A Pied Wagtail was the first Portuguese bird close enough to photograph Monday as it carried a big beetle in its beak (photo by Paul Konrad).

As we go to press this week, our editor is birding on another continent, one of his least visited continents – Europe! Paul is visiting a new country too – Portugal – complete with his birding gear and office equipment as he searches for, observes, studies, photographs, and reports on all the birds he encounters during a quick introduction to the birds that inhabit the woodlands, Atlantic beaches, rivers, and a few cities and parks. It will be another aspect of spring birding to share with you and Paul hopes to have some representative photographs to share with you to illustrate his “birding northern Portugal” travelogue.

Paul will be birding again in good ole North Dakota by Friday morning, which could be the beginning of the best warbler migration wave at Melody’s Grove for more down-home birding – he’s a busy guy. Although Portugal is only the third country he has visited in Europe, Portugal will be the 46th nation where Paul has enjoyed birding, although in many nations he was working on avian research projects too.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this issue of The Birding Wire, which Paul helped produce, some in Dakota, some in Portugal, some in airports, and some 8 miles high on the way to Europe.