songbirds
Where: Huntley Meadows Hike & Bike Trail When: 8:42 am Bird Species: northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, American redstart, indigo bunting, blue grosbeak, eastern bluebird, barn swallow, great blue heron, great egret, green heron, white-eyed vireo, ruby-throated hummingbird, red-winged blackbird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, common grackle, Carolina wren, eastern towhee Things I
thrushes
Where: Hidden Oaks When: 11:00 am Bird Species: American robin, pileated woodpecker, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, American crow, house sparrow, American goldfinch, downy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow Things I Thought About: * I intended to be asleep until at least noon today but my niece, turns out, had a
raptors
Rabbit Rabbit Where: Huntley Meadows Park When: December 18, 2023 Things I Am Thinking About: * As you are reading this, I am likely to be on my way home, praise the Lord. I have been watching my face and hair (and body and mood) deteriorate day by day while I’
Guest Birder
Guest Birder of the Day: Mark Calcagni and I frequented the same coffee shop 20-some years ago, and we reconnected the way people our age usually do, on Facebook, where I was obsessed with his bird photos while just getting into it myself. I'm glad I didn'
swamp friends
Where: all over Delmarva When: summer and fall of 2024, mostly Things I'm Thinking About: * I pre-loaded three days of content, certain that I’d be able to spend an hour in that time writing something well-crafted and nostalgic about birds, which I love, and love to talk
Guest Birder
Guest Birder of the Day: Patrick Doyle, who readers of the blog will be thrilled to learn is my osprey pal! When we went birding together in Maryland, I saw my first indigo bunting, Baltimore oriole, American redstart, tundra swan, solitary sandpiper, and eastern wood peewee. Banner day. At one
raptors
Where: Cross County Trail between Tobin Road and King Arthur When: February 4, 2024 BOTD: the barred owl. * The above is the first owl I ever spotted on my own. At the time I took that photo I had listed 11 birds. Every bird still sounded the same to me,
Guest Birder
Guest Birder of the Day: Maggie Hendricks, to whom I gave a link to this blog when I was still using the free trial version of the platform. Maggie has made surreptitious appearances on the blog as one of the Aunties in the famous Group Chat and Yahtzee Zoom. Everyone
lifers
Where: Huntley Meadows Park When: 12:50pm Bird Species: American robin, yellow-rumped warbler, common grackle, downy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, northern cardinal, mourning dove, red-headed woodpecker, mallard, Canada goose, blue-gray gnatcatcher, common yellowthroat, white-throated sparrow, wood duck, red-winged blackbird, white-eyed vireo (lifer), eastern bluebird, American bittern (lifer), great egret, great horned
finches
Where: around the complex When: 6:04pm Bird Species: American robin, house sparrow, house finch, common grackle, northern cardinal, mourning dove, blue jay Things I Thought About: * My guy hiking the AT has introduced me to the concept of Zeroes and NearOes, days where he does none of the AT,
urban birds
Where: Smithsonian Castle Gardens When: 5:48 pm Bird Species: American robin, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, common grackle, European starling, house sparrow, white-throated sparrow, eastern towhee, mallard, mourning dove Things I Thought About: * What do spies exchange now that no one carries attaché cases anymore? I have never seen a
raptors
Where: Wakefield Park When: 6:20pm Bird Species: American robin, northern cardinal, red-bellied woodpecker, blue-gray gnatcatcher, white-throated sparrow, house sparrow, house finch, osprey, house finch Things I Thought About: * I feel like I am coming down with something, and I am, as always, attacking it with complete denial. * How does