For a change of scenery this morning, I took Sasha for a walk at Beaver Park in Lisbon. It was a fairly birdy morning, with 36 species recorded including 3 Canada Warblers and at least 5 singing Nashville Warblers. A short stroll in the cool, streamside shade at the nearby Papermill Trail was also productive, featuring a few Indigo Buntings and a lot of American Redstarts - including at least one family of fledglings.

On Tuesday, Jeannette and I headed farther afield to Newmarket, New Hampshire. On the way down, we visited Fort Foster. A lone adult Least Sandpiper on the beach there was my first southbound migrant of "fall." We then checked out nearby Legion Pond, home to the state's only - to the best of my knowledge - breeding pair of invasive and destructive (but, exceptionally beautiful) Mute Swans. Unfortunately, the pair had two young cygnets in tow. This is not a species we need to spread in our state, no matter how aesthetically pleasing they are.

Then, it was on to Newmarket, which has been put on the birding map this summer by nesting Mississippi Kites! As far as I know, the nearest breeding kites are in Virginia, yet somehow this pair - and one subadult "helper"- discovered this unassuming maple on this unassuming, but busy, suburban thoroughfare.

We quickly found the nest, thanks to excellent directions and descriptions posted online, and although very hard to see, an adult bird was present.

Can you find the nest in this shot? And, if you look hard enough, you'll see the face and part of the eye of the bird.

We began backing up, walking back east along the road, trying to get a better view into the nest. Our best view, and our most comfortable, was to be had by standing in the shade a good 100-150 yards from the nest. From that angle, we could see more of the nest, and more of the adult bird atop it.

It was wicked hot this day, and therefore, the adult spent most of the time standing, shading the eggs, rather than incubating them.

The second adult made a brief cameo for us as well, passing high overhead soaring and making a few runs at passing dragonflies. In the hour and a half that we were there, we saw the bird apparently rotate the eggs at least three times.

This is really an extraordinary occurrence, and a truly amazing sight to see. We then grabbed a sandwich and devoured it at the riverside Schonda Conservation Area in downtown Newmarket, watching a Belted Kingfisher diving and Eastern Kingbirds flycatching.

We detoured into Rye for ice cream - we don't get down here very often in the summer, and when we do, a visit to the Ice House for a sundae is mandatory! - and scanned a few mudflats and shorelines while en route. Finally, back in the Pine Tree State, we stopped by Biddeford's Rotary Park to see if we could find the Lawrence's Warbler despite the mid-day sun and heat (about 90 degrees). We did not have high hopes, so we were pleasantly surprised to hear it, but soon the heat was too much for us, and we headed home.

Meanwhile, if you're interested, here is a new photo gallery from Nikon ProStaff's Tom Dunkerton from our recent Guatemala excursion for the EDG product launch.

Finally today, speaking of the Neotropics, I urge you to take a moment to visit the American Bird Conservancy's website and send a quick, instant email to your representatives urging their support of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA). The "NMBCA is the only federal U.S. grants program specifically dedicated to the conservation of our migrant birds," which includes things like Lawrence's Warblers (or, technically speaking, the two species that combine to produce a Lawrence's Warbler) and Mississippi Kites.