View over Monhegan Harbor to Manana Island Photo: John Murdock
Monhegan Island, Maine, is a treasure. Small, isolated and quite far offshore, it concentrates landbird migrants, attracts off-course vagrants and provides some of the most pleasant birdwatching anywhere. There are very few motor vehicles, and footpaths lead out in many directions through spruce forests and small clearings to high rocky headlands and tiny coves. Late September/early October is probably the best birdwatching time at Monhegan, when nocturnal migrants drift offshore on northwest winds and find refuge on the island, sometimes in large numbers. Vagrants from the south and west have been frequent and hawk flights - especially falcons - spectacular by island standards.
Monhegan has a small village populated year-round by a few hardy lobstermen and women and their families and, in the warm months, a thriving summer colony and art scene that feasts on the celebrated Maine coast scenery. The island itself, especially in this tranquil after-season, has a particular beauty: the last bloom of weedy wildflowers among stacked lobster traps, the ring of bell buoys on quiet afternoons and low-angled sunlight on old buildings. Our tour coincides with “Trap Day,” when Monhegan’s eleven lobstermen and lobsterwomen and their assistants begin the fishing season. It’s a quietly moving event as the traps are brought out of summer storage and carried to the town dock and onto the boats in preparation for a simultaneous departure early in the morning of October 1.
We use Monhegan’s extremely comfortable Island Inn for accommodation, but we’ll eat at least one dinner in each of the island’s three inns, each with its own character.
The tour ends close to the time when fall color is at its peak, and participants who have never seen a New England fall are encouraged to stay a few days after the tour to witness this natural spectacular.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6 p.m. in Portland. Night in Portland.
Day 2: We’ll drive the 60 miles to Boothbay Harbor, the jumping-off point for the midmorning ferry to Monhegan. The ride takes about an hour and one-half and depending on weather we may see a few seabirds, Northern Gannet and Greater Shearwater being the most likely. Night on Monhegan.
“The Monhegan tour was wonderful.”
Susan Clarke
Days 3-6: Our days on Monhegan will be unscripted. We’ll usually walk the dirt road through town before breakfast. We have favorite gardens and weedy patches that over the years seem to have harbored more than their share of birds, and we’ll visit them repeatedly.
After breakfast we’ll take a longer walk, perhaps past Ice House Pond through Cathedral Woods to the northeast side or perhaps to Lobster Cove or Burnthead Cliff. No walk is very long and each is lovely in its own way. If there are lots of migrants about, we may never get out of town.
Afternoons will be a repeat of the mornings but to different destinations. During our stay we’ll certainly visit many spots repeatedly but there’s more than enough to do. Nights on Monhegan.
Day 7: We’ll depart Monhegan this afternoon and return to Boothbay Harbor and Portland. Night in Portland..
Day 8: The tour concludes this morning in Portland.
Updated: 22 October 2009
Prices
- 2010 price about $2,730
- Single Occupancy Supplement $700
- 2011 price not yet available
Notes
This tour is limited to nine participants with two leaders. Will Russell will accompany the group regardless of group size, participating in some group activities each day.
A Google map of the tour route can be found here.