2012 Summer Camp Opportunites for Young Birders

Welcome to the first of what we plan to make a regular Friday posting of upcoming opportunities for young birders! This week’s post is for those of you who are thinking of attending a young birder camp in 2012. We’ve compiled information about some of the different opportunities you might want to consider, so read on to find out more! And if you know of other opportunities, please let us know in the comments section so we can add the information.

ABA’s Camp Colorado
Website
Contact: jduberstein@aba.org
Dates: July 8-13, 2012
Cost: $897
Ages: 13-18
Location: Based out of Estes Park, Colorado, but traveling to different parts of the region.
Leaders: Bill Schmoker, Jennie Duberstein, Bill Stewart, Jeffrey Gordon, Liz Gordon, and others.
Description: 2012 Camp Colorado has found a new home at the YMCA of the Rockies in heart of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Each day campers will explore the different birds, habitats, and ecosystems of the Rocky Mountains and Colorado Front Range, including Rocky Mountain National Park and the Pawnee National Grassland. Hikes, field trips, workshops, and guest lectures about a variety of birding and bird conservation topics will combine to create a truly exceptional experience. Campers will find plenty of opportunities to take their birding skills to a new level, meet other young people with similar interests, and learn about the diverse birdlife and natural history of the Rocky Mountains. Target species we hope to encounter include White-tailed Ptarmigan, Dusky Grouse, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Three-toed Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, Cassin's Finch, Black Swift, Violet-green Swallow, Swainson's Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Burrowing Owl, McCown's and Chestnut-collared longspurs, and MacGillivray's Warbler, to name just a few. Campers will be housed in comfortable dormitory-style lodges and enjoy 3 all-you-can eat buffet meals per day.  In addition to the incredible birding and nature study opportunities in Estes Park, the location will also provide wonderful true camp-like recreational activities such as swimming, campfires, volleyball and so much more!

 

VENT’s Camp Chiricahua
Website
Dates: July 30-August 10, 2012
Cost: $1350
Ages: 14-18
Location: southeastern Arizona (Tucson, Portal, Sierra Vista)
Leaders: Michael O’Brien and Louise Zemaitis
Description: Camp Chiricahua presents young birders with an extraordinary opportunity to share a mutual love of birds and nature in one of the greatest natural history locations in North America—southeastern Arizona. The primary focus of the camp is on the rich birdlife of the region, but we will also explore all aspects of nature, and spend time learning about habitats and ecosystems. Campers do not need to be expert birders, but should possess an interest in birds and nature. Campers should expect to see most of the special birds of southeast Arizona, including such sought-after species as Elegant Trogon, a good variety of hummingbirds, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, and Red-faced Warbler. Evening night drives will provide additional opportunities for mammals, reptiles, and insects.

VENT’s Camp Cascades
Website
Dates: July 28-August 8, 2012
Cost: $1350
Ages: 14-18
Location: Puget Sound region and Cascades Mountains
Leaders: Victor Emmanuel and Barry Lyons
Description: Camp Cascades offers young birders the unique opportunity to experience the beautiful Pacific Northwest with their peers. Focusing on two spectacular parts of Washington State, the camp provides a comprehensive survey of the flora and fauna of the Puget Sound region and the dramatic Cascades Mountains. Daily activities will be based around thorough exploration of each of the distinct regions we visit, and campers will be educated on all forms of nature. Several lengthy hikes, birding field trips, and discussions will complement free time during which campers will have the luxury of exploring and discovering their natural surroundings on their own or in small groups. A sampling of the characteristic birds of the region includes Tufted Puffin, Rhinoceros Auklet, Marbled Murrelet, Harlequin Duck, Sooty Grouse, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Varied Thrush, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.

Seattle Audubon’s Cascades Teen Banding Camp
Website
Dates: August 15-19, 201
Cost: $550
Ages: 15-1
Location: Wenatchee National Forest, Washington
Leaders: Dan Froehlich and Don Norman
Description: Seattle Audubon’s Cascades Banding Camp for teens is a partnership between Puget Sound Bird Observatory and Seattle Audubon and is in its sixth summer. From a base camp set in Wenatchee National Forest, this five-day camping trip will feature riparian and mountain birding and banding at several locations with opportunities to see and possibly handle great Northwest birds like Williamson's Sapsucker, Townsend's Warbler, and American Three-toed Woodpecker. Cascades Banding Camp trains high school students from around the country in bird-banding techniques while documenting how birds use moist high-elevation meadows in the Cascade Mountains to replace their feathers and prepare for southward migration. The camp will focus on the basics of net placement, extraction and handling, aging, and sexing, with special emphasis on the use of molt to age birds. Banding will occur on four mornings, with four nights of camping at primitive campgrounds. No birding or banding experience is necessary to participate.

Project Puffin's Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens
Website
Facebook
Dates: June 17-22, 2012 and June 24-29, 2012
Cost: $1195
Ages: 14-17
Location: Hog Island on Musgongus Bay, Maine
Leaders (vary depending on session, but to include): Scott Weidensaul, Heather Richards, Doug Wentzel, Josh Potter, Stephen Kress, Don Kroodsma, Sara Morris, Pete Salmansohn, Susan Schubel, Bill Thompson III, Peter Vickery, and Julie Zickefoose
Description: During this intensive 6-day, 5-night program on Hog Island, some of the country’s best known birders and ornithologists will lead sessions on field identification, bird song recognition, and conservation practices. This program includes the opportunity to observe Audubon’s seabird conservation field research in action, and is the only Hog Island program that lands participants on Eastern Egg Rock during the puffin breeding season.

 

Comments

[Erica]

Hi -- A couple corrections on the Audubon Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens program listed above. The location is on Hog Island in Muscongus Bay, Maine (not Wenatchee National Forest, Washington). Also, the Hog Island programs are now run by the Seabird Restoration Program -aka Project Puffin - of National Audubon (not Maine Audubon).

https://www.facebook.com/HogIslandAudubonCamp

[Jennie Duberstein]

Thanks for the corrections, Erica--the pitfalls of copying and pasting formatting and not being careful enough with review! Corrections are made, and we also added a link to the Camp's Facebook page. Thank you!