AN EAGLET in a nest on Swan Island. CHRIS DESORBO PHOTO VIA FRIENDSOF MERRYMEETING BAY

AN EAGLET in a nest on Swan Island. CHRIS DESORBO PHOTO VIA FRIENDSOF MERRYMEETING BAY

RICHMOND

Friends of Merrymeeting Bay is organizing Swan Island tours this weekend by land and others by sea. They will be led by local historian, FOMB member and Friends of Swan Island President Jay Robbins.

On Friday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friends of Merrymeeting Bay offers a tour of the island by truck mixed with programming at the Island’s interpretative center and ample time to walk about.

On Sunday, the group hosts a nautical circumnavigation tour of Swan in the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife ferry from 3:15-5:30 p.m.

There is an $8 island fee for Friday’s tour and donations are suggested for the circumnavigation.

Participants will meet and launch from the Swan Island ferry landing just north of the Richmond Town Landing. Required pre-registration for both of these outings is with Jay Robbins at (207) 737-2239. Attendance is limited to the first 40 people to sign up.

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Located in the Kennebec River between Richmond and Dresden, four mile Swan Island is a part of the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Area and included on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Island’s name itself is derived from “Swango,” the Abenaki name for “Island of Eagles.” In the late 1800s, a small settlement on the Island survived by farming, fishing, lumbering, shipbuilding, brick manufacturing, and ice making. The island is also known for bald eagles, whitetailed deer and wild turkey.

Tour participants should wear appropriate shoes, bring some drinking water, snack and binoculars and adequate clothing.

FOMB’s next Outside Series event, interspersed between the Swan Island tours, is a Mushroom Walk with mycologist Michaeline Mulvey on Sept. 13 from 5-7 p.m. in Woolwich. Preregistration with Ed Friedman at (207) 666-3372 is required. For more information on FOMB programs, or to volunteer for Fall Bay Day on Sept. 25 for 4th graders, call Friedman at 666-3372 or visit friendsofmerrymeetingbay.o rg.

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