2026 Trips, Excursions and Camps

 2026 Camps

Hearing the cries of a hatching gull chick is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you find at Hog Island. ©Scott WeidensaulHog Island Audubon Camp, Maine

Summer sessions at Hog Island usually include visits to the restored puffin colony on Eastern Egg Rock. (©Scott Weidensaul)June 13-19, 2026

Sept. 13-19, 2026

Join Scott Weidensaul and an exceptional faculty of instructors at Hog Island, the National Audubon Society's oldest educational center -- a spectacular 330-acre island in Muscongus Bay, on the beautiful mid-coast of Maine.

Scott will be directing two sessions at Hog Island in 2025:

Adult Field Ornithology, June 13-19

Join some of the top ornithologists in the country for a week-long exploration of the science of birds, hands-on and in the field. We'll explore the region's boreal forests, hardwoods, offshore islands and open bay, with instructors that include Sara Morris, president of the American Ornithological Society; acclaimed bird artist Catherine Hamilton of California; birding whiz Corey Husic and master bander Anthony Hill.  All that, and puffins, too! 

Living on the Wind: Migration and Monhegan, Sept. 13-19

This special, small-group session is devoted to fall migration, and includes an overnight birding excursion to Monhegan Island, a world-renowned Monhegan Island isn't just ruggedly beautiful, it is one of the best migrant traps in the East. (©Scott Weidensaul)migratory hotspot and beautiful island village. 

This intensive week of birding will take participants from tidal marshes and beaches to hawk watches, spruce forests, and the outer islands and waters of Muscongus Bay, depending on where the birding is hottest. The highlight will be an overnight trip to Monhegan Island, one of the best "migrant traps" in the Northeast -- a place justly famous for its birding and dramatic rocky coastline, which has inspired artists for more than a century. Learn about how and why birds migrate and the conservation challenges facing them.  

 2026 Excursions

 ©Scott Weidensaul

Camp Denali, Alaska

June 5-12, 2026

Join Scott and Amy Weidensaul at Camp Denali, one of the finest eco-lodges in the country, deep in the heart of one the largest protected wilderness areas in America. This special emphasis session will focus on the unmatched birdlife of the Great Land, but we'll also be enjoying the rest of Denali's superb wildlife tapestry, from caribou and grizzly bears and wolves, all with Denali, the Great One, rising more than 20,000 feet above the tundra. We'll be making daily excursions with Camp Denali's unsurpassed team of naturalist-guides, exploring the western half of the park preserve, which because of a collapse in the park access road (currently being spanned by a new bridge) we will have pretty much to ourselves. It's a unique opportunity to experience Denali free of buses and road noise, while enjoying the rustic luxury and delicious food of this renowned wilderness camp.