Enjoying an Eastern Favorite

While out east last week I really enjoyed getting multiple looks at one of my new favorite bird species, the Red-bellied Woodpecker. The fellow above, (note the red on the head that runs above the eye instead of just on the back of the head), was peaking at me from behind some nice fall color.

I first saw this species while visiting my family last winter. From my research at the time I learned that its range has been expanding north and west, so it may be that it has become more common in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota since I left years ago - or it may just be that I hadn't noticied them. (Female above - only the back of the head is red).

I was so glad when I first saw a group of six in the Pennsylvania woods, that I now know this species and recognized it as an unexpected favorite on my second sighting. To see so many, and be able to watch them leisurly picking their way through the trees was a real highlight. The pictures of the female above and below were from my last early morning visit to Sligo Creek.

Getting to share those first golden rays of sunlight with a colorful bird starting its day were really enjoyable.

If you are lucky enough to be in a common location for these colorful birds enjoy the sight.

The National Mall

One of my favorite trip memories is captured in this shot. As we walked along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Monument a Great Blue Heron flew overhead. It continued along the mall allowing me to focus on it for some trailing shots, until it banked perfectly in front of the Washington Monument. I love that the shot captures the two monuments, and the flags surrounding the Washington Monument as well as the closer World War II Memorial flag with the POW/MIA as well. Well timed bird!

Otherwise the birding was very unexceptional, but hey it is D.C. and the history and symbolism offer more than enough subjects. The mall walk began at the Capitol end...

and filled the day, ending at the white house at dusk.

Squirrel!!!!!!!! ~ Clark Griswold "Christmas Vacation"

It wasn't all birds out east. Those leafy trees were full of squirrels as well.

The eastern variety have quite a blend of colors. Here in Colorado our plains squirrels are mostly the rusty brown color.

This little lady was busy in the tree near the deck at my friends' house. She would dangle from her hind feet as she busily gathered up her autumn harvest. A good show to watch.

Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Baltimore's harbor on the Chesapeake Bay was as close as I got to the actual coast. Even so I was able to add one gull species to my list. Here is a Laughing Gull.

Unfortunately I was shooting with a short "tourist" lens so the detail isn't what I would have hoped, but fun nonetheless.

Later I found this mystery gull. I went with Herring, but if anyone knows differently please feel free to email or comment. The very white base portion of the bill seems unique. Perhaps it is some type of hybrid?

I found it very interesting how different the same bird looked when I photographed it from a different angle. Not much birding in Baltimore, but some very tasty crab!

Suburban D.C. Sligo Creek Parkway, Maryland

While in the D.C. area our home base was my friend's home in Montgomery County, Maryland. It was a fun area and reminded me a good deal of my Grandparents' neighborhood in Minneapolis. A real treat for me was that just down the hill was a wild park area preserved along a creek. Several mornings I was able to beat the sun up and watch the light progress down from the treetops. Often as I made my way down the steep drive to the park I would be accompanied by a pair of Northern Cardinals. Of course it was far too dark to get their pictures, but the fellow above on a power line at a road crossing had better lighting and will serve to remind me of the other early risers.


Because the light was best up high I made use of a few clear views to the tops of some dead snags and watched whatever was warming in the early morning rays. The Red-bellied's were again prominent, but they get to wait. Instead here was a White-Breasted Nuthatch showing what it means to be truly unaffected by vertigo.


These shots were all easily 40 feet up, and yet this individual preferred to spend most of the time looking straight down, rather than even poking at the bark along the way.



A sure fire way to jump start the day!

As the light worked its way lower I was able to get a good look at a pair of Catbirds as well.


As the time grew near for more activities in the area I would return to the house and wait on the deck for others to rise and come out. From there I had a great time watching the House Sparrows, Carolina Chickadees, Blue Jays and Robins in the trees. I even added this first timer to the list just by sitting and watching.


The Tufted Titmouse a bird who was much nicer to observe in person than my poor photographs relate. It is a cool mix of whites, greys, and black - with just a splash of rust color under the wings. A very pleasant surprise.

Pittsburgh

I had never been to Pittsburgh before last week. I was very pleasantly surprised. As mentioned my experience at Tamari was well worth the trip, but in addition we had to be obliging tourists and ride the Duquesne Incline to the top of Mount Washington.

While in Pittsburgh I did find a couple of hours to walk around in Schenley Park. It seemed really nice, but unfortunately I was there at midday, rather than dawn or dusk. I was happy to get the shot of the totally unexpected Cooper's Hawk which flew past me on the way to this dark perch. I did have some other good sighting in the forest, a Brown Creeper climbing through the trees, a Red-Tailed Hawk calling for a long while before I finally caught a few glimpses through the treetops, and a nice group of Red-bellied Woodpeckers moving through the trees, but more on them later.

Flights, Friends, Football, Feathers, Federal Symbols, and of course Food

I headed off east last Wednesday for a trip that was built around watching the Colorado Buffaloes play a road football game against the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, WV. Despite their less than impressive season it had been too many years since I had watched a game out of state, and was a really good way to reunite a bunch of old college friends who are scattered in the mid west and along the east coast. As plans often do this one grew with a life of its own, myself and a buddy decided to fly into D.C. from Denver, and stay with a friend and his family just outside the District in Maryland before heading on to West Virginia on Thursday. Another friend and his wife have just opened a new restaurant, Tamari, in Pittsburgh which became a great destination for the weekend following Thursday night's game. When the friend in D.C. decided to come along to the game with his family it sounded like an even better trip, so with their encouragement we decided to stay in the D.C. area until Tuesday - successfully turning a weekend trip into almost a full week adventure encompassing four states, a district, three major cities, a couple of museums and some great memories both old ones revisited and new ones forged. With all that going on birding took a priority hit, but that did not mean that I wasn't keeping an eye on the skies, brush, and water, an ever growing list, and sneaking off for a few early morning walks to try to get a few pics.

Thanks to the McMahon-Christy and Chen families for their generous hospitality. It was great to see all of you, and my other friends from the region. To the readers - if you are in the Pittsburgh area make plans to visit Tamari. I know I am biased, but it is a great place to go for dinner. Check the Pittsburgh area reviews and you will find that the pros agree.

The Birds:
I will be posting a few more times with pics from various parts of the trip, but here are the details:I submitted 10 checklists to Ebird, from 8 locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. For the trip I spotted 30 species, 5 of which were new adds for me.
The new additions, only two of which have even decent pictures, were as follows:Fish Crow, Black Vulture, Tufted Titmouse, Laughing Gull, and Carolina Chickadee.
On a side note, two of the species, Fish Crow and Carolina Chickadee were the ones I specifically targeted. I used Ebird's graphing tools to pull species lists for likely candidates at the locations where I would be visiting. This really helps limit the aimless flipping through a guide when encountering completely unknown birds in new places. As I scanned the lists before my trip I saw the two species with which I was completely unfamiliar. So I did a bit of research before I left. I found that in both cases identification was difficult to impossible by viewing, but very easy by ear. The Fish Crow has a nasally voice - Ka Ka is replaced by something I would describe as an Ung...Ung... I first saw this species in a parking area surrounding a strip mall. The noise the group made was so entertaining I had to stop and just listen for a bit. Before the trip I had been concerned that my untrained ear wouldn't be able to tell the difference - fat chance! They are distinctive. The Carolina Chickadee ended up being the one that kept me working for it. The beginning of its song is different, and only the last snippets would catch my ear as familiar, but until I had a chance to really walk in the woods of Maryland I didn't get to isolate an individual and really appreciate the similarities and differences. Very cool.

2009 Count: 191

Lifetime: 199