breffni, accomodations on MDI can be tricky as they tend to fill up pretty fast. What my family and I have done through out the years is to rent a cottage on Long Pond, however most of those are probably booked at this point - still worth checking IMO. There are several hotels in Bar Harbor. Southeast harbor is great too (smaller and a little more laid back). As far as birding the "wonderland" and "nature" trails near Seawall are pretty good. Really the whole island is great for birding. My wife is much more knowledgeable about this stuff as she is the family travel agent -when she gets home from work I will try to get her thoughts. In any case hope you have a fantastic trip!:t: