Keeping Things Clean

It always amazes me how some people are just trashy. Take Greenbury Point for example. Go to any spot with a good view of the bay and you'll find empty beer cans and other crap lying all over the place. That's just super. Think about it this way: who would want to go to a spot that littered with garbage, right? Right. Now, obviously, someone does... because it gets worse every time I visit. So, there are some people out there who would prefer to make 'a place' that they enjoy spending time look like crap.

"I love to go down there and fish, enjoy a few brews and just take in nature," said the redneck. "But someone needs to come out here and clean up these damn beer cans that I leave on the ground, in the trees, on the rocks, basically everywhere... because it's starting to look like a dump." Anyone who leaves garbage for someone else to clean is an ass.

Speaking of asses... on to my next tirade: lazy dog walkers who let their adorable dogs shit all over Greenbury Point and refuse to clean it up. Why? I have no idea. Do they think nature will simply take care of their dog's crap before their next visit. Do they think the Navy has a professional dog doo scooper on their staff? Do they think the animals that live there enjoy all this extra excrement? Lazy AND disrespectful.

Don't even get me started on the dogs not being on a leash.

From huge hunks of dog crap (probably from a lab), down to those little cute morsels of pooh... it's everywhere.

And I have a solution.

This week, I am going down to Greenbury with a pooper scooper and a few trash bags. To illustrate a point, I am going to pick up all of the empty beer cans and garbage that lie on the ground in those scenic bay overlooks.

Then I am going to scoop up the hundreds of piles of dog dung all over the trails around the point.

I will put all of the pooh in all of the locations where I found beer cans.

I will put all of the beer cans all over the trails on the point where I scooped the pooh.

That way, the lazy dog walkers wont want to come to a place where they have to navigate around litter while their dogs continue to crap their un-picked-up excrement. And the fishermen and other folks who loiter around the scenic overlooks wont enjoy chuggin' brews and throwing empties on the ground when they are surrounded by large mounds of pooh.

And soon Greenbury Point will be returned to those who respect nature, those who respect others and those who still feel an obligation to leave a place better than the way they found it.And seriously, I will be participating in this event... a legitimate river cleaning. Might you care to join in the fun?

-Dan

Signs of Spri.... HAAA CHOOO.... of Spring. Pass the tissues?

Last week I thought that I'd developed some sort of 'adult allergies' or something rather terrible like that. Good news!!! It's just a plain old, run-of-the-mill frustrating cold. My head is stuffed, my body aches and I could whine about it all night long. But I will do no such thing. No, me... I'm delighting in the fact that my old friend the oak tree, the spring flowers or that little bit of Goldenrod is NOT causing all this torture. Lucky me, someone probably sneezed on me somewhere, sometime last week.But some awful cold is not enough to keep me from a blog. And to put your minds at ease, Declan and Mom Emery are doing great. For that matter, the entire Haas Family had a wonderful Easter weekend and we hope yours was fantastic as well.

Chris Murray and I dropped by Waterworks Park in Annapolis just prior to our trip Emery's folks home in Bethesda for Easter dinner. Emery, Declan and I spent the morning at my folks home here in Annapolis. After a brief nap, I figured that a little birding couldn't hurt before dinner. My sniffles and coughing are telling me otherwise.

Here is an EASTERN PHOEBE. It was one of five seen at Waterworks during our brief visit. We also had two BARRED OWLS calling while we hiked around the reservoir.

"Who Cooks For You? Who Cooks For You All??," asked the BARRED OWLS. Lucky for us, my folks had fixed a scrumptous breakfast and Emery folks were busy making dinner!The Cornell Lab of Ornithology informs us that, "In 1804, the Eastern Phoebe became the first banded bird in North America. John James Audubon attached silvered thread to an Eastern Phoebe's leg to track its return in successive years." I suppose that would mean that this bird was one of the first to shed light on that wild MIGRATION thing? If so, the PHOEBE gets my nomination for "Spring Sign of the Week."

And finally, a photo of the GREAT EGRET patrolling the cove at Greenbury Point. This photo was taken last week, but it says 'spring' to me. I trust that you are enjoying the season.Ths is my favorite photo today of the better 2/3rds of my family. I love my wife's facial expression here. She is so adorable when she growls like a bunny.-Dan

RED SHOULDERED HAWK RELEASE

This afternoon a RED SHOULDERED HAWK, that I helped to rescue from the thick mud of Back Creek last January, was released back into the wild. It was a wonderful event that I will not soon forget.The release took place on Greenbury Point in Annapolis, at the Nature Center just beyond the golf course and new athletic facility. At just about a mile or so as the 'hawk' flies from where it was found stuck in the mud, if this hawk so choses, it could easily find it's way back to Back Creek. If not, there is always lots to eat on the Point.The release was performed by Linda Moore (that is her in the photos!) from the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia. Actually, Linda is a biologist at Washington DC's National Zoo, which is run by the Smithsonian Institution. The point I making is that Linda is a trained, skilled, licensed pro when it comes to the art of releasing rehabilitated birds back into the wild.Kent Knowles, the fine gentleman in Falls Church, Virginia who runs and operates the Raptor Conservancy, should receive loads of credit as well. He not only cared for this bird, he brought her back to full health from the mud-caked state of trauma she was in when I brought her to him back in early January.This strikingly beautiful hawk was vocal for a brief bit just prior to her release, but it was not enough to get the attention of the locals. There are at least two local RED SHOULDERED HAWKS that I've seen recently on Greenbury Point. They didn't make an appearance during the bird's release. However, by now I feel quite certain that she's made their acquaintance.Linda, who drove all the way from Virginia, appeared about as happy as I was to be releasing this gorgeous bird. After a few minutes of conversation, questions and answers, Linda handed the hawk over to me an in less than a minute, she was free to fly. I was instructed to simply loft her into the air and the hawk would take care of the rest.The hawk was named 'Roberta' by the neighbors who live in the community where she found mud. Those neighbors were so very helpful that day, providing me with towels, a long pole and a kayak that helped me retrieve this raptor. They were even kind enough to squirt me with a hose on that relatively warm January day!The hawk flew up and into the pines, where she rested for a moment. Very soon after she took off heading Northwest into the blue sky. The release was fulfilling, uplifting and quite amazing, despite it lasting all of ten minutes.So if you're ever in and around the Annapolis area and you see a RED SHOULDERED HAWK, do check to see if the bird is wearing any silver 'bling', as our little Roberta has been banded.
I also would highly encourage you to donate to Kent and the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia, as they are a non-profit and do wonderful work! And go out and get a copy of the Capital newspaper on Tuesday. Their environmental reporter Pam Wood was there with their best photographer, J. Henson, covering the event!

All the best,

Dan

Leaves and Fallen Trees? Even better... American Woodcock.

It looks pretty much like a log, some leaves and a bit of mud.But upon closer inspection you'll notice the AMERICAN WOODCOCK lurking on the hill.This bird flushed while I was searching (unsuccessfully) for a BOHEMIAN WAXWING within the enormous flock of AMERICAN ROBINS and CEDAR WAXWINGS. I know, you think I'm crazy for looking for such a bird here in Maryland. But yesterday we had two COMMON REDPOLLS visit our county. Why not a 'COUNTY BOH' here in the land of pleasant living?

In order to understand that reference, I suppose I should inform you that National Bohemian Beer was originally brewed in Baltimore, MD (the land of pleasant living, as it stated on the can!). We locals have always referred to it our local affordable brew as 'NATTY BOH'.I was more than delighted to capture this elusive bird this during my two hour hike around Greenbury Point this morning.

Other birds seen during my little adventure: WHITE CROWNED SPARROW, FIELD SPARROW, BROWN THRASHER, RED SHOULDERED HAWK and one slightly inebriated, yet still rather wary BUFFLEHEAD.Bud, the king of empty floating beer cans! I do hope that this BUFFLEHEAD will not forget to recycle his empties.Finally, I'll leave you with two photos of a RED SHOULDERED HAWK from this morning. Perhaps you will recall a post from earlier this winter when I kayaked through the thick mud of Back Creek here in Annapolis in order to save the life of a RED SHOULDERED HAWK? Well, I have great news about this particular raptor. After a month or so in rehabilitation, this hawk is ready for release. If you'd like to watch the big event, please feel free to stop by the Greenbury Point Nature Center at 1:30PM sharp this Monday afternoon. Linda Moore, from the Smithsonian Institution and the Virginia Raptor Conservancy (where the hawk was given a thorough washing after it's mud bath), will be letting this hawk fly off back into it's own familiar, and hopefully less-muddy, territory within the Annapolis area.Good Birding,

Dan