was just wishful thinking. Those thoughts quickly changed as the terns started swooping at the bee antenna I had taped onto my hat, and the inevitable poop started raining down upon me. As I mentioned above, when I was on this island I lived within the bird colony, so I was fair game to them almost everywhere. The only place the terns would leave me alone was at our base camp. I am not entirely sure why they stopped attacking at the base camp, but it was nice to have a bit of a break from being swooped over and pooped on. I’m not sure if it was because I spent two weeks plus my time at Hog Island looking at terns, but they had grown on me. There was something about the jet-black head with the orange beak with the black tip that made them look endearing.
Some of the work that happens on the island is the banding of both adults and chicks, weighing and taking the wingspan of the chicks, and observing what the adults are bringing to the chicks. The baby terns’ legs compared to an adult's are rubbery and delicate. To band a bird, you need to stretch the leg out gently and hold it with very light pressure. It can be kind of difficult if you’re not used to this. Being a living creature, it will try to escape so holding it while stretching the leg can be a challenge. This was something I struggled with, and I thought that I might not be able to participate in this activity. Because it was my first time handling chicks compounded by their rubbery little legs and my worry that I would hurt them, I just had a difficult time with banding. It was only on my last full day on the island when I attempted to band some chicks that—to my surprise—I was successful, and the first chick I did felt easy! I tried again and again each time feeling as though I had been banding chicks my entire life. I questioned my skills because of how easy it felt, and I don’t know why I suddenly was able to do it with such ease. I’ll attribute it to some great mentoring and tutoring that I received.

Another one of the jobs that I had the opportunity to do was checking the seawater temperature as it can help determine the success or failure of fledgling chicks. on my first attempt at throwing the bucket into the water of course it slips out of my hand. I then have two choices: run in with my boots and grab the bucket or take my boots off and grab the bucket. I went with the first and my “waterproof” hiking boots ended up flooded with water. I guess in knee-high deep water it doesn’t matter whether they are waterproof or not! Luckily the day was hot, and they dried pretty quickly. If anyone read my first blog they will see that walking around with wet boots is nothing new to me.

When I was on Pond Island, there were 1,684 adult terns there so you can imagine all the eggs and chicks around. You are told your whole life to keep your eyes looking ahead when walking but in this case, it’s better to keep them down so you don’t accidentally step on eggs and/or chicks! This also improves your chances of not getting bird poop in your face I have come to learn there are three absolute worst places to get hit in your face: the eye, the mouth, and the ear!  And we’re just lucky that our nostrils are naturally oriented toward the ground.

During their breeding period, terns are the original angry birds! They are as aggressive as any parent might be trying to protect their babies. They swoop down to try and hit you on the head but with a little padding under your hat, you’re fine. However, if you attach something that sits above your hat, they will attack that instead, as they tend to go for whatever is highest. Although near the end of my trip, I felt like I was getting hit on the head more often than not even employing this trick. There were also brave adult terns that did not fly away but stood on guard watching you handle their chicks. And they took every opportunity to attack your hands when they could, which in all honesty was fair in my book. How would you like it if someone picked up your child? You’d probably attack too!

I didn’t realize I needed this experience until I was there. I hadn’t realized how much I was craving adventure in my life! I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors but lately, it has just been around my backyard enjoying the sun and cool breeze. My time in Maine and on Hog and Pond Island created memories I’ll hold onto forever, and I am glad to be able to share some of them with you. It’s hard to put into words how happy this trip made me, and I’ve come to the realization I need to get out to nature further than my own backyard. There’s so much to see and experience in nature and I am grateful Audubon has allowed me to experience these grand adventures!

In closing, I want to make sure to give a shout-out to my colleagues on Pond Island. I worked alongside Theresa & Sarah who are both delightful, caring and patient women, who never made me feel as though I was a burden even when they were behind schedule because of my newbie bird banding skills. Thank you for teaching me and I wish you both great success! 

And one last big thank you to everyone I shared these memorable experiences with last summer!