After some research I decided to take the advice of MaineToday's Getting Started Nature Watching expert Lysle Brinker. He suggests that beginning bird watchers choose a marsh area for a first experience. It's easiest, he said, to spot birds in an open area. And since one of Brinker's favorite places to bird watch is Scarborough Marsh, we decided to try that out.

In preparation for our birding trip I consulted Maine Audubon staff naturalist Judy Walker's weekly bird alert. She writes about the type of birds that have been spotted in various regions around the state each week. I wrote down the names of the birds she listed in the Scarborough Marsh area and then consulted our brand-new bird guide book to see what they looked like. I also found a poster of marsh life that I thought was helpful.

The first thing we did when we arrived at Scarborough Marsh was to go into the nature center. Although the center looks small, it packs in a lot of helpful information for bird and nature watchers of all levels and interests.

There were lots of hands-on activities at the center. The kids had a chance to test their "wing span" against wooden wings. They were not only able to see which bird their "wings" were the same width as, but they actually got to see the stuffed bird up close.

HIKING ON THE MARSH
The walking-tour trail map, available at the nature center, is organized by numbered stations. There are notes on the map about the type of wildlife you can see at each station.

The trail is less than a mile and starts at the nature center then crosses the street to the other side of the marsh. Pine Point Road is a very busy road so it took us a few minutes, and some sprinting, to get across.

There were a lot of things to explore with the senses out on the marsh trail. We heard lots of birds "singing", examined several different kinds of plants, smelled flowers and touched lots of slimey stuff in the puddles along the way (we were on the trail a little past high tide).

When we crossed over a boardwalk of planks on one portion of the trail, we saw a groundhog skuttle by. The kids were thrilled with the sighting but didn't care for the low-tide smell of the marsh in that particular area.

Along the next portion of the trail the kids explored a couple of pools of water. There was one pool where they found some tiny fish swimming.

Through this whole trip the kids kept yelling at me to take pictures of the birds. "Did you get it mommy? Look over there mommy! Don't you see it?!" It was great to see how enthusiastic they were about spotting all the birds.

The trail was short and easy and had a nice spot with a log (station #6) to sit down on and have a snack. It seemed everywhere we looked we could see at least a couple of birds flying in the air or standing on the grassy marsh. As I've said, I'm just learning but I'm sure we saw a couple of snowy egrets. They were the easiest for us to identify.

We deemed this bird watching hike a success. There's nothing worse than telling the kids we're going out on a trail to find something specific and then not finding it. There was no nagging about where the birds were. But, there were lots of questions I didn't know the answers to. So after the hike we went back to the nature center to see if we could compare the birds we saw with the bird displays there.

CANOEING ON THE MARSH
After our hike on the marsh we decided we had so much fun that we would return the next day with our canoe (canoe rentals are available there for people who don't have friends like ours to lend you one). The kids wanted to see if we could get closer to the birds and thought that being in the middle of the marsh was the best way to do it.

On our last canoe trip, I found managing my camera in the canoe a challenge. And this time I found that using binoculars was tricky for me too. I didn't want to drop my paddles or drift into a muddy bank and get stuck while I was looking through the binoculars. But I didn't want to miss out on getting a closer look at the birds either. Decisions, decisions. But then the choice was made for me when my husband decided to stop paddling and look around with the binoculars and help the kids with theirs. He told me to stop paddling and bump into the marshy banks, "It's no big deal." But I went on a canoe trip as a teenager and had to portage over a big muddy bank after drifting into one by accident. Not a scene I wanted to repeat with this larger canoe and two kids. So I kept up my paddling and the kids got some close up views of a couple of snowy egrets flying around the marsh. I eventually got my chance to get a closer look too.

The waterway we took led to a small bridge about 1.3 miles away. It didn't look that far because the water winds through the marsh; it's not a direct path. If you plan to canoe the marsh but sure to check out the tide chart so you know in which direction you'll be working against the tide. We chose to take our trip just before high tide so that our paddle on the way back would be easier coming in with the tide.

There's more to see than just birds at the marsh. We were treated to some nice sky designs the day of our trip. It was a real confidence-booster when I could identify at least one thing easily without any guesswork and the need to consult a guide book.

The Audubon Society offers several classes during the summer (and spring and fall) for all skill levels of bird watchers. I had looked into taking a class before we set out on this trip but none fit into my family's schedule this past month. But we've all agreed that next month we're going to make time to take a class there.

The nature center displays were really helpful and the staff we encountered there on both days were happy to answer all of our questions. If you're new to bird watching and don't know where to begin, Scarborough Marsh is an excellent place to learn - whether you choose to hike, canoe, or do both.