Birding around Washington DC (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

my name is Jose and I am from Spain.

I will be visiting Washington DC in October and I will have some time to bird.

I can rent a car and move around and I guess that I will have two or three days to bird.

I have already been to Washington DC once before and I birded just for one day in the National Mall and some other areas around it, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Arlington National Cemetery, ...

One of my target birds is the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) that according to eBird could be present in small number in Washington DC area in October.

In addition as many other birds as possible. I still need to check the local bird list in October to prepare my complete target bird list.

Of course, I do not mind to see any kind of bird again.

Does anybody have specific information about the Yellow-breasted Chat in October in the area?

Any information, web pages, ... about birding in Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, ... in October?

If you know any professional guide or anybody interested in taking me to look for the Yellow-breasted Chat and any other bird please let me know.

Thanks in advance,

Hi José,

I'm afraid finding a chat in October would be a long shot. Most of the chats have left the area by that time. Here is an eBird map showing the few October sightings from last year.

https://ebird.org/map/yebcha?bmo=10...7.912&env.maxX=-75.05&env.maxY=39.724&gp=true

(The majority of birders in the area use eBird, so this approach is a good indication of how many were observed in a heavily birded area.) If you switch the time period to May or June you will see how big the difference is.) If you are still keen to try, probably your best bet would be to check ebird after you arrive for any recent sightings, and then go to that location the next day. But given how few sightings there are, there may not be any recent ones when you are here.

In any event, here is a website created by the Maryland Ornithological Society with more information about Maryland and DC birding sites:

https://mdbirdingguide.com/

Virginia probably has a similar site that you can Google for.

Hope this helps,
Jim