As an April 2026 family get-together in Maryland neared, of course I checked my eBird Needs Alerts in the area to see if there might be some state birding potential. Lo and behold, my Virginia Alert revealed something even better: a Red-flanked Bluetail, first found on New Year’s Day, was still being seen. A life bird is better than a state bird any day! So I set up my flights and hotel to add an extra couple days to the trip to look for the Bluetail.
Unfortunately, my key target was last seen a couple weeks
before the trip. (Why didn’t I go after
it sooner?) So, now my focus was back to
possible state birds. I grew up in the mid-Atlantic
region so my Needs Alerts for states like MD, VA, DE, and PA had few likely
targets. But then I checked the
Washington DC Alert and found several possibilities –
Wild Turkey – seen at several locations, especially Theodore
Roosevelt Island
Golden-Plover – rarity found at the mouth of Four Mile Run
Blue-headed Vireo – a first few sightings of this early
spring migrant
Common Raven – nests found in a couple locations, flybys
seemingly everywhere
Cliff Swallow –just returning to their historical nesting
sites
Vesper Sparrow – found at Kenilworth Park, though the
records were getting old
Eastern Meadowlark – found at Kenilworth Park
With this many target species, it was obvious where I should
focus my attention. I was off to DC!
April 9 – Kenilworth Park
This park consists of about 55 acres of old soccer or
football fields that basically look like a large pasture. As a result, it is THE spot, in fact the only
spot, to look for Meadowlarks in DC. Though
I’ve looked for them at Kenilworth numerous times over the decades without any
luck.
There were also a number of week-old sightings of Vesper Sparrow at the park. With 2 key targets, I made this my first stop. Within an hour of landing at BWI I was walking the Kenilworth fields hoping to flush a Vesper or a Meadowlark but to no avail. Though I did find a couple flocks of Savannah Sparrows that kept me on my toes.
April 10 – Mouth of Four Mile Run
With excellent directions from a local birder, I was able to
access the mouth of Four Mile Run to look for a rare American Golden-Plover
reported there for several days. Unfortunately,
the only shorebird I found during my stop there at low tide was a Killdeer. The Plover was last reported 2 days before my
visit.
East Potomac Park – Hains Point
Targets reported recently at this park included Raven and
Vesper Sparrow, and several older waterfowl sightings. But once again I struck out. The birding highlight was a flock of breeding
plumage Bonaparte’s Gulls feeding near shore on the Potomac River. And as a bonus, I was treated to some nice
views of the blooming cherry trees.
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Wild Turkeys have recently colonized the greater DC area,
and are perhaps most reliable on this island.
Plus Cliff Swallows were reported for the first time this spring the day
before my visit – most likely the nesters returning to the footbridge to the
island. I spent quite a bit of time
standing on the bridge hoping for a fly-by Swallow to no avail. And I walked virtually all the trails on the island
without finding a Turkey. Though it was
mid-day and there were lots of tourists there likely keeping the Turkeys well
hidden.
C&O Canal – Chain Bridge
The attraction at this stop was a pair of Common Ravens likely
nesting under the bridge. This one
sounded like a sure thing based on recent eBird reports – I was due (overdue?) for
my luck to change! It took a while to
find where to park and how to access the area under the bridge, but I eventually
made my way to the river below. And once
I got to the right area I quickly picked out a large corvid sitting under the
bridge – it was indeed a Common Raven.
Later a second adult flew in, and I also spotted this juvenile down below.
Luckily the Ravens chose to nest near the eastern end of the
bridge, because the western end is actually in Virginia. They were barely in DC – just 500 feet from
the state line.
LBJ Memorial Grove – Columbia Island Marina
As I was heading back into DC on the George Washington Memorial
Parkway I noticed a sign for the Columbia Island Marina. I remembered that this was one of the spots where
Cliff Swallows nested last year. So on a
lark I drove in and found the bridge where they likely nested.
I stood at the edge of the bridge for a few minutes and as if on cue a Cliff Swallow flew by and disappeared under the bridge. Now I had to figure out if I was still in DC or whether the Swallow was in VA airspace. With a quick look on Google Maps I realized that the bird was indeed in DC, but just 50 ft from the VA state line.
April 11 – Kenilworth Park
Now that my luck had improved I decided to go back to
Kenilworth Park to make an early morning try for the Meadowlark. I made a quick loop through the ballfields
but came up empty. Then I wondered about
whether the adjacent running track and football field might be worth a try. When I was there two days earlier there were
many people walking and running around the track. But now just after sunrise the track was
empty. Sure enough, as I neared the track
I heard the characteristic song of an Eastern Meadowlark.
I then followed the Meadowlark as it flew over to the soccer
fields to get a better look. And as I
did I flushed a flock of sparrows feeding in the grasses. All but 1 flew a short distance and dropped
back in typical of Savannahs. But the
last bird departed from the flock and headed toward the neighboring brush. As it did I noticed it had white outer tail
feathers – I had a Vesper Sparrow! And
typical of Vespers, it landed on an elevated perch at the edge of the field instead
of dropping back to the grasses. Two new
DC birds in the same field!
Later I took the trail to Kenilworth Gardens hoping to re-find
a Blue-headed Vireo reported there the previous day. The trail was quite birdy, including a singing
Orange-crowned Warbler, but the Vireo was a no show.
April 12 – Theodore Roosevelt Island
Since my first trip to the island was midday with lots of noisy
tourists, I decided to go back near sunrise to improve my chances of finding
Turkeys. Unfortunately, it didn’t make a
difference as I struck out again. Though
another birder reported seeing a Turkey just an hour after I left. A reason to go back I guess…
I added 4 birds to my Washington DC list, bringing my total
to 188. Not as good as getting a lifer,
but still good results.
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