April 16, 2026

Where: Dunn Loring Community Park

When: 6:34pm

Bird Species: American robin, American crow, red-bellied woodpecker, eastern towhee. Heard but not seen: a bunch, apparently.

Things I Thought About:

• Anyone who gets involved with birding later in life is likely to have Merlin on their phone, and therefore the phenomenon I am experiencing right now will be immensely relatable: the Okay, if you fucking say so of it all.

• I wore jeans to the office today. This is not exactly a world-shattering act of defiance, but I was not put on this earth to wear unflattering business casual I bought for my pre-Covid body, so fuck it. Might as well start the way you mean to go on: I am going to be friendly and transparent, I am going to use emojis in Teams, I am going to wear jeans sometimes.
• Something in the middle part of this park smells like boiling vegetables in an absolutely revolting way. It did get into the 90s today, so I suppose anything organic might be baking in the sun, but this is unpleasant.
• Also, the light is hopeless. A flash makes them look over exposed and their eyes glow like monsters, and no flash produces a blurry image. I'm sure there's a solution for this somewhere in my settings? Sound off in the comments.
• It's nice to be outside, though. Maybe I'll have the honorary First Cocktail on the Balcony of the season tonight. That reminds me, I need to buy vinegar. Not for the cocktail, for the bees.
• I'd never kill a bee, but I do hate having them near me on the balcony. White vinegar in a spray bottle does the trick nicely, pro-tip.
• I might swear at a bee, though. This is the time of year when you can see movement in the corner of your eye and it's as likely to be a bee, a butterfly, or a giant summer bug as it is a bird.
• It is fascinating how many birds I'm not seeing tonight.
• If I order a pizza right now it will be there when I get home. This is the best idea I've had all walk.

BOTD: the eastern towhee. I know, it was the same bird as last week, but they have really been putting themselves forward lately. Yesterday when I was at Eakin, I saw a bunch of dirt and leaves being flung around in some brush and I said to myself. "That's going to be a towhee," and it was.

I would not have known that last year. I have seen towhees all over the place this month, but I have never thought of them as a regular around here. They must be, they must have been! They must have been just as common last summer, but I wasn't paying that much attention, and I wasn't getting out there that often. The eastern towhee is a gift this year has given me. Towhees are just one of the birds I know now.