Canoe trip on the Potomac
Hello all. After a long absence here are a few more pictures and a bird list. Over the Memorial Day weekend Sara and I canoed down the Potomac River from Paw Paw to Hancock (Maryland). We did this with a group of 12 people, 2 dogs, and 6 canoes floating, swimming, sunning, eating, drinking, and talking for 3 days. We camped along the towpath for the old C&O Canal, which is now a wonderful bike/hike path that takes you from DC to Cumberland, MD (184.5 miles). Soon the trail will be completed all the way to Pittsburgh, allowing bike-commuters easy access from Pittsburgh area all the way down to the Capital.
The River was in excellent condition. There was a diverse array of insect (nice EPT diversity), fish, mussel, and aquatic snail species; no nasty iron deposits were seen; and there was great birding the entire time. The one (biological) drawback was the abundant Japanese knotweed and dame’s rocket. There was also a substantial amount of garbage in the river (2 cars, several road signs, many cans, and approximately n tires). Otherwise, the vistas were excellent, the river was lazy, and the water was refreshing.
Finally, here are our bird and other wildlife lists for the three days:
Birds:
Common Merganser (with ducklings), Mallard (with ducklings), Wood Duck (with ducklings), Canada Goose (with goslings), Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, Bald Eagle (~3 year old),Wild Turkey, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Eastern Kingbird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, American Crow, Common Raven, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, Yellow Warbler, Parula Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, American Redstart, Louisiana Waterthrush, Cedar Waxwing, Common Grackle, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Indigo Bunting, Song Sparrow.
Other Wildlife:
Two 4+ foot Black Rat Snakes, Several baby Northern Watersnakes, Lampmussel (Yellow or Eastern?), Eastern Elliptio Mussel, Catfish (+24 inches), Suckers, Bluegills, Bass, American Toad (and many toadpoles), Bullfrogs, Green Frogs, Gray-green Treefrogs, Zebra, Tiger, and Spicebush Swallowtail Butterflies.
The River was in excellent condition. There was a diverse array of insect (nice EPT diversity), fish, mussel, and aquatic snail species; no nasty iron deposits were seen; and there was great birding the entire time. The one (biological) drawback was the abundant Japanese knotweed and dame’s rocket. There was also a substantial amount of garbage in the river (2 cars, several road signs, many cans, and approximately n tires). Otherwise, the vistas were excellent, the river was lazy, and the water was refreshing.
Finally, here are our bird and other wildlife lists for the three days:
Birds:
Common Merganser (with ducklings), Mallard (with ducklings), Wood Duck (with ducklings), Canada Goose (with goslings), Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, Bald Eagle (~3 year old),Wild Turkey, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Eastern Kingbird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, American Crow, Common Raven, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, Yellow Warbler, Parula Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, American Redstart, Louisiana Waterthrush, Cedar Waxwing, Common Grackle, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Indigo Bunting, Song Sparrow.
Other Wildlife:
Two 4+ foot Black Rat Snakes, Several baby Northern Watersnakes, Lampmussel (Yellow or Eastern?), Eastern Elliptio Mussel, Catfish (+24 inches), Suckers, Bluegills, Bass, American Toad (and many toadpoles), Bullfrogs, Green Frogs, Gray-green Treefrogs, Zebra, Tiger, and Spicebush Swallowtail Butterflies.
posted by Andrew at 10:55 AM
1 Comments:
Why not post some photos of both you and Sara?
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