Quincy Shore, August 26, 2008

Maura and I made another short trip in a our quest to fill her DCR park passport. A quick drive over the Fore River Bridge brought us to the Quincy Shore Reservation. We parked along Wallaston Beach and walked over to Tony's Clam Shop for lunch--fried seafood. Maura had shrimp, her very favorite food. We took a short walk along the beach to the headquarters of the reservation where we got a stamp for Maura's book. Then we moved the car, a rather difficult undertaking, to a lot on the other side of Quincy Shore drive at the south end of the beach. Maura spent some time at the nearby playground and then walked down to the edge of the Black's Creek Estuary to do some birdwatching. There, in the middle of Quincy, is an excellent spot to watch shore birds feeding at the edge of the salt marsh. Maura couldn't get a good look at the laughing gull, the willets or the Great Blue Heron because her binoculars weren't strong enough and she couldn't get the hang of focusing mine. Both of us got a wonderful view of a Great Egret as it fed on the mud flats near us and then flew away across the river. Both of us agreed it was the highlight of our day.