These trips offer an opportunity to experience a unique event only Maine can offer! From watching crazy Lobster boat races, to viewing fireworks by boat on the 4th of July, to honing your photography skills aboard the Pamela B. These unique events will fill up fast so make sure to check this section often.

Birds of Casco Bay ~ Boat Tour  ~ 2023 Schedule

August 6th ~ 9:00 – 11:30 BOOK HERE

August:

Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for osprey, eagles, eiders, Common Terns, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common breeding water and shoreline birds of the region, including photographic opportunities whenever we can, but without disturbing any nests.

This special small-group trip is timed for the peak of shorebird migration. We’ll explore a few islands for possible roosting sites, but spend most of our time working the extensive mudflats of the Royal River Estuary. In fact, the local Indigenous Peoples called the river Westcustogo, meaning “muddy.”  Rich with benthic invertebrates, large numbers of shorebirds feed here during their southbound migration.  On a private tour last year, we encountered hundreds of shorebirds of seven species, mostly in close proximity to the boat.  Many were side-by-side, allowing for easy analysis and comparison to learn the basics of shorebird identification, so our goal is to recreate that experience.

October 6th ~ 9:00 – 11:30 BOOK HERE

Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for eagles, migrant waterfowl, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common resident and migratory water and shoreline birds of the region, including photographic opportunities whenever we can.

Conditions and tide permitting, we’ll poke around the mouth of Maquoit Bay and especially up into Middle Bay, two of the richest areas for waterfowl concentrations.  If we can find a mass of American Black Ducks, we’ll scour them for a variety of other dabblers, such as Green-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers.  Some of our wintering and migratory bayducks, such as Surf and White-winged Scoters will just be arriving, and Common Loons begin to build in for the winter.

July 2022 and October 2022 tour reports are posted on the Freeport Wild Bird Supply website to give you an idea of what we saw.  On our June 2021 trip, unexpected highlights included a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Roseate Tern, while in July of 2022, we found an over summering Surf Scoter in addition to the usual summer denizens.