2018 EBBA Meeting
Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, June 22-24, 2018
Join us in ‘Vacationland’ (also known as Maine) for the 2018 annual EBBA meeting. Celebrate the Summer Solstice at the first place in the U.S. where the sun rises (0448 AM).
- Catch up with old friends and network with banding professionals
- Take in posters and practical workshops
- Learn from a full day’s worth of presentations
- Enjoy Sunday field trips, including a pelagic tour to nearby nesting seabird colonies full of terns, puffins, razorbills and guillemots
- Stock up on banding supplies and avoid shipping charges- Avian Research Supplies will be on site
- Lobster boats, buoys, and dinners Oh my!
- 300 people travel to participate in the Acadian Birding Festival each year. Come find out why
If you are planning to stay on-site, PLEASE READ this linked document explanation of housing options before registering for the meeting. On-line registration has closed, but you can still join us. Please call (207)288-1337 or (207)288-1356 to register.
Early bird registration is $55 until June 1st and $105 afterwards. You can purchase any combination of meals (or none at all). Breakfasts are $12.96, lunches are between $15-$17 and dinners $24.30. More details can be found on the registration page. OR save money on meals and cook your own. All on-site lodging comes with fully equipped kitchen units, including pots, pans, plates, etc.
Location
Speakers
Call for Presentations
Workshops
Vendors
On-site Lodging
Meals
Off-site Lodging
Schedule
Field Trips
Acadia
Bucket Raffle
Registration
Our meeting will be held at the beautiful Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, Winter Harbor, Maine. The facility has a state-of-the-art auditorium for our main sessions and is located right on the coast. Come see why 3.3 million people visit Acadia every year by experiencing the beauty the park has to offer without dealing with the crowds of the main portion of Mount Desert Island.
You will be within walking distances to numerous trails and can hike nearby islands at low tide and witness the rough and raw seas from the point. Beautiful waves crash onto pink granite and basalt rocks and create giant sea spray. Take in breathtaking views within walking distance of the meeting and lodging site. A campus map can be found here. Additional information on both hiking and biking paths can be found at this link.
Our Friday night speaker will be Brad Allen, a biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife who will present “The History of Maine Eiders and Islands in Art– 170 years (or so) of Research.”
Brad is a life-long Mainer, leaving only to earn his Master’s Degree at the University of Montana. He’s been employed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for nearly 40 years and currently leads and directs the Bird Group within the Wildlife Research and Assessment Section. He collaborates with a wide variety of partners and is currently working on Common Eider ducking survival in southern Maine. Eiders in the northeastern U.S. are the most hunted sea duck and Brad is interested in determining if harvest rates are sustainable given other sources of mortality. Over 11,000 eiders have been banded in Maine since 2002. Top sources of band recoveries are hunters, folks finding dead eiders on beaches and finally eiders that have been killed and eaten by Bald Eagles.
On Saturday night our speaker will be Dr. Donald Dearborn of Bates College. He will present on “Genetics and Ecology of Diseases in Wild Birds,” including some of his own research on the genetics of the avian immune system from Kent Island. He’ll also discuss diseases frequently encountered by banders, such as pox and Mycoplasmal conjuntivitis. It promises to be a perfectly balanced talk in terms of the complexity and depth given this topic.
Check back in May for details on our Saturday scientific program speakers.
Are you interested in presenting at this meeting? Please send abstracts for oral presentations of 15-20 minutes of no more than 200 words to Lisa Kiziuk (lkr AT wctrust.org). Proposals for posters should be directed to Andrea Patterson (andrea.j.patterson AT gmail.com). Proposals are due by May 18th.
Plan to arrive by Friday afternoon to take advantage of workshops and vendors. Topics will include eBird for atlassing – Maine just launched its second breeding bird atlas and you can help while you’re here visiting. Plus, see how eBird and banding data can work together.
- Visit Dave Brinker and his table display of owls and raptor specimens
- How reliable is aging by tail feather shape alone? Quiz yourself with a workshop slideshow and find out.
- View and discuss slides/photos of molt limits- join the discussion to determine ages, code feather generations (a la MAPS), etc.
- Check out Bird Banding Mythbusters…aging by the white “step” on the coverts of a RCKI, the complete white tip on the carpal covert of BAWW, whether the bars line up on wrens…we’re on a fact (or fiction) finding mission and you can help.
Several room styles are available on site including 2 and 4 bedroom apartments which have full kitchens, common areas, phones and wifi. Nearly all options include a shared bathroom. Why not coordinate with your friends to share an apartment. If you coordinate with others to stay together, be sure to mention it when you register so staff can accommodate you. Double occupancy twin bed rooms are $59.95/night with tax per person. Private rooms with shared baths are $81.75/night with tax. Some other options are available as well. If you’d like help finding a roommate, we’ve created a Doodle Poll to match interested parties. Please read this linked document for an explanation of Schoodic housing options BEFORE you register.
You can purchase any combination of meals (or none at all) from Schoodic. Breakfasts are $12.96, lunches are between $15-$17 and dinners $24.30. What’s a trip to Maine without a lobster? For Saturday’s dinner a lobster bake is available for an extra $10. You can help us with our planning by indicating your interest in having lobster at this Doodle Poll. More details can be found on the registration page. If you’re looking to save money on meals, know that all on-site lodging comes with fully equipped kitchen units, including pots, pans, plates, etc.
Should you wish to stay off site, there are many inns in nearby Winter Harbour, a 15 minute drive from the meeting place. A partial listing of inns and campgrounds can be found here.
Tent and R/V camping within Acadia National Park is another option. Sites are about $35/night. Details on that can be found here. If camping inside the park, you must buy a park pass for $25/vehicle.
Friday morning (9am-2pm) – EBBA Council meeting (Lunch Provided)
Friday noon to 6- registration
Friday afternoon (2-5pm) – workshops and vendors
Friday evening (5 – 6pm) – poster session in auditorium
Friday evening (6 – 9pm) – dinner and keynote speaker Brad Allen
Saturday morning (6-7:30am) – Schoodic Peninsula bird walk
Saturday – A full day of speakers and presentations. Vendors and bucket raffle ongoing. Membership meeting following Lunch
Saturday evening (5-6pm) – poster session in auditorium
Saturday evening (6 – 10pm) – dinner, keynote presentation, and bucket raffle wrap-up
Sunday morning – field trips
FIELD TRIPS
Arrive early and enjoy birding along the trails on site. Free trips include a morning bird walk on Saturday along the Schoodic Peninsula coast and sun dew trail.
For extra early morning risers, there will be a sunrise yoga session to celebrate the solstice on Schoodic Point prior to the morning bird walk. Come experience the longest day of the year where light first shines on the continental U.S. Soothing sounds of crashing waves and warbler song will provide the backdrop for visitors.
A Sunday morning trip to Acadia National Park OR the Orono Bog Boardwalk will also be planned. Transportation to Acadia National Park can be made available through the Island Explorer buses. Participants must provide their own transportation for the Bog Boardwalk tour (~1.5 hour drive from meeting location). The bog boardwalk offers such specialties as Canada Warbler, Spruce Grouse, Palm Warbler, and Lincoln’s Sparrow.
For an additional fee (about $50), cruises will be arranged to Machias Seal Island and/or Petit Manan Island to see see breeding seabird colonies of puffins, razorbills, guillemots, and common, arctic, and roseate terns. Check out Acadian Nature Cruises to learn more.
A park pass is not required to access the conference facilities. It is required if you wish to visit the Mount Desert Island portion of the park or if you plan to camp at Schoodic Woods. Passes can be purchased at the Schoodic Woods campground, at the welcome center, or online.
As always, we’ll hold a bucket raffle to support Memorial grants and/or the Frazier Fund (Council announces each year how the money will be distributed). Please considering bring gently used banding tools and, items related to birding, as well as handicrafts or gift certificates. Questions should be directed to our chairman David Hauber.
Remember, if you are staying on site in the shared housing, Please read this linked document before you register for the meeting.
On-line registration has closed, but you can still join us. Please call (207)288-1337 or (207)288-1356 to register.