Birding at Blackwater
As you may remember, Isaac and I like to make day trips on federal holidays. In 2009 we had the pleasure of making a Presidents' Day outing (16 February) with our friends Lisa and Byron,‡ who shared with us one of their favorite day trips: birding at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, near Cambridge, MD, on Maryland's Easter Shore.*
It was a very pretty day, bright and sunny and unseasonably mild when we got there mid-afternoon.
A view of the estuary at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
Here's a bit about the refuge:
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, approximately 12 miles south of the town of Cambridge, in Dorchester County. The Refuge includes over 25,000 acres, composed mainly of rich tidal marsh characterized by fluctuating water levels and varying salinity. Other habitat types include freshwater ponds, mixed evergreen and deciduous forests, and small amounts of cropland and managed impoundments that are seasonally flooded for waterfowl use.
Blackwater Refuge was originally established in 1933 as a haven for ducks and geese migrating along the Atlantic Flyway. The Refuge is a popular place during the November migration when upwards of 35,000 geese and 15,000 ducks visit Blackwater.
[from the official site: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Cambridge, Maryland.]
This tuned out to be my kind of bird watching. When Lisa first suggested it I pictured trekking through muddy swamps in cold rain at the crack of dawn, and I don't even have a pair of waders. However, to our relief, this was largely birding by car, since the Refuge has a nice, drive-through arrangement. It was also largely photography from car, too.
We saw quite a number of birds that are new to my life list, I'm happy to say. I had never seen Sandpipers before, and they were out in force, scurrying around the mud where the water had receded. We saw a beautiful heron enjoying lunch. I very much enjoyed the views of the estuary in the February sun, not to mention the shapes of the trees on the horizon. There are lots of those photos in the albums (linked below).
Of course, a day trip implies that we had lunch somewhere. In fact, part of Lisa & Byron's refuge-day-out involved having lunch at a charming French restaurant in nearby Cambridge, Maryland. We all remarked that it was a surprising place to find a chic French bistro, but there you go. It was a delightful little place to spend some time, cozy and inviting and lovingly decorated. The menu was very nice. At Lisa's suggestion I had the croque-monsieur (I mistakenly thought it would be a light luncheon) and some onion soup for starter; how can I visit a French restaurant and not sample their version of onion soup (in the photo below)?
You can look through the photographs either at the Flickr set or theBearcastle album. The images are the same but show up in different sizes: one modest size in the Bearcastle album, a smaller default size with available really big size at the Flickr set.
Onion Soup at Bistro Poplar, Cambridge, MD
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‡A month before we had taken Lisa & Byron with us for one of our favorite trips through Spring Grove, PA. There's a Flickrset and Bearcastle photo album (identical, I think, except for sizes of the images) of that day out, too.
* As in "eastern shore" of the Chesapeake Bay, i.e., the region across the Bay Bridge from Annapolis, MD.
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on Monday, 28 December 2009 at 23.01
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That also sounds like the kind of birding I would like ;) For some reason, I've found birds fascinating over the past few years – and lots to see in this small town. There is a bird sanctuary in my hometown province which is set up the same way, with a driving path through it but I was so young when I lived there that I never did go through it. That is something I have to go back to do someday.
on Tuesday, 29 December 2009 at 01.51
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Looks like a delightful find for dining out, Jeff. Isn't it great to discover a place new to you that strikes you as just right?
Nice photo of the Blackwater Refuge. Looks cold, but then with the weather we've been having, anything less than tropical looks cold to me. Now you've given me a craving for onion soup.