This morning, I birded with my friend Paul, from NJ, who is in town to lead a pre-ABA Convention birding tour. Today was his day to do a bit of scouting for the trip, and we began at Biddeford Pool. Low tide is not prime time there, so it was not too productive in the Pool. One lingering Ruddy Turnstone and a late immature Great Cormorant was off of East Point Sanctuary, along with a Harlequin Duck – a great bird for June! Meanwhile, 11 Black-bellied Plovers were still on Hill’s Beach.

Scarborough Marsh was our next destination, and the primary location for Paul’s scouting today. The goal was to locate some quick and easy locations for both Nelson’s and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows, which was not difficult to find. In fact, both species were extremely cooperative – providing us with fantastic views. I hope they cooperate for him like this tomorrow! An adult Red Knot in spiffy breeding garb was nice to see, despite the distance and heat shimmer. 75-100 Bonaparte’s Gulls were across the narrows on Western Beach, and a female Gadwall joined a male Blue-winged Teal and a handful of Green-winged Teal in the salt pannes of Eastern Road.

It was a good morning of pretty good birding, good conversation, and pretty darn good weather (OK, we were both soon complaining about the heat!)

Tomorrow, I invite you to join me here at the store for our free birdwalk. We meet, as always, at 8:00am. However, tomorrow we will be joined by Jim Danzenbaker, the Naturalist Manager of Brunton Sports Optics. Jim will be giving us a chance to “test drive” many of Brunton’s products from optics to portable solar panels. At 11:00, Jim will host an optics workshop, discussing how to choose, use, and maintain optics (binoculars and spotting scopes). It will be a great way to play with some fun, new products, and learn more about birding optics. Hope to see you then!

In the interesting fossil discoveries department, a fossil has been discovered in China that may be the missing link between modern birds and their ancient ancestors.