January 15, 2018 - a two-new-bird day in Maryland

January 15, 2018, a two-new-bird day in Maryland

MLK Day, a day off, and I embarked on a birding trek in the state of Maryland. Before the trip, I did thorough research and obtained helpful information from fellow birders about recent sightings.

My first stop was at Bladensburg Waterfront Park. I rarely go to this part of town, and this was the first time I went to this park. Apparenly, it is birder-friendly -- a colorful bird greeted me (I am not sure about its ID though; tentatively, I labeled it as "Bladensbird").

"Bladensbird"

Joking aside, I soon followed the directions and arrived at the site where a Harris's Sparrow had been consistently sighted, which is typically found in the interior of North America and very rare for our area. There were a lot of sparrows around, and apparently some birders had spread some seeds on the ground. With the arrival of two other birders, we were able to collectively spot the Harris's Sparrow. This was my lifer #602 ($379 for North America).

Harris's Sparrow

Okay, I rarely put captions on my photos (I think they are cheesy), except a very succinct label. But the following picture begs for one, so let me give it a try:

Harris's Sparrow

Mr. Harris: See that guy with the camera over there, moon him!
Mr. Song: No!
Mr. Harris: Pleeeease!
Mr. Song: Okay, just once.
Me: @__@ !!!

After lunch I went on to North Point State Park. My main goal is to see a Virginia Rail that's been reported there (there were more than one, in fact). Shortly after I started the Black Marsh Trail, however, my attention was grabbed by an American Bittern (there might have been two). Bitterns are secretive birds, but this one was not shy and posed quite liberally for me and other birders.

American Bittern

I was very happy to see and photograph the American Bittern(s), however, I still wanted to see and photograph the Virginia Rail. I searched for over two hours, and finally saw one in the dense marsh vegetation and did not get a good photo (fuzzy but identifiable). Rails are notoriously secretive and they are more often heard than seen. Since I only count the birds I have photographed, I would be able to tag it as lifer #603, but only with a fuzzy photo; so this would be very unsatisfying.

Meanwhile, I did see and photograph some other birds, such as this Hermit Thrush (an expected bird in the winter, but always a delight to see) and a Brown Thrasher (somewhat unusual for this time of the year, but not rare). Sometimes I think we are too obsessed with lists and counts and should just enjoy the birds; this I certainly did.

Hermit Thrush

Brown Thrasher

I almost resigned to the fact that I would have to live with the fuzzy Virginia Rail photo for a while. Then on my way back, I walked by a group of birders who were still watching and photographing the American Bittern. I stopped to take a few more photos too. Just then, out of nowhere, a Virginia Rail (I am pretty sure this was another one, as I observed the first one in a different part of the marsh) popped out for a few seconds, just enough for me to get a more decent shot.

Virginia Rail

American Bittern

I realize the irony that I, who live in Virginia, had to go to the state of Maryland to get my first Virginia Rail, but hey, this does not bother me.

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