Fall foliage from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park by CarbonNYC

Acadia National Park is now accepting applications through March 5th for its Raptor Internship. This sounds like a great opportunity for a birdwatcher!

Acadia National Park is located just off the coast of Maine. Most of the park is on Mount Desert Island, but the park also preserves many of the other smaller islands in the area. It became a National Park in 1929 making it the first National Park east of the Mississippi River.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), a total of 338 bird species have been recorded at Acadia National Park. This is the highest amount for any US National Park. The NPS set up a birdwatching page for Acadia that lists popular locations for seeing some of the park’s birds.

The Fall foliage in New England is arguably some of the best in America. The new intern will get to do a little “leaf peeping” and witness the absolutely gorgeous colors firsthand. Just another added incentive!

From the news release:

From mid-May through mid-August, the raptor intern observes and interprets the activities of peregrine falcons at Champlain Mountain, a falcon nesting site since 1991.

From late August to mid October the intern counts and identifies migrating raptors from atop Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 feet.

The raptor intern engages thousands of visitors at these two sites, interpreting the natural history and conservation measures regarding raptors, as well as monitoring and collecting resource data.

In exchange for roughly 32 hours a week, you’ll receive a $100 per week, housing, transportation around the park, an awesome uniform and two to three weeks of training. The training includes:

orientation to the biology of Peregrine Falcons, hawk identification, the park and surrounding areas, resource issues, and interpretive skills

Visit the Acadia Raptor Internship News Release on the NPS website for more information.