By Lena Moser

For our second trip, we ventured out to Scarborough Marsh and surroundings. Highlights were numerous Glossy Ibis, Green-winged Teal, Greater Yellowlegs, and very large rafts of Long-tailed Ducks at Pine Point. We also saw a couple of showy American Oystercatchers at Pine Point, and three species of swallow: Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged.

Raptors were cooperative, too. We had an adult Bald Eagle fly directly over our heads twice, and we had good looks at an Osprey hovering in mid-air, as well as a Sharp-shinned Hawk gaining lift in a thermal. Sebastian spotted a far-off Little Blue Heron in the hazy distance at Pelreco (great eye!) We said "hi" to a friendly, outdoor Siamese cat at Pine Point and had a good discussion about the severe impact of outdoor cat predation on birds. Overall, the day was sunny, warm, and beautiful... we truly enjoyed being out together in the field!

Our eBird checklists can be found here: Eastern Trail, Dunstan Landing, Pelreco, Pine Point.