Brown Boobies and more: A trip with my bird club

The news is everywhere. There is an adult and an immature Brown Booby hanging out in Baltimore's National Harbor! To see Brown Boobies north of Florida is uncommon. Up in Maryland - it's practically unheard of. That's why everyone wants to see the two birds!

My bird club set out to National Harbor to find the boobies. After arriving and searching for a while, we found the two famous birds! They were perched on the ropes beside a large ship, called the Denebola. Everyone got a great view of the Boobies through the club spotting scope. I took a picture through the spotting scope too:

After watching the boobies for a while, we decided to leave, and visit the Belle Haven Picnic Area. Belle Haven Park is a spot on the Potomac that provides good views of waterbirds.

When the club arrived there and walked along the trail, we saw some awesome birds. There were Ruddy Ducks and Caspian Terns, Bald Eagles and Belted Kingfishers, and Teals - it was amazing.

Bald Eagle

Caspian Tern (the world's largest tern)

There was also this dead Rhinoceros beetle that everyone said had an interesting scent that was rather musky. I don't know what the smell is from, perhaps a chemical of some sort.

This was a superb birding day. Birding is even better when you go with a club, because everyone works toghether to find and identify a lot more birds than can be done alone. So if you like to birdwatch, try to get affiliated some bird clubs in your area!

If you live near Baltimore, try to catch the two Brown Boobies before it gets cold - and they go south!