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Make me fall in love with birding in the D.C.-Maryland area! (2 Viewers)

Jim M.

Member since 2007
Supporter
United States
I might be relocating to the D.C. area, probably Montgomery County (around Rockville). I am quite reluctant to leave Eastern Massachusetts, however. Eastern Massachusetts is excellent in terms of having a great many beautiful birding locations, with a good variety of birds, close at hand (Plum Island, Cape Cod, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Quabbin Reservoir, Mt. Greylock, etc.), as well as having a very active local birding community.

Is there anything local birders can tell me about birding in the D.C. area (broadly construed to include D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Virginia) to make me feel better about relocating? I am familiar with Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, but not much else.

Also, if anyone knows of some apartment locations--specific apts or areas--near the Metro red line (which includes Montgomery County, Maryland) that would be especially desirable from a birding perspective, e.g. be near a great park, "local patch", or body of water, I would appreciate hearing about them. Feel free to send me a private message regarding apartment locations or post here if you prefer.

Jim

P.S.: I do have the 1992 edition of "Finding Birds in the National Capital Area" by Claudia Wilds, so I have basic information about birding locations.
 
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You might want to subscribe to a couple of birding listservs for the MD area ahead of time to see what is going on in that area:

Here are a couple:

MDOsprey: Discussion of Maryland birds
subscription: [email protected]
message: subscripe MDOsprey

MD-SMAS-GENERAL: Discussion of Southern Maryland birds and environmental issues
subscription: [email protected]
message: subscribe md-smas-general Your Name
 
You might want to subscribe to a couple of birding listservs for the MD area ahead of time to see what is going on in that area:

Thanks KC. I did subscribe to the first one you mentioned; they are excellent sources of local information I agree.

You can get Brown-headed Nuthatch , Blue Grossbeak, Summer Tanager and Carolina Chickadee on a much more regular basis ;)

You are right there will be some birds that will be "new". Not sure I am going to get too excited about Carolina Chickadees (virtual look-alikes for Black caps);), but seeing Blue Grosbeaks in breeding plumage, as well as Summer Tanager, is going to be nice. To say nothing of Prothonotary Warblers--plus a better chance at more southerly rarities such as Swainson's Warbler and Black Rail. And Cape May and Cape Hatteras will be closer (the latter is famous for pelagic trips of course).

In any event, thanks for responding! I was pretty bummed out when I made my initial post, but am starting to feel better now. I think the main downside is that it will require more driving to get to ocean birding spots.

Best,
Jim
 
Yes being close to Cape May and Brigantine NWR is a big bonus ! Lots of great waders and shorebirds and all year birding interest . I have picked up Yellow-headed Blackbird, White Ibis, Northern Bobwhie, Whimbrel , Marbled Godwit ,Am. Avocet etc...at Brig NWR and it is excellent for Owls. The winters will be a little easier to handle as well.
 
I have a friend who's a much better birder than I am, she lives in Germantown (Montgomery Co, north of Rockville & Gaithersburg) and she LOVES Black Hill and Little Bennett parks!! They're basically her backyard...

Also, you'll be near Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, Wheaton Regional park, Lily Pons (in Frederick Co, about 1/2 hr from Rockville).

There are tons of birding places (I'm in PG county & know those spots better...) and there are some very active birding communities - the local Audubon groups, Maryland Ornith Soc., and others. They do organized trips; there are walks at Patuxent... lots of stuff!

I don't think you'll be disappointed in the birding in maryland! When you get down here, just post on here & I bet we can hook you up with groups, places, etc...

I think MD is similar to MA in that you have all kinds of habitat (from mountains to eastern shore salt marshes) within about 2-3 hours!


Hey Jim - just noticed the date on your post (I'm new & not completely oriented here yet!) so you're probably already HERE!
 
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I have a friend who's a much better birder than I am, she lives in Germantown (Montgomery Co, north of Rockville & Gaithersburg) and she LOVES Black Hill and Little Bennett parks!! They're basically her backyard...

Also, you'll be near Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, Wheaton Regional park, Lily Pons (in Frederick Co, about 1/2 hr from Rockville).

There are tons of birding places (I'm in PG county & know those spots better...) and there are some very active birding communities - the local Audubon groups, Maryland Ornith Soc., and others. They do organized trips; there are walks at Patuxent... lots of stuff!

I don't think you'll be disappointed in the birding in maryland! When you get down here, just post on here & I bet we can hook you up with groups, places, etc...

I think MD is similar to MA in that you have all kinds of habitat (from mountains to eastern shore salt marshes) within about 2-3 hours!

Thanks Jeannine. I think you may not have noticed that my original post was from October of last year. [EDIT: looks like I cross-posted with your edit saying you just noticed the date]. I have been in Maryland for almost a year now, and have been quite pleased with the quality of birding here. You're right that it's similar to Massachusetts in many ways. There is a coastal region where you can do ocean and saltmarsh birding, and then there is a Western region at some elevation (like the Berkshires in Massachusetts), where you can find breeding birds more typical of regions further North. My only complaint at this point is that when I was in Massachusetts, most of the best areas were within an hours drive or less, but 2-3 hours is often required here. In any event, have fun in England!

Best,
Jim
 
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