Birding the C&O Canal Trail

Birding Riley’s Lock and the C&O Canal Trail
August 24, 2013

Most of my birding is done on the weekends and I have several places around Maryland that are my favorite places for birding. The C & O canal towpath is a great place for birding also a biking, jogging and hiking trail.  Walking along the trail you have beautiful views of the Potomac River. My photos below are of the birds seen along the river at various of the times of year.

 The Bald Eagle has a nest nearby also the Double-Crested Cormorants.

 This shot above was from a previous visit, it was neat seeing the Double-Crested Cormorant rookery.

The Great Blue Herons have a rookery in the trees that line the river.  Not the best shot of the Great Blue Heron, but I think it is amazing these large birds nest in the tree tops.


Along the trail and canal are many songbirds and one of my favorite birds is the Prothonotary Warbler. Nest boxes have been set up for the Prothonotary Warbler along the canal.

The Prothonotary Warbler is beautiful and their bright yellow color sometimes can be spotted easily.

Riley’s Lock and the C&O trail is my go to place when I want to see the Green Heron. This past Saturday I counted six Green Herons that were out in the open. Do you have a favorite birding spot, one you can depend on seeing your favorite bird? Well, this is my spot to see my favorite... the Green Heron.

Nothing could spook this Green Heron, he or she seemed pretty intent on staring at the water covered with duckweed.

We also saw groups of Wood Ducks mostly females and possibly some older juveniles. The Wood Ducks seemed to spook easily even though we were a good distance away.

Both the Turkey Vultures and the Black Vultures seem to be a common sight along the Potomac River.

A Black Vulture resting nearby as we walked over the Seneca Creek bridge.

I will end with a pretty shot of the Potomac River.

Below is a list of just some of the birds we saw during our walk along the C&O Canal trail.
Turkey Vultures
Black Vultures
Canada Geese
Mallard Duck
Wood Duck
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Great Egret
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Prothonotary Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Bluejay
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Acadian Flycatcher
Chipping Sparrow

Riley’s lock and the C&O trail is worth repeat visits thru-out the year to see various species of birds. If you are ever in the Maryland-Virginia area you should plan a visit or join in on one of the local bird club walks.

Happy Birding,
Eileen
http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com/