April 17, 2026

Where: Lake Accotink Park

When: 5:00pm until sunset

Bird Species: white-throated sparrow, Carolina wren, downy woodpecker, Carolina chickadee, American robin, northern cardinal, blue-grey gnatcatcher, American goldfinch, northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, Canada goose, mallard, house sparrow, eastern bluebird, house finch, mourning dove, barn swallow, pileated woodpecker

Things I Thought About:

• I always used to park at the marina because that entrance is near the other aunt's house, but lately I've been parking at this lot, much higher up and away from the water. And now I see there are woods trails?

• I really did not come dressed for a trail like this. I have on shorts. Leaves of Three, Let them Be! But I did put on bug spray and my bandana, and I've been waiting all week to get some time outside where I wasn't expected somewhere and it wasn't 90 degrees out. And look at this path! How do I not follow this. I can hear a hundred birds.
• Oh, that Carolina wren is so loud and so close! Perfectly framed little yellow bird against all the green.
• What the fuck is wrong with this camera??
• I left the battery in the charger at home.
• Well...this chugs nuts.
• I'm not going home to get it, I'll tell you that right now. It is beautiful out here, and I brought my book to sit by the water in a bit. I am following this path, and I'll just...try to get a photo.
• Jesus Christ, I can't even tell if there's a bird in this photo. Why don't I ever upgrade my phone? They've got to be up to like a 15 now. (Note later: 17. For the love of God, Sara Kate, why are you like this.)
• Oh, my gosh, blue grey gnatcatchers! I've been dying to talk about them, and there are two right there!
• I am the "forgot your camera" cartoon.

• I am genuinely laughing now, as one must. I have never been to this area of the park, creeping up to the furthest picnic site from the woods, and I have never seen so many small birds. I can't do a goddamn thing about it.
• And now my phone is at 1%. No camera battery, and also no phone battery. On a very narrow path in a very dense wood. Surprisingly, I have thought very little about getting murdered back here.
• I know perfectly well that this brain fog and forgetfulness is menopause, but it would a hell of way to find out I have a brain tumor. I have used Find my iPhone twice this month.
• Cut off logs and stumps always look like a great place to sit and read, and then you're eight years old and your mom is painting your naked butt with clear nail polish to save you from the chigger bites that drilled in while you were reading Superfudge.
• Now that I am remembering this extremely specific memory, it sounds absolutely insane. I must look this up when I get home to see if this is a real thing. (Note later: it is a real thing, but it is also insane.)
• Do you know something? It is very difficult to close to a bird! I am always seeing them through binos and taking photos with a 300 mm lens. None of these guys are letting me get anywhere near as close as I need to be for an iPhone 11.
• This feels like a necessary and salutary reminder. I feel enlivened, and uplifted, and, I don't know, validated when I am out enjoying the woods, and seeing the birds and turtles and the green and the wind; I feel my feet on the ground and I know that I'm a part of it, too; I have as much right to be there in the natural world as they do. But today, I am trying to get close enough to a bird to snap a phone pic while they actively flee from me, and I am reminded that those feelings are contingent upon me knowing my fucking place.
• A bird is allowed to fly right past me, five feet away, invade my space, and that's perfectly natural, but I cannot return the favor.
• The bluest fucking bluebird you ever saw in your life.
• I mean, it is genuinely very funny how many perfect shots they're giving me, this evening, but also I might cry.
• And barn swallows! And my phone is dead! I'm going to sit on a bench and watch the barn swallows skim the lake and read a chapter of my book and then go get a DQ chocolate dipped cone and then go home.
• I'm not gonna make a goose the bird of the day just because he's big enough to show up on an iPhone screen.

BOTD: the eastern bluebird, who stayed very still for a long time in the perfect shaded bower that allowed his blue to look so very blue. It truly did start to feel like a joke. I said, "are you fucking kidding me?" and laughed out loud when I saw the pileated woodpecker fly by. I probably couldn't have gotten him or the swallows if my camera had been functional, but I would have liked to have tried.

I have not been crushing the bird walks this week. TGIF, amirite?