Slow spring...

 

My birding sort of dropped off a cliff in the second half of last year, coinciding with a more intense work schedule and Nikki and I getting Rio. Halfway through 2025, work remains hectic and, well, the dog is still here too. I did get out a fair amount this spring nonetheless, although not with the intensity that I might have previously. It didn't help that I spent the entire first part of the year in the US, and specifically in and around DC (side trips to Georgia and New Jersey notwithstanding). I finally managed to make my way back to Asia in July, but I have about 5,000 pictures from spring and summer to get through before I can write about that. 

At the end of March my parents visited us, coming out with their dog and, of course, their mountain bikes. Our one-bedroom apartment isn't exactly ideal for four people and two dogs, so instead we got a cabin out in Shenandoah County, in the foothills of the Appalachians. It was very much still early spring vibes, with the trees not yet leafed out and only the earliest migrants around. We stayed in a little self-styled "ranch" tucked away in a deep valley, where Rio got to meet horses for the first time (he wasn't a fan) and the rest of us got to do some hiking. Birds were few and far between–a group of wintering Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers chasing each other through the trees, some Pine Warblers starting to sing, and newly arrived Chipping Sparrows and Tree Swallows near our cabin. I did find a little Eastern Red-backed Salamander under a log, and there were some early spring flowers and moths around in the undergrowth of the mountain forest. 

Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereas)

Common Oak Moth (Phoberia atomaris)

Virginia Pseudexentera Moth (Pseudexendera virginiana)

Common Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)

Virginia Springbeauty (Claytonia virginica)

Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

The boys on the trail

The view into the Luray Valley

Posing for pictures is hard

Back in DC, Kenilworth Park was our go-to birding spot for early spring migration. The BirdCast on April 6 looked promising so Vikas and I headed out and did our usual route, running into some other DC birding friends on the way. Along with the usual birds, Savanna Sparrows were all over the meadows and there was a Brown Thrasher sitting in an uncharacteristically exposed spot high in a tree singing its heart out, sounding more like its mockingbird cousins. Menachem found a gorgeous Horned Grebe in breeding plumage (a rare sight in DC, as they're usually only here in the winter) in the tidal marsh, and it spent a while hanging out with a Pied-billed Grebe very far away from us. It never came close, probably because there was a juvenile Bald Eagle that showed up and spent a solid 30 minutes harassing the grebes and ducks in the lagoon, swooping at them to scare them underwater and generally just being a dick. In the aquatic gardens there was an early Green Heron hanging out among the lotuses, and a Vesper Sparrow near where I'd parked my car. 

Red-winged Blackbird

Savanna Sparrow

Brown Thrasher

Horned Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe getting upstaged by its showier cousin

Juvenile Bald Eagle with "spoiled teenager taking his dad's Corvette out for the first time" energy 

Brown Creepr

Pileated Woodpecker

Northern Cardinal

Green Heron

American Beaver hanging out in the tidal lagoon

Some sort of little gnat (Chironomus sp.)

Northern Red-bellied Cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris)

Brown Bark Carpet Moth (Horisme intestinata)

Eastern Calligrapher (Toxomerus geminatus)

Le Conte's Violet (Viola affinis)

Black Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium fuscatum)

American Field Pansy (Viola rafinesquei)

Vikas and I returned to Kenilworth the following weekend, but it was fairly quiet. The usual Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures were wheeling over the soccer fields, and the Northern Rough-winged Swallows had returned to the lagoon, allowing me to practice some BIF photography. An American Coot was hanging out in the aquatic gardens, a rare sight for that part of DC, and there was a pair of Fish Crows building a nest (we heard someone ID them as ravens to a group of tourists). On the boardwalk those of us with thermals were able to pick out a Wilson's Snipe hidden deep within the reeds, but it was damn near impossible to get others on it.

Turkey Vulture

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

American Coot

Fish Crow with nesting materials

Spot the Wilson's Snipe!

Cinnamon Rove Beetle (Platydracus cinnamopterus)

Early spring at Kenilworth Park

The next weekend George and Atima joined Vikas and I for a morning birding walk along the C&O Canal, on the other side of DC. Late April is the peak time of year for wildflowers and the woods along the C&O is one of the best spots for them, so we spent half the time looking along the ground for flowers and cool bugs. The local family of Northern Ravens also graced us with their presence, and we had great looks at an Osprey sitting next to the canal showing off the Largemouth Bass that it had just caught. The spring warblers were starting to trickle in and we had Hooded Warbler and Yellow Warbler singing, although not seen. 

Adult Northern Raven

Baby Raven!

Black Vultures

Osprey with a Largemouth Bass

I will never not turn down the opportunity to photograph a Northern Cardinal

Ravens are big birds already, but next to Fish Crows they look like absolute behemoths

Eastern Red Damsel (Amphiagrion saucium), I think

Evergreen Bagworm Moth (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) larvae

Bufflehead Mason Bee (Osmia bucephala), I think

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

Seven-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

Spurred Ceratina (Ceratina calcarata), I think

Spotted Nomad Bee (Nomada maculata)

Orange Assassin Bug (Pselliopus barberi)

Northern Red-bellied Cooters in the canal

Virginia Springbeauty (Claytonia virginica)

Smooth Yellow Violet (Viola eriocarpa)

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

The last weekend in April it was just Vikas and I again, and we decided to do a proper full morning of birding since the Birdcast looked promising. We started at Hains Point where was a surprise late-staying Ruddy Duck in the channel, and one of the local Black-crowned Night Herons made a surprise appearance along the edge of the water giving unusually good views. A Clay-colored Sparrow that had been hanging around for a couple of days was re-discovered, and right next to it Paul Pisano spotted a Grey-cheeked Thrush, another DC rarity. 

Ruddy Duck

Black-crowned Night Heron

American Robin

Clay-colored Sparrow (with a photobombing Savanna Sparrow)

Next we headed to Rock Creek Park, where even in mid morning the warblers were actively singing and feeding. In the Maintenance Yard we had a few nice flocks with some good first-of-year birds like Chestnut-sided Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and Prairie Warbler, the latter of which was a DC lifer for me. By the Nature Center we heard a singing Blackburnian Warbler and had unusually good views at a Worm-eating Warbler mauling a caterpillar, another new DC bird for me. Blue Grosbeak was a nice first-of-year bird for me, but the best was a Cerulean Warbler we heard singing from a treetop–always a nice rarity for DC and my third new District bird of the day although once again it was a heard only (I think the fourth time I've missed seeing the damn thing). 

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Blue-winged Warbler

Eastern Phoebe

Worm-eating Warbler doing exactly what you'd expect

Myrtle Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Blue Grosbeak

We ended the morning with more than 70 species, a very solid total for only a half day of birding. It was one of my better birding days in DC and probably the best of the year so far. I got out a few more times in May and June, but that will have to wait for the next post.