Compare Birding Acadia National Park by Road Scholar

Day 1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Birding, Welcome Dinner
Bar Harbor, Maine D Bar Harbor Quality Inn
Activity note: Hotel check-in available from 2:30 p.m. Walking up to 1 mile, 1.5 hours city streets and sidewalks.

Afternoon: Program Registration: 2:30 – 3:15 p.m. After you have your room assignment, join us in the motel’s café to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes and other important information. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Orientation: 3:15 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. On several days, we will have early morning birding outings. Group transportation will be via mini-bus. We will make selections for bag lunches in advance. For many of our activities, you may want to bring along a camera to capture the stunning beauty of this area. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Next, we’ll take our first field trip, walking with Jordan Chalfant — our Group Leader and a noted local naturalist — along the famed shore path of Bar Harbor. We’ll do some birding as we go, but this is also an introduction to Mount Desert Island (MDI), Bar Harbor, Frenchman Bay, and the entire region where we’ll be spending the next few days. We’ll look for coastal birds like Common Loons, Black Guillemots, Bald Eagles, Greater Black-backed Gulls, Herring, and Common Eiders. This marvelous, level path along the shore of Frenchman Bay will give us a preview of the beauty we’ll behold this week.

Dinner: At a restaurant in downtown Bar Harbor, we’ll have a plated meal with beverage choices of coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: Walking back to the motel, the remainder of the evening is at leisure. (The minibus will take those who prefer not to walk.) Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

Day 2
Oldfarm, Witch Hole Pond Loop, Seabird Ecology, Birding
Bar Harbor, Maine B,L,D Bar Harbor Quality Inn
Activity note: Getting on/off a mini-bus. Walking about 5-6 miles; uneven terrain, steps, bring walking sticks/canes as needed.

Breakfast: At the hotel, the breakfast buffet offers a variety of hot and cold choices.

Morning: We'll head out to Oldfarm, the ruins of the home of George B. Dorr, considered the “father” of Acadia National Park. We'll learn the fascinating story of how the park was founded and how it came to be the only park in the entire national system in which the land was donated rather than purchased by the government. The forest contains many old growth trees and is home to Warblers including Pine, Blackburnian, Black and White and Parula. In the late morning, we’ll meander around the Witch Hole Pond loop of Acadia’s famed carriage roads in search of more rare sparrow and warbler species in search of the abundant food resources in that area.

Lunch: At a scenic spot, we’ll have our bagged lunches.

Afternoon: At College of the Atlantic, Scott Swann, professor of Ecology, Natural History and Ornithology, will give us a presentation on seabird ecology on the coast of Maine, focusing on research that has been conducted on Petit Manan Island — tomorrow morning's destination — for the past 30 years. Then we’ll head down to the southeastern section of MDI in search of migrating warblers and other species.

Dinner: We’ll ride to a downtown Bar Harbor restaurant for a plated meal with beverage choices of coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: We’ll walk back to the motel after dinner with the remainder of the evening free. You might like to go out to explore Bar Harbor’s attractions, spend time with fellow Road Scholars, or just relax.

Day 3
Boating Expedition, Sieur de Monts, Cadillac Mountain
Bar Harbor, Maine B,L,D Bar Harbor Quality Inn
Activity note: Getting on/off a mini-bus, on/off 46-foot research vessel. For your comfort, wear lots of layers (dress for winter.) Walking about 4-5 miles; variable terrain.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: We’ll board the College of the Atlantic's boat “The Osprey” for an expedition to productive waters around Petit Manan Island, a protected research space. Thirteen species breed on this island, including Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills, Black Guillemots, Common Eiders, Herring Gulls, Black-backed Gulls, Laughing Gulls, Common, Arctic, and (rarely) Roseate Terns. More than 4,000 birds reside on Petit Manan in the summer. Turning south, we’ll proceed 25 miles out to sea to look for species such as Northern Gannet, shearwaters, and petrels that have often been seen in the area.

Lunch: In the field during our bird-watching expedition.

Afternoon: After our intense offshore excursion, we'll have a more relaxed afternoon, visiting the Sieur de Monts area of Acadia National Park, one of Jordan's favorite areas because of its species diversity and rich cultural and natural history. We'll explore The Tarn, the Wild Gardens of Acadia, and the Jesup Path, keeping our eyes trained for various species.

Dinner: We’ll again dine at a downtown Bar Harbor restaurant.

Evening: We’ll drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the United States and on many days, the first place in the United States to receive the rays of the sun. The summit is noted for its stunning 360-degree views. As the day comes to an end, Jordan will lead a sunset walk and will continue the discussion about Mount Desert Island's glacial geology while searching for Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhee, White-throated Sparrows, Common Yellowthroat, and Kinglets.

Day 4
Birding Expedition on Eastern MDI, Free Time
Bar Harbor, Maine B,L Bar Harbor Quality Inn
Activity note: Getting on/off a mini-bus, walking 4-5 miles throughout the day; variable terrain.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: On this morning’s birding field trip, we will traverse the Park Loop Road around the eastern side of MDI, exploring several bird-rich locations along the way. We'll stop at the Beaver Dam Pond to look for Red-winged Blackbirds, then we’ll make our way to Schooner Head to look out at Thrumcap, a small island with a breeding population of Double-crested Cormorants. We’ll visit the base of The Precipice to see the breeding location of Peregrine Falcons before getting to Sand Beach, which often has shorebirds and excellent bird-tracking opportunities. Then it will be on to Thunder Hole, where we can see large flocks of Common Eiders and other seabirds. Finally, we’ll visit Jordan Pond for a unique cedar forest habitat with many woodlands species before driving to Grant Park for lunch.

Lunch: At Grant Park on the shores of Frenchman Bay, we’ll have our bag lunches.

Afternoon: Free time. This block of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Evening: At leisure.

Day 5
Birding on Western MDI
Bar Harbor, Maine B,L,D Bar Harbor Quality Inn
Activity note: Getting on/off a mini-bus. Walking 5-6 miles; variable terrain.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: We’ll head to the western side of MDI, often called “the quiet side” or the “back side." The ecology in this area is much different from the eastern side, partly because it was not burned during the fire of 1947, meaning there are more old-growth forests. There are also estuaries, marshlands, and bogs that provide diverse habitat for birds. We expect to make stops at Seawall, Wonderland, Ship Harbor, Bass Harbor Head, Pretty Marsh, and Indian Point.

Lunch: At a scenic spot amid MDI’s west side, we’ll have our bag lunches.

Afternoon: We'll continue our quest for many different bird species on the "quiet side" of the island.

Dinner: At a local restaurant, we'll enjoy an old-fashioned Down East shore feast, featuring the state’s most well-known crustacean — Homarus americanus — the North American cold-water lobster (alternatives available).

Evening: We’ll go to the perimeter of the Kebo Valley golf course where we might get to see Woodcocks — locally known as Timberdoodles — displaying their breeding flights and calls! Barred owls are also quite common in this area. Returning to the hotel, prepare for check-out and departure after lunch and "graduation" tomorrow.

Day 6
Birding the North Side, Program Concludes
Bar Harbor, Maine B,L
Activity note: Getting on/off a mini-bus. Walking 3 miles, variable terrain. Hotel check-out 12:00 Noon.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: For our final birding field trip, we’ll visit Hadley Point and a few stops on the northern side of MDI. Hadley Point is at the confluence of two major fresh watersheds with seawater making them some of the most bio-productive around the island. There are many small, isolated places in this area that can attract a myriad of Neotropical migrants, such as Thomas Bay, Hulls Cove, and Hamilton's Pond. Oddly, one of the most exciting bird-y places to visit are the ponds behind MDI’s only high school! From there, we’ll drive to Grant Park.

Lunch: At Grant Park, we’ll have our bag lunches followed by graduation.

Afternoon: In the park, we’ll take part in a brief “graduation” ceremony and savor our memories of a learning adventure on the magnificent Maine coast. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!