Maine is justifiably famous for its many summer camps for kids—lodges and cabins on lakes where kids come to swim, canoe, sail, fish, play games, sing songs around a campfire, and generally have fun. But did you know that our area of the Maine coast is also home to several camps that are important in the history of ornithology, bird study, and conservation?

Camp Chewonki in Wiscasset is now one of the best-known and best-loved environmental education programs in the country. Countless numbers of Maine school kids have attended programs at Chewonki, and adults and kids have learned on the land while on one of Chewonki’s famed wilderness trips. Camp Chewonki was established in Wiscasset in 1918 as a private nature-based camp. Its most famous ornithological connection came in 1928 when camp founder Clarence Allen found himself without his regular nature counselor. He invited a young man named Roger Tory Peterson to come as the replacement, but Peterson had no way to get there. Legend has it that Peterson sent a telegram to Allen saying that he needed to send $39.50 for a train ticket, if he wanted him there. Allen took a leap of faith and was glad he did. Peterson worked at the camp over the next five years while painting and writing his now famous “Field Guide to the Birds,” which catapulted the hobby and sport of birding into a national pastime.

Over in Muscongus Bay near Damariscotta, another camp, called the Hog Island Audubon Camp, has continued to be a Mecca for bird and nature enthusiasts since it was established in 1936. In fact, Roger Tory Peterson also figured prominently here as he was one of the first instructors at Hog Island in those early years. Many of the most well-known figures in bird conservation and ornithology have either been instructors at Hog Island or got their start there as participants or interns. Today, luminaries of the bird world like Steve Kress, Kenn Kaufman, Scott Weidensaul, Pete Dunne, and many others are regular instructors for the week-long courses for adults and teens. Participants room in the historic camp buildings on the island, share delicious meals in the dining hall, and take trips in the area to see birds including a boat trip to see the Atlantic Puffins on nearby Eastern Egg Rock.

If you don’t know about these camps, check them out on the Internet or arrange a visit yourself. Or sign up for a program. Like any great nature-based organization, consider supporting them with a financial contribution or as a volunteer!

Jeffrey V. Wells, Ph.D., is a Fellow of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Dr. Wells is one of the nation's leading bird experts and conservation biologists and author of the “Birder’s Conservation Handbook.” His grandfather, the late John Chase, was a columnist for the Boothbay Register for many years. Allison Childs Wells, formerly of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a senior director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, a nonprofit membership organization working statewide to protect the nature of Maine. Both are widely published natural history writers and are the authors of the book, “Maine’s Favorite Birds.”