Category: Birding

Summer Is in the House

Posted on by chappyshi

As is fairly common, the DC hot and humid summer is upon us with a storm…no pun intended. We had a very wet, relatively cool spring which of course makes the transition to deep summer very uncomfortable. Memorial Day I was camping under clear skies at which time the temps were in the low 80’s at the highest.

Since the previous Saturday we have had torrential rains, including one with strong winds, up to 65 MPH, skies as dark as I have ever seen them in the daytime, tornado sightings, one death, and, in the past few days, temperatures in the high 90’s. The previous Saturday I got drenched walking 50 feet from the grocery store to my car. Last Tuesday I got soaked from the waist down riding home from work on my motorcycle.

And yet, the previous Sunday, I was fortunate enough to meet up with my friend Buz and a few of his friends at Jack’s Boathouse on the Potomac River in Georgetown. We kayaked up river for about an hour and then eased back on down. The weather, early in the day, was perfect. We saw a number of Great Blue Herons and Mallards and at least one Kingfisher.

Buz and Amanda upriver from Jack’s

Buz and Amanda Upriver from Jack's

View from near Jack’s of the Key Bridge with the Washington Monument in the background

View from near Jack's of the Key Bridge with the Washington Monument in the background

Yesterday paddling up the Potomac from the boat landing at Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling, VA was nearly as good. Had I been other than by myself and had the weather been a bit cooler, it would have been perfect. Once again a saw a few Great Blues, Mallards, and Kingfishers.

Love That Dirty Water, DC, You’re My Home…upstream fm Algonkian Park boat landing

Love That Dirty Water, DC You're My Home...upstream from the Algonkian Regional Park boat landing

The hot weather continues today…I am not sure what the future holds…afraid to check. Suffice to say that the conditions are likely to continue for the foreseeable future and wreak havoc on my energy bill!

A Bird in the Binos…

Posted on by chappyshi

I bought new binoculars specifically for birding just recently. I took them out for the first test today and was most impressed. The binos are Vector Viper’s, 10×42. Compared to my old Pentax binos I bought at the Navy Exchange on the Naval Post Grad School in Monterey, California, in 1989, the Vipers can practically see into the future!

I got out for a brief walk today in the neighborhood and spotted the usual Carolina Wrens and Chickadees, Robins, Cardinals, and Doves. I saw three blue Jays, which is good, they dropped out of circulation for awhile, an American Goldfinch, two pairs of Mallard Ducks, one, maybe two, Downy Woodpeckers, and a dead, partially eaten Raccoon.

The binoculars were awesome. To paraphrase from the Greaseman, you can see a tweeter’s peter with these things.

Odd Bald Eagle Sighting

Posted on by chappyshi

I was looking out my office window today where I have seen red-shouldered hawks in the trees or on the light pole…saw one a couple of weeks ago eating a bird…when I saw what had to have been a bald eagle flying over. I lost sight of it and ran to the front of the building where I saw it again, unfortunately heading away from me. My office is about 4 or 5 miles from the Potomac River where I assume this bird was nesting. I’ve seen one a couple of times on the Potomac up near Point of Rocks but that is probably 15 miles upriver. Bottom line is that it was an exciting sighting.