​​​​Field Identification and Natural History of Birds: Spring Migration at Eagle Hill Institute

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May 11-17, 2025

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Tuition: $835

(Plus lodging and meals)

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This seminar, led and designed by Derek, is designed for beginning and advancing birders who really want to learn how to look at and watch birds, not just list them. As migration ramps up, we’ll be in a prime location to observe, enjoy, and understand the ebbs and flows of species on the move. We’ll sample each day’s bird migration first thing in the morning, and then head further afield to see what’s moving in various habitats. While we expect to see a wide array of species, this is not a “listing” tour where we’ll be working on the species count or focusing on “target birds”. Instead, we’ll focus on learning to identify birds by sight and sound, study their behavior to get to know them, and work to understand the mind-blowing feats of avian migration. In this seminar, we will immerse ourselves in the field, spending quality time with whatever species is in front of us and then use afternoon time to reinforce or expand the lessons that the birds themselves are the best at teaching. We’re going to be putting the “watching” back in “bird watching!”

 

We’ll learn about the basic tools of birding, but also how to expand upon them with tools such as radar, weather, and geography. Using this toolkit, we’ll put ourselves in position for the best birding opportunities, so we’ll be flexible in our plans. Early morning walks at the same place or two will offer the chance to understand how migrants come and go (“stopover ecology”) or decide where to stay for the summer; consistency is especially instructive during migration. Sampling other habitats in the region will give us a chance to meet a variety of species, from forest residents to breeding waterbirds, and each afternoon will be spent reviewing the migration data from the day, and perhaps, a guest speaker or two. If conditions or birding suggest otherwise, we may take to the classroom to focus on a variety of avian topics, but the majority of our time together will be spent in the field as the birds are our best instructors.​

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Bird Feeding Basics and Problem Solving

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2025 TBA; 6:30 - 8:00pm

Gardiner Area Adult Ed, Gardiner Area High School

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Cost - TBA

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An introduction to creating a successful bird feeding garden, including food, feeders, pest issues, habitat, and conservation, using a powerpoint presentation chock full of expert advice, beautiful bird photos and helpful tips. Derek will help you help birds in an enjoyable and successful backyard habitat. And yes, we can keep squirrels off feeders too!

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Workshop: Gull Identification

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Part I: Saturday, February 2026 TBA (1:00-4:00pm)

Part II: Sunday, February 2026 TBA (8:00am-12:00pm)

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Cost - $35 

($20 for Saturday lecture only)

*Contact us to register*

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Back by popular demand, this two-part workshop will get you started on unraveling the mysteries of gull identification. 

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Believe it or not, most gulls are not very difficult to tell apart even though adult and juveniles of most species look very different. We’re going to give ourselves confidence by identifying the easier plumages of our common species, and then tackle the more challenging intermediate plumages and the less-common species. By breaking down each identification into manageable choices, these accessible, fascinating, and rewarding group of birds will soon become downright easy (for most birds, most of the time, anyway!)

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Part I
Saturday will be indoors at the Freeport Public Library will be divided into two sections (you need not be present for both):

1:00 pm-2:30 pm – Beginning Gull Identification. Using Powerpoint and book resources, we’ll start with the basics of gull identification, such as feather topography and aging. We’ll then focus on our most common species: Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-backed, Laughing, and Bonaparte’s Gulls.

2:45 pm-4:00 pm – Advanced Gull Identification. Now comfortable with the basics, we’ll move on to the uncommon species: Lesser Black-backed, Iceland, Glaucous, and Black-legged Kittiwake. Next up will be the rarities: Little, Black-headed, and yes, even the gull-formely-known-as-Thayer’s. We’ll touch upon “Megas” such as Short-billed, Slaty-backed, and Sabine’s, and we’ll discuss hybrids. Finally, we’ll apply what we have learned to tackle and understand some identification quandaries, such as the famous “Westbrook Gull” before we finish up with some photo quizzes to test our new-found knowledge.

Part II:
Field Workshop: Sunday (8:00am – 12:00pm):

We’ll meet in Portland to carpool around the area to apply what we have learned. We’ll spend some time with our most common species: Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed, and then seek out Iceland and Glaucous, and perhaps we’ll find something even better!

We hope that you will join Derek for this workshop to foster appreciation for this fascinating group of birds. 

To get an idea of what to expect, see our reports from the 2019 and 2014 workshops in partnership with York County Audubon.