3/8/2006
District Patrol, March 8
Chase City ShrikeI'd love to see a shrike (either local species) but I'm afraid I don't have enough gas money to drive down to Chase City, VA (3.5 hrs from DC), where the bird was reported today. Maybe it'll come up for some sightseeing...
Spyin' PinesMan what a lame title. I thought I'd be good at making up witty little headlines like you see on Sportscenter all the time.
[note: while I'm on the subject, these headlines have gotten way out of control. For instance, why did ESPN.com editors find it necessary to title the article about the passing of baseball legend Kirby Puckett, "Puck Everlasting"? OK, I know there is a book about people who live forever called Tuck Everlasting. I know there was a man named Kirby Puckett. I also know that these two things have absolutely no relation other than the slanted rhyme. Why muddy the man's memorial story with an allusion to an unrelated children's book? How is this a good idea? Is there anyone out there who was not interested in Puckett's death, but had their eyes caught by the catchy title and decided 'Hey maybe I will read this...'? I NEED THESE QUESTIONS ANSWERED] Anyway, my lame title refers to the Pine Warblers that have been seen with frequency in the DC area. John from
A DC Birding Blog saw one at the National Arboretum the other day. Also, I had been thinking all day that I had never seen a pine warbler and was very excited to go out to the Arboretum and look for one until I remembered that I
have seen a Pine Warbler and that it was a
Palm Warbler I am thinking of. Stupid trees.
...which is located, ironically, at the edge of the water.A lunchtime stroll around the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD (.5 hrs from DC) picked up a nice raft of ruddy ducks, both swans, lesser scaups, black ducks, buffleheads, northern shovelers, an early osprey, red-tailed and cooper's hawks and bald eagles.
Stay tuned next week when I start the countdown of the top 10 birding days of my year (3/21/05 to 3/21/06). It should be TONS OF FUN.
