Is that a red-eyed vireo? Photo by Sara Carter.

On June 18, five of us set out across the dewy field above South Berwick’s Hamilton House. Along a path mown up the gentle rise, we stopped to inspect a singing indigo bunting, enjoyed a clear view of a newly fledged bobolink, and scoped a talkative yellowthroat perched for a long while up in a tree. We returned on the trails of Vaughan Woods State Park, which abuts the Historic New England property, a route that allowed us to hear a few wood warblers and see a close-up pileated woodpecker. We finished with a green heron stalking across the mud flats of the Salmon Falls River. As a surprise send-off, Historic New England’s Peggy Wishart invited us to the gardener’s shed for muffins, scones, and hot tea.