Bird Strikes against D.C. Buildings

City Wildlife tracked the deaths of migratory birds around buildings in Washington, D.C., last year during spring and fall migration.The group collected 123 birds, 36 of which appeared at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building near Union Station. The building proves particularly deadly to birds because it fronts an open plaza with a glass facade. When the lights are left on all night, migrating birds seeking shelter at the end of a long flight see the trees inside the atrium; instead of landing in the trees, they crash into a glass wall. In other cases, birds may simply be disoriented by the bright lights.

Here is a list of the most dangerous buildings, with the numbers of dead birds in parenthesis.

1. Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building (36) 
2. TechWorld, 800 K Street NW (21) 
3. Senate Hart Office Building (11) 
4. U.S. Court of Appeals, 430 E St. NW (10) 
5. 300 New Jersey Avenue NW (8) 
6. 1099 New York Avenue NW (7) 
7. Washington Convention Center (7) 
8. 425 I Street NW (6) 
9. 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW (3) 
10. Second and G Streets NE (3)

The organization proposes a voluntary "lights out" campaign similar to those implemented in other cities, like Toronto, Chicago, and New York City. If you want to get involved, you can more information at CityWildlife.org.

Being Heard in a Noisy Place

Song Sparrow / USFWS Photo

When I hear urban Song Sparrows singing, I often feel that their songs are missing something. It turns out that there is a very good reason for that. The lower pitches in their songs may be drowned out by ambient noise. In fact, some urban birds have mostly abandoned the lower pitches to expend more effort on the higher ones.

While at Reed College in Oregon, Yezerinac and student William E. Wood examined the effects of urban noise on the song sparrow songs of Portland. They recorded 28 birds in areas with various levels of background noise, carefully measuring frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume; the amount of energy invested in making a sound).

Birds in the noisiest spots were more likely to cede some of their lower frequencies to background noise, while their songs' higher-frequency notes remained constant.

The link has an audio sample and spectrographs that illustrate the Song Sparrows' challenge quite well.

Historical Images of the C&O Canal

The DC Public Library has been posting images onto Flickr since last March. DCPL is one of many public institutions contributing to the Flickr Commons, a project to improve access to publicly-owned photographic archives around the world. The photostreams of the participating institutions are a great resource, and it is well worth following their streams if you are active on Flickr. DCPL has a large archive of historical images of Washington, DC. Currently they are posting images from E.B. Thompson, a photographer active in Washington in the early 20th century.

I recently found some historical images of the C&O Canal from DCPL's Thompson collection. Most of them are undated, but they appear to show the canal during its last decade or so of operation. Click through the images to go to the photo pages on Flickr.

The Key Mansion was condemned to make way for the Whitehurst Freeway.

A canal boat being towed by mules.

House boats on the canal west of Georgetown.

An abandoned lock house in about 1930.

Photographs of Ring-billed Gulls in DC

As I mentioned in yesterday morning's post, I am in Massachusetts this weekend for the Superbowl of Birding, so blogging will be light. (If you want to know how things are going, check my Twitter account.) This morning I am going to try putting the "DC" back into "A DC Birding Blog" by posting a few birds I saw in the District last weekend. The day after the C&O Canal Count, I wandered around some neighborhoods I liked when I lived there, particularly Dupont Circle and the Capitol grounds. I was not specifically birding, but I did see a few species. Most were common urban birds; my best sighting was a Merlin that zipped past me near the Capitol.

While living in the city, I gained an appreciation for some very common birds. House Sparrows, for example, were one of the few species that deigned to visit the windowsill of my apartment. One that I really liked to watch is the Ring-billed Gull. These gulls are more dainty than the Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls, and the ones in cities are often quite approachable. So last Sunday, when I visited the reflecting pool on the west side of the Capitol, I took advantage of the occasion to photograph a few gulls.

First, here is an adult Ring-billed Gull in a hurry.

Second, here are two immature Ring-billed Gulls loafing on the edge of the pool.

Those were part of a much larger group lined up along the wall. As you can see from the whitewash on the wall, this is a very popular gull location.

Eventually they all took off, so I continued around the pool.

DC Bag Tax Reducing Plastic Bag Usage

Reusable Giant Bags / Photo by Mr. T in DC

Last summer, the DC Council approved a 5¢ tax on each disposable shopping bag distributed at stores within the District. The goal of the tax was not so much to raise money as to reduce waste and clean up litter. At the beginning of this year, that tax took effect. It is showing results almost immediately.

Less than a month into the program, which D.C. officials describe as an effort to reduce litter and generate funds to clean up the Anacostia River, the nickel bag fee is having a big impact. Managers at stores that sell food or beverages say the switchover has cut the use of plastic bags by half or more. One Safeway in Northwest reports a falloff of more than 6,000 bags a week, about half of its former volume.

And for customers, the bag law is changing the District's carryout culture in ways large and small. A lunchtime army of office workers now ply the sidewalks with near-naked sandwiches and sodas filling their hands, making some diners more self-conscious about what they buy. Parking lots feature impromptu juggling acts as determined fee-avoiders teeter to their cars with heaping armloads of loose groceries. And people are stockpiling reusable shopping bags -- and routinely forgetting to take them shopping.

If the Post is to be believed, many residents are responding to the tax in unnecessarily difficult ways. One resident reports paying more to shop in Virginia so that she will not pay the bag tax. Other residents try to carry more items than they physically can without any bag at all. I hope that these reactions are not the typical ones because adapting to the tax need not involve so much self-inflicted pain. There is a third choice besides a taxed disposable bag and no bag at all – a reusable bag. Most stores offer durable reusable bags at cheap prices; one can also pay a bit more to obtain more stylish shopping bags of various sizes and materials. I have read many tips for making reusable bag use easier; one of the best is to keep bags in places that will make it easy to remember them if you go shopping.

Still it is good to see that the tax is having its intended effect of cutting back on disposable bags. Over time, I hope that almost all will be eliminated.

Hawk Trapped in the Metro

According to the Washington Post, a hawk got trapped in an escalator at the Benning Road Metro station. The article speculates that the hawk was chasing after a pigeon, which seems like a reasonable explanation. It does not identify the hawk, but Red-tailed Hawk (pictured at right) would be a good candidate to be chasing a pigeon in an urban area. Other potential pigeon-chasers would include Peregrine Falcon and possibly Cooper's Hawk. There are other common hawks in DC, such as the Red-shouldered Hawk, but if it were one of those, the explanation for what the hawk was doing in the station might need adjustment.

The good news is that rescue crews responded quickly and freed the hawk by partially dismantling the escalator. Apparently it was released on the station.

There is a joke about Metro's escalators in here somewhere.

Black-headed Gull on the Anacostia River

My friend Peter Vankevich went canoeing on the Anacostia River this past Sunday and found a Black-headed Gull. It was standing on a dock at the Anacostia boathouse, across from Anacostia Park. The red legs made it stand out from the others since Laughing Gulls do not have red legs except in full adult breeding plumage.

This is clearly a hooded gull in winter plumage because a remnant of the hood is still visible behind the eye. It also appears to be an adult since there are no visible dark markings on the bird's tertials or upperwing coverts. The red legs and the dainty red bill with a dusky tip fit Black-headed Gull the best. The upperwing and underwing patterns seem to fit that identification as well.

This is a rare sighting for Washington, DC, where even Bonaparte's Gulls are pretty unusual. The only previous record of Black-headed Gull in eBird's database for DC is from 2004. The MD/DC Records Committee also has records of three previous sightings in the two decades before that.

Peter's Black-headed Gull was among thousands of Laughing Gulls, so it may be hard to find again. In my experience, flocks of gulls tend to wander around the Anacostia River corridor. If it is not present at the Anacostia boathouse, it may be at Hains Point or some other place nearby.

All photos are courtesy of Peter Vankevich.

More on the St. Elizabeth's Bald Eagle Nest

Regular readers may remember a story I linked a few weeks back about DC's only Bald Eagle nest, which is located on a property slated to become the new DHS headquarters. That story, reported in the LA Times, discussed concerns that one element of the project – a new entrance road – may cause the eagles to abandon the site. At the time I wondered, and one commenter asked, why the story did not seem to get coverage in the DC press. The Post has now covered the story with some more information on the site (including a map) and decision process.

Officials from the National Park Service and DC Fisheries and Wildlife seem the most concerned about possible harm from the road construction project. Eagles that would choose to settle in such an urban location obviously have some tolerance for disturbance. The question is how much is too much.

"The assumption is that there's already so much going on that a little more won't hurt. And I don't think that we can make that assumption," said Bryan King, head of fisheries and wildlife for the D.C. Department of the Environment. "It's a definite possibility" that the eagles will abandon the nest, King said.

And:

"You get the sense, yeah, these guys know what they're doing," said Stephen Syphax, chief of the resource management division at National Capital Parks East, a group of parks on the city's east side. On one recent morning, he was in a muggy, overgrown ravine, peering with binoculars through the tree canopy, looking for the nest. Finally, Syphax gave up: it was too well hidden to be seen from the ground. "I've lost this guy. But good for the eagles."

Syphax said the planned road would not require removal of the tree with the nest. But, he said, it could take away other trees that the birds use when they are eating, looking for food or loafing. That could drive them out, he said.

According to the DHS, an environmental impact statement was completed before the project was approved.

A DHS spokesman said the road was purposefully laid out a few hundred yards from the birds' nest. The plan for the road was approved this year, after an environmental impact statement determined that there would be a "negligible increase in noise" around the nest.

Craig Koppie, a Fish and Wildlife scientist who is a preeminent authority on Washington area eagles, said he agreed. Eagles might roam widely from their nests, but they return each December to begin the breeding season. They normally use the same nest for seven or eight years before building another nearby.

"I actually don't see [the road] as being a problem," Koppie said. "Clearly, the birds have seen the human infrastructure that's in place," he said, and they don't mind it enough to leave.

The fact that an EIS has been completed is somewhat reassuring. Eagles near the Wilson Bridge remained at that site through years of construction activity as a new bridge was built, so it may well be possible for the eagles at the St. Elizabeth's site to remain there as well. Still, building a road so close to a nest site is a definite risk, one that I hope will not end badly. One question that I did not see addressed in the article was why the DHS could not renovate an existing entrance to meet their needs instead of building a new one. I think that ought to be the preferred alternative in a case such as this.

Note: The image at the top is a photo I took on 2/10/06 of a pair of Bald Eagles at Hains Point in DC. I do not whether it is the same pair that nests at St. Elizabeth's, but it may be since eagles can cover large territories and the nesting season was just beginning.

DC Bald Eagle Nest Threatened by DHS Project

For a long time, I knew or suspected that there was a pair of Bald Eagles nesting within the District of Columbia, but I did not know the location. Well, I finally learned where it is, but for unhappy reasons. The nest is located on the grounds of the former site of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a 19th-century psychiatric hospital located in southeast Washington. In the winter of 2001, a pair of bald eagles built a nest at the site and have nested each year since then. This pair was the first to nest in DC since 1946. I think it likely that these are the adult eagles that I often saw perched or flying along the Anacostia River, at places like Haines Point and the National Arboretum.

Now that nest may be at risk. A few years ago, the federal government decided to reuse the abandoned federal facilities as a new national headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security. That, by itself, makes some sense. Abandoned historic buildings are more likely to be maintained if they are being used actively rather than sitting empty, and a new federal building could potentially bring jobs to the surrounded neighborhoods, which are among the poorest in DC. The problem is not so much the headquarters as the access road.

The government says a centralized control center would streamline its response to a national emergency by bringing thousands of federal workers under one roof, with a new access road to handle most of the traffic.

But the road would run through 200 acres of protected wildlife habitat, wiping out a dozen acres of trees. That, some fear, could drive off the only pair of eagles intrepid enough to call Washington home. "They used to be here, they weren't here for many years and now they're back. It makes me feel better knowing something is coming back," Stephen Syphax, a National Park Service ranger, said one morning as he walked through the woods near the eagles' nest....

The two are what scientists call "urban eagles," displaying an unusual willingness to tolerate levels of human activity they avoided for decades -- understandably, considering the threat man posed.

The question of just how much more noise and habitat destruction the eagles will withstand has been simmering for months, putting the emblem of America's strength at the center of a post-Sept. 11 dilemma: balancing natural resources and national security.

That indeed is the question: how much disturbance these urban eagles are willing to tolerate before abandoning the nest. Since this pair has stayed at the site for eight years, they are clearly tolerant of human activity and have the skills to survive and breed in a dense urban atmosphere. However, given that the hospital grounds have seen very little activity for most of that time, it is difficult to predict how the eagles might react to sudden changes to the landscape, especially a change as drastic as the construction of a long access road. I would prefer not to see this question put to the test, especially when there are viable alternatives. The department ought first to try refitting one or more of the hospital's existing entrances to meet current standards. This would provide them with the security they need and avoid harming our national symbol in the process.

Even if you do not click through to read the article, make sure to take a look through the accompanying photo gallery.

Red-tails Nesting on Capitol Hill

In the midst of a bird breeding season several years ago, I noted a disparity between the New York and Washington birding scenes. New York has multiple pairs of Red-tailed Hawks nesting in prominent locations – most notably Pale Male and Lola on Fifth Avenue. Their nests are ably monitored by local blogs such as City Birder, Urban Hawks, Pale Male Irregulars, and Origin of Species. At the time I knew of no red-tail nests in DC and no blogs devoted to following the nests of red-tails (or other urban raptors, for that matter). Whether that was due to a lack of such nests or cultural differences between birders in the two cities was unclear to me. Now at least one part of that needs to be revised.

A pair of Red-tailed Hawks has taken up residence at the House Rayburn Office Building and built a nest on one of its ledges. My friend Peter Vankevich heard about and photographed the hawks at their nest site in April. This morning the Washington Post featured an interview with Peter at the nest site.

Peter Vankevich heard about the birds a few weeks ago, a pair of red-tailed hawks that had made their nest in the pediment above the entrance to the Rayburn House Office Building, right under the watchful eye of a carved stone eagle. As the author of a monthly bird-watching column in the Hill Rag, he hustled over to see them.

On this particular weekday morning, Peter has his bazooka-like camera lens trained on the nest, only the edge of which is visible from Independence Avenue. He's not sure we'll see the hawks today.

"It's a bit like fishing," he says of birding. The fish aren't biting.

Peter also wrote about the hawk nest in the June 2009 edition of the Hill Rag. This appears to be a late breeding attempt since the hawks were observed carrying sticks to the nest in May; most red-tails commence breeding in March or early April. No chicks or eggs are visible from street level, so it is difficult to tell the status of the nest. Red-tails usually incubate their eggs for 30-35 days, and chicks remain in the nest for about 45 days before fledging.

As far as I know, this is the first time Red-tailed Hawks have attempted nesting near the Capitol. I hope that the nest is successful and that the pair returns for future nesting seasons.

I have included a few of Peter's photographs of the hawks in this post. Click through to see larger versions.

DC Council Approves Tax on Single-Use Shopping Bags

Yesterday the DC Council unanimously approved a 5¢ tax on disposable shopping bags distributed at grocery stores and pharmacies. This was a preliminary vote, and the council will take a final vote on the legislation in a few weeks.

Under the plastic bag legislation, called the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act, businesses would keep a penny for each bag sold, and the other four cents would go into a fund to clean up the Anacostia. If businesses offer a discount to consumers who bring reusable bags, they would get to keep two cents for each bag sold.

The legislation, sponsored by council members Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), was fast-tracked even as some cities rethink proposed plastic bag taxes because of the recession.

The Seattle City Council tried to impose a 20-cent fee on plastic and paper, but the proposal must go before voters in August. In New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) had inserted a similar 5-cent fee on plastic bags in his budget proposal, but the City Council blocked the measure last month over concerns that it would hurt consumers in tight times.

San Francisco is the only large U.S. city that has banned plastic bags.

Unlike most other cities that have passed (or attempted to pass) legislation on this issue, the DC tax will apply to both plastic and paper bags. Paper is sometimes seen as an improvement over plastic as it is more biodegradable and contains fewer toxins. However, it is not significantly more friendly to the environment as its production contributes to habitat destruction (through tree harvesting) and uses a great deal of energy for a product that will be used once and then discarded.

Making the tax apply to both plastic and paper bags removes at least one objection that opponents of bag taxes from the plastic industry are fond of advancing. It also pushes residents towards using reusable bags rather single-use disposable bags. Many stores now sell cheap reusable shopping bags, and similar bags are available through mail order. These are not the only options, however. Pretty much any cloth bag will do, as long as the size and strength are appropriate for the purchases. While obtaining reusable bags may add some up-front cost, reusable bags generally pay for themselves if grocery stores offer a per-bag discount for customers who use them. (At my local food store, the discount is 5¢ per bag, so the cost of a standard-issue reusable bag is refunded after only 20 uses.) The cost may end up being less than advertised, too, as bags are often distributed for free at special events.

Taxing single-use shopping bags is one step towards cleaning towards reducing the volume of waste and cleaning up trash-strewn waterways. Dedicating the revenue raised through this legislation towards Anacostia River clean-ups should bring some needed attention to a beautiful but neglected river. My hope, though, is that few residents pay the tax in the long run, and most bring their own bags.

Some Favorites from the DCPL Collection

The DC Public Library has put some of its extensive photograph archive onto Flickr, following in the footsteps of the Library of Congress and other institutions. There are currently 154 photographs in the DCPL photostream with a promise of more to come. The collection has historical images of DC streets and buildings, as well as some portraits. Photos in the collection have no known copyright restrictions.

For D.C. residents or visitors, there is a photo contest to accompany the launch of the Flickr collection.

Here are a few of my favorite images so far.

Pauline the Presidential Cow

Planning map of the National Arboretum (1929)

Street market at 7th and B NW (c. 1880)

Great Falls of the Potomac

Old Center Market at Pennsylvania and 7th NW (c. 1910)

As with the Library of Congress collection, users are invited to add tags that make images easier to find. Clicking the images above leads to their Flickr pages, which have more information about the images.

DC Snowy Owl Update

A Snowy Owl is still being seen in Washington, D.C., according to an Americablog contributor:

I saw what appeared to be a white owl on the building across the street from me late this afternoon. My upstairs neighbor, Rick Bloom, is a professional photographer and he got a great picture of the bird for me. I'm pretty sure it is a snowy owl, which I had seen once in awhile when I lived in Maine, but never expected to see here in D.C.

According to a post on MDOsprey, the location is in the Kalorama neighborhood. Watch that listserv for further updates.

There is a photo of the owl at the Americablog link. In my opinion, the owls pictured at Americablog and in last week's Post article look different enough that there may be two birds involved. Note that the Post owl has a clean white breast and light barring on the flanks and belly, while the Americablog owl has brown streaking on its breast and a heavily barred belly. Some of the difference could be due to the angle, quality of light, or other photographic conditions, but I do not think those would make that much of a difference. In any case, it is something for DC birders to consider.

Snowy Owl in DC?

Today's Washington Post has a photograph of a Snowy Owl seen at 17th and L Streets NW.

The bird may move around, so keep an eye on MD Osprey for the latest information.

Upcoming Film on Rachel Carson in DC

This might interest readers in Washington, DC:

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, published in 1962, inspired our
nation's most comprehensive legislative protections of the natural
world. Now, her story reaches the big screen. Join The D.C.
Environmental Film Festival, Sense of Wonder Productions, and the
National Women's History Project as we celebrate the release of the
new Rachel Carson film, A Sense of Wonder, in a one-night-only special
screening at The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Washington, D.C.
March 18, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Free!

The National Portrait Gallery
Donald W. Reynolds Center for America Art and Portraiture, Nan Tucker
McEvoy Auditorium
Eighth & F Streets, NW (Link to Map)
http://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/films.php?FilmID=225

Appearances by Actress Kaiulani Lee and Special Guests!

For more information, visit www.asenseofwonderfilm.com

About the Film:

When pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring
in 1962, the backlash from her critics thrust her into the center of a
political maelstrom. In A SENSE OF WONDER, actress Kaiulani Lee
embodies this extraordinary woman, portraying Carson in the final year
of her life. Intimate and poignant, this 55-minute, documentary-style
film is a reflection of Carson as she emerges as America's most
successful advocate for the natural world.

Rock Creek Park CBC

Washington-area readers who are interested in participating in a Christmas Bird Count might consider joining the Rock Creek Park sector this weekend. Possible birds include wild turkey, northern harrier, and great horned owl, in addition to the park's more common winter residents. Follow the link to learn more.

Endangered Species in the DC Area

Delmarva Fox Squirrel / Photo by W. H. Julien (USFWS)

Last week, the Bush administration decided to weaken the Endangered Species Act by allowing every agency to perform its own environmental assessments without needing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's approval. They want us to believe that every agency can protect endangered and threatened species adequately, even though most do not have qualified biologists on staff. Last week's proposal was the latest in a long line of administration actions to undermine the ESA, including inventing procedural rules to prevent new species listings, leaving a long list of species that are worthy of listing but not protected, and interfering in critical habitat designations. There have also been past regulatory changes to weaken the ESA. The current rule change is subject to a 30-day comment period, when began last Friday. I will post more about how to comment later.

For now, I would like to point you to this article. The Washington Post is running a weeklong series on endangered and threatened species in the DC area, with different species profiled each day. Some of the mentioned species are well-known, like peregrine falcon, piping plover, and Delmarva fox squirrel. Others are less familiar, at least to most of us.

They might not all be familiar faces. The manatee, a tropical species, is so unfamiliar here that scientists think it might be responsible for some sightings of "Chessie," the mythical Chesapeake Bay sea monster. The Hay's spring amphipod, a blind shrimp-like creature, has been reduced to living in only a handful of springs in Rock Creek Park.

And the Virginia fringed mountain snail is found only along the New River in the western part of the state. Or, was found. Nobody has seen the snail in years.

Researchers say that, as relics of the natural world that once thrived here, all of these creatures are worth saving. When pollution and silt devastated the populations of tiny mussels across Virginia, for instance, small streams lost much of their natural water filter.

"They're all parts of a functioning system," said Gwen Brewer of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "When we lose things out of it, it may make us more likely to lose more things out of it" because the system won't work as well as it did.

Currently 73 species found in DC, Maryland and Virginia are listed under the Endangered Species Act. I hope that in the future number is reduced only because species have recovered, and not because they have gone extinct. The administration's proposed rule change makes the latter more likely.

DC News: Planning a New Downtown

Last week, the National Capital Planning Commission released a plan for improving the downtown areas surrounding the National Mall. It focuses on four sections. They are the Federal Triangle (bounded by Pennsylvania Ave, Constitution Ave, and 15th Street NW), the Northwest Rectangle (the area between the White House and the Kennedy Center), the Southwest Rectangle (south of the Mall, between the Capitol and the Tidal Basin), and East Potomac Park (a good winter birding spot).


All of these areas are crying out for revitalization. Many of the downtown areas can feel cold and desolate outside of business hours, when the massive federal government buildings stand empty. When I first moved there ten years ago, it took a lot of trial and error to learn to avoid certain parts of the Federal Triangle – especially anything in the vicinity of the Reagan Building – because there are frequently long stretches without any public space. Here is how the NCPC characterizes the area (pdf):

The north side of Pennsylvania Avenue now enjoys a lively mix of commercial, retail, residential, and cultural activities, while the south side appears lifeless. The connecting streets between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues are typically deserted outside of office hours and are dominated by government buildings that are closed to the public. Attractive interior courtyards are used for parking and loading operations or closed off for security reasons.

On the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, the FBI’s operation and security requirements have prevented street-level public uses along the entire block. Security installations and the building’s unornamented International Style architecture exacerbate a fortress-like presence. Across the street, revitalization of the Old Post Office (OPO) building and adjacent glass pavilion has not achieved its potential.

Throughout the precinct, poorly landscaped building yards and the absence of a clear way-finding system, create a monotonous public realm. The parks, plazas, and commemorative spaces along Pennsylvania Avenue are showing their age, and the precinct's nationally significant art and architecture are inadequately showcased.

It is good that the planners recognize such problems and are suggesting steps to remedy them. Their solutions emphasize making a more pedestrian-friendly environment by breaking up some barriers to circulation and improving public spaces like the Freedom Plaza. They also suggest adding more museums and sidewalk cafes along Pennsylvania Avenue and 10th Street NW to give more people a reason to go there, even on weekends.

The plan also offers some interesting ideas for East Potomac Park (pdf). Among other things, it suggests cutting a canal through the northern end of the park and building several vehicle and pedestrian bridges across Washington Channel south of the dock area to increase access to the park. It also would add a Metro stop on the Yellow Line near Jefferson Memorial. It is not clear how the proposals for East Potomac Park would affect it as a birding spot. Birds like loons and grebes might be less likely to come up Washington Channel, but other than that I do not think it would make much difference, except that it would be more accessible.

I like where the NCPC seems to be going with their framework plan. How successful it is will depend on implementation. There are a lot of obstacles such as security concerns at federal offices and whether there will be funding to redesign all of the spaces. I hope that at least some of these proposals will be implemented. It would improve the downtown for both residents and visitors.

*****
On a sour note, a country club has formed a "grassroots" campaign to oppose the Purple Line. (For those not familiar with the DC area, the Purple Line is a proposed light rail route that would connect Bethesda with New Carrollton, thus reducing strain on Metro's Red Line and traffic in the Maryland suburbs.) Their main complaint so far seems to be that the line would run through the country club, though they gripe about taxes too.

At least the streetcar plan seems to be trundling along.

Smithsonian DC Big Day on May 3

This week, I received an announcement of a DC Big Day competition, to occur on Saturday, May 3. The goal of the event is to raise money for the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and enjoy watching DC's avifauna. The Smithsonian will field a team, and they are asking other birders to organize competing teams.

I have done DC big days before, once by myself (using Metro), and once with the other "City Flickers," Mike and Denise. On the latter occasion, we found 101 species, including a Yellow-crowned Night Heron at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Bobolinks at Kenilworth Park, and American Woodcock at Rock Creek Park. Both times, the events were a lot of fun, though very tiring. Unfortunately I will not be doing it this year because of my relocation.

The text of the announcement follows.

*****

The Smithsonian Ornithology group would like to invite birders in the Greater DC metropolitan area to take part in a ‘Big Day’ count with us on May 3. We are organizing this count as a friendly competition to promote research and education on birds at the Smithsonian and to spend a fun day birding in Washington DC. Individual teams of two to four birders of all skill levels are welcome to participate for as much of the day as they wish. The event will take place all day on May 3, 2008 and participants are encouraged to limit their efforts to the boundaries of the District. However, if you already have plans for a count in Virginia or Maryland, feel free to join us with your results at a free breakfast on Sunday May 4. A group of 4 birders from the Smithsonian and USGS completed a trial run in early May last year and managed 122 species! Some of the highlights were Wild Turkey, Bobwhite Quail, 22 species of warbler, Bobolink, Willow Flycatcher, and others. We think this would be a great way for some of you who may not think of DC as a birding hot spot to spend a day exploring the nations capitol.

Here is what the Smithsonian can assist with:

• Scouts will be out checking on birding hotspots on days leading up to the event and will be happy to share their findings.
• Help with your birding itinerary (what locations to visit and when to do it)
• The event will be free to all participants
• The Smithsonian will be trying to raise money for research fellowships and grants through pledges made to the Smithsonian Ornithology Big Day website (http://sio.si.edu/BigDay/sponsor.cfm)
• On Sunday May 4, we will have a ‘Tally Rally’ breakfast to compare results
  

For more information or to sign up for the event please contact:

Gregory Gough
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
202.633.4191
goughg@si.edu
http://www.si.edu/smbc
http://sio.si.edu

Upcoming Event: C&O Canal Count

The 10th Annual C&O Canal Midwinter Bird Survey will take place next Saturday, January 19th. This count is coordinated by the DC Audubon Society with the help of several other bird clubs and numerous individuals. Each January, teams of observers fan out along the 184.5-mile canal to count birds along short sections of the towpath. Last year, at least 80 birders participated on count day. Somewhere between 100 and 150 birders have participated at least once during the past ten years.

The count was begun to monitor the winter birdlife in the C&O Canal National Historical Park, which follows the course of the Potomac River from Washington, DC, to Cumberland, Maryland. The park's biodiversity is impressive; volunteers have recorded 113 species over nine years, and over 80 species will be found in a typical year.

We hope that the bird survey may eventually reveal how some long term trends affect the park's birdlife. Counties of Maryland and Virginia west of DC have undergone a remarkable land use transformation in the past two decades. Former agricultural areas have been paved over to create suburbs and exurbs. In addition, climate change has altered migration patterns of many species, with some wintering farther north and others not coming south in lower numbers.

Most of the mile segments have been assigned, but there is still time for DC-area birders to sign up and participate. (Currently miles 30-33, 39, and 76-80 have no volunteers at all.) Just send an email to canalcount@gmail.com and let us know your skill level and what areas of the canal interest you the most.