24th Annual
Acadia Birding Festival


Mount Desert Island
SW Harbor, Maine
(Acadia National Park)

June 1-4
2023

Registration

Don't miss our PELAGIC SEABIRD BOAT TRIP Saturday June 3, 2023
PUFFINS, GANNETS, RAZORBILLS, MURRES, TERNS, SHEARWATERS, FULMARS, STORM-PETRELS, JAEGERS, and more

Video 


FEATURED SPEAKERS



Dotty Holcomb Doherty is a writer and wildlife photographer who has made birding a way of life since she took ornithology as a freshman at Earlham College. Early internships banding birds at Manomet Bird Observatory in coastal Massachusetts, teaching at Tatnic Hill School for Environmental Studies in Wells, Maine, and working as an interpretive guide on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon all served her well when she found her calling teaching high school biology and environmental science. When health changes forced her out of the classroom, she found new direction in writing, photography, and world travel, and since 2014, has shared her wildlife photos in a daily email blog to hundreds of subscribers.

Her new book, Buoyant: What Held Us Up When Our Bodies Let Us Down chronicles not just her life but also her friend's as they both faced life-changing illnesses. Juxtaposing the rhythms of the Chesapeake Bay with the chaos of disease, Buoyant follows the healing friendship between these two women. Singing Carolina wrens, migrating tundra swans, undulating Chesapeake Bay ice, and a thriving New Hampshire bog add vibrancy and calm, as well as metaphors for living with chronic conditions.

After 22 years in Maryland, Dotty and her husband Jonathan recently moved to New Hampshire which renewed both their loves of hiking and snowshoeing in the mountains, and of Nordic skating on frozen lakes and rivers.



Bridget Butler, aka The Bird Diva, will share her path to creating Slow Birding, a mindful practice focused on deep observation beyond identification, connecting with the landscape, and connecting with self. Her practice came together over many years of feeling that traditional list-driven, even conservation-driven, birding was unfulfilling and did not reflect the way she was birding on her own. Now, Bridget facilitates online courses and workshops that celebrate finding joy and awe in whatever bird is present, creating a more inclusive opportunity for anyone to see themselves as a birder.

Bridget has been working in conservation and environmental education for more than 20 years throughout New England. Through her business Bird Diva Consulting, she delivers presentations, leads bird outings, and brings her signature program Slow Birding to a broader audience. Bridget has worked for the Audubon Society in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts and helped create Audubon Vermont's Forest Bird Initiative. Bridget has been a guest on a number of podcasts talking about Slow Birding, including the American Birding Podcast, Talkin' Birds with Ray Brown, and the South African podcast This Birding Life. Currently, she serves on the Green Mountain Audubon Society Board and is a member of the Vermont Rare Bird Records Committee. She feels it's important that the birding community continues to strive to diversify what it means to be a birder and that this variety of perspectives will bring a richer set of strategies to bird conservation. Bridget lives in St. Albans with her husband and three young children.


Kevin Loughlin was raised to appreciate nature while exploring the woodlands of Pennsylvania as a child. At age six, during a family trip through the American West, Kevin became fascinated with photography as well seeing the new and different birds throughout North America. Instilled with a love for travel and seeking new, exciting destinations he felt a desire to share his experiences with others and in 1993 he created Wildside.

Kevin’s photographs and articles have appeared in publications such as Nature Photographer, Audubon, Birding and Living Bird Magazines, as well as the many natural history books, including his newest project, along with co-author John Kricher, “Galapagos: A Natural History.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


John Kricher was a Professor of Biology at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts since 1970, until he recently retired. A graduate of Temple (B.A.) and Rutgers Universities (Ph.D.), Dr. Kricher teaches courses in ecology, ornithology, and vertebrate evolution. John has conducted Earthwatch-sponsored research on migrant birds on their wintering grounds in Belize and is the author of over 100 papers and articles in scientific journals, magazines, and newspapers. His most recent books are The New Neotropical Companion (2017) and Tropical Ecology (2011), both published by Princeton University Press. He has also authored The Balance of Nature: Ecology's Enduring Myth (Princeton University Press 2009), Galapagos: A Natural History, published in hard-cover by Smithsonian Institution Press (2002) and in soft-cover by Princeton University Press (2006). Other books include three ecology field guides (Eastern Forests, Rocky Mountain and Southwestern Forests, California and Pacific Northwest Forests) in the Peterson series. His widely-used book, A Neotropical Companion has been translated into Spanish through the Birders' Exchange Program of the American Birding Association and the third edition, The New Neotropical Companion, was released in 2017. He most recently co-authored Galapagos: A Natural History 2nd Edition, also published by Princeton University Press (2022).

John is a Fellow in the American Ornithologists Union and has served as president of the Association of Field Ornithologists, the Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Nuttall Ornithological Club. He has been a member of the boards of directors of the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, the New Jersey Audubon Society, and the American Birding Association.



Facebook
DO YOU KNOW
HOW ABF SUPPORTS
OUR COMMUNITY?


Members receive
a 10% discount
on ABF registration

OUR SISTER FESTIVAL:

 

DUCK STAMP $25
Since the 1930s, the Federal Duck Stamps have contributed over $850 million and have helped to protect 5.5 million acres of habitat for wildlife and future generations. Purchase your stamp by clicking on the stamp above  or purchase from the US Post Office.

Our Sponsors: