The lure of an August blue sky and reasonably comfortable temperature lured us into a walk at Boothbay Region Land Trust’s Ovens Mouth Preserve over the weekend.

When we stepped out of the car, we immediately tuned in to the sing-song phrases of the preacher bird: the red-eyed vireo. This bird is always one of the last birds singing each summer, as we’ve written about here in the past.

There were lots of plants still in bloom, and insects buzzed at their sweet blossoms. Although we are fascinated by bees, butterflies and beetles, we couldn’t help but chuckle as we saw a chickadee skirting the oak trees nearby. “Bird food,” we said.

As we headed down the path where it meanders along the shore of the cove that separates the west and east sides of the preserve, we came upon some lovely ripe blackberries. We pointed again. “Some bird food is also people food,” one of us commented. And with that, we sampled a few berries before the robins, sparrows and other birds got them all.

Our son, having recently spent a week at a primitive skills camp, was tuned into the sounds around us and soon discovered a garter snake nearby, one of five he found during our hike. Snakes are bird food, too; broad-winged hawks are particularly adept at catching snakes. We have often seen them flying off with a long snake dangling from their talons. But no hawks were seen this fine August day at Oven’s Mouth to partake of the bird food of this slithering kind.

As we entered into some of the patches of spruce trees on the way out to the point, we heard the tell-tale, ultra-high-pitched calls of the tiny golden-crowned kinglets that so love to stay high up in spruces, where they are really hard to see. A brown creeper, too, called from further into the woods.

Perhaps they were enjoying bird food (spiders) taken from one of the webs we admired glistening in the sunshine.

Out at the point, we stopped to soak our feet in the cool waters that now were starting to flow out through Oven’s Mouth, forming the massive current that causes even the motorboats to strain when going against it (and is, incidentally, the backdrop of a family story involving an older brother’s attempt to row up against it).

We saw no evidence of the osprey nest that used to be so prominent across the way; perhaps a reader can tell us if they have just moved to a new location somewhere nearby?

A common tern flew by scanning for food; and a belted kingfisher, with its scraggly crest, gave its rattle call as it landed in a small spruce along the shore. A double-crested cormorant skimmed in low over the water and plopped down in front of us.

Unlike us, these birds weren’t here to relax among the stunning coastal scenery; they were here for bird food: the fish swimming in the sparkling green water stretched out before us.

As we stood to leave, in paddled a flock of brightly colored kayaks. We waved to each other in the warm sunshine. The little spotted sandpiper that came flying into the cove behind them, however, was after bird food, such as the tiny shrimp and other crustaceans lurking at the water’s edge.

Such a glorious day deserved a glorious ending, we decided, and with that, off we went for lobster rolls, which we enjoyed outside under an umbrella overlooking Decker’s Cove on Southport.

We kept a close eye on our dinner. Although we consider it utterly delicious human food, to hungry gulls it’s ... bird food.

Dr. Jeff Wells is the senior scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative. During his time at the famed Cornell Lab of Ornithology and as the Audubon Society's national bird conservation director, Dr. Wells earned a reputation as one of the nation's leading bird experts and conservation biologists. Jeff's grandfather, the late John Chase, was a columnist for the Boothbay Register for many years. Allison Childs Wells, also formerly of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a widely published natural history writer and a senior director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Together, they have been writing and teaching people about birds for decades. The Maine natives are authors of the highly acclaimed book, “Maine's Favorite Birds.”