Tyson's Corner, IAD, Virginia, August 2014

There are few things in life that can’t be fixed with a great look at a snake or an owl or even both. After a long day yesterday followed by a couple of beers, I was reluctant to rise for the lark and festered until almost lunchtime. It wasn’t a hangover as such, just a beery fatigue that seems to hit more often these days. I wasn’t expecting much from the pockets of woodland around Tyson’s Corner in the middle of the day, so I sauntered about not paying much attention, but I got a few surprises.

First, unfortunately, building has begun on the wild ground behind Tyson’s 2 Mall. With the arrival of the Metro train, land around the station is likely to be in high demand and the woodland pockets are being squeezed. For the first few minutes, all bird sounds were drowned out by construction noise from two sides. Even the strident “birdeep” calls of the Northern Cardinals were barely audible.

I moved on along Westbranch Drive and ducked back into the woods at Google Earth ref; 38 55 34.20N 77 13 21.95W, where the path leads down to a small pond. A Great Crested Flycatcher caught my eye from high up and at last I could hear a Carolina Chickadee with its fast call.

The outbound journey was so uneventful that I could hardly be bothered to look on the return leg, but a Spotted Sandpiper, teetering on a log before flying onto the shallow edge of the pond, had me reaching for my camera. This would be a state first and I wanted a photo just for the record.

As I was putting the camera back into my backpack, I spotted a long black shape in the shade beneath a tree. “Be a snake, be a snake”, I am sure you all know the mantra.

Sure enough, this turned out to be a Rat Snake. It wasn’t a very big specimen of a species that can grow to over 8 feet, but it was slow and photogenic. I am sad to say that it was probably heading for a warm spot in the sun when I noticed it and it had already spotted me as it turned slowly and sluggishly crept back into its tree.

I was pleased that I hadn’t taken the short cut home now and I was rewarded again on investigating a commotion a little further round. I had nearly doubled back on myself and wondered if the birds were alert to the snake, but they were calling from on high and about 30 meters from the snake’s tree. It had to be worth a look in the event that there might be an owl. I scanned the trees where the fuss appeared to be coming from, but couldn’t see anything. I put down my backpack and moved further in. I glanced to my left to check my footing on the slope and saw a Barred Owl looking back at me. 

The owl was half way up a tree that was half way down the slope which put us on eye-level with each other. After a few moments, I regained my composure (please note that at no time during the proceedings did the owl’s poise desert it) and moved slowly back to my camera. 

We were unfortunately in deep shade and there was a bit of camera movement on most of the pictures, but by fashioning a rest out of my camera bag and a tree stump, I managed to get a few usable shots before retreating.

I can't ever remember getting a better look at an owl. I was fortunate to be so close to the bird without it flushing before I spotted it and lucky again that it tolerated my movement as I backed away.

Bird list for Tyson’s Corner; 20

Mallard 3, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Spotted Sandpiper 1, Mourning Dove 3, Barred Owl 1, Northern Flicker 2, Great-crested Flycatcher 1, American Crow 4, Carolina Chickadee 1, Tufted Titmouse 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, American Robin 15, Grey Catbird 10, Northern Mockingbird 2, European Starling 1, Song Sparrow 3, Northern Cardinal 5, Common Grackle 1, Brown-headed Cowbird 1, House Sparrow 8.

There are more posts from Tyson's Corner at the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/tysons-corner-virginia-february-2012.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/raglans-wood-tysons-corner.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canadapage for more posts.

Birding, Birdwatching, Tyson’s Corner, Virginia.

Catching up.

Catch up catch up. Back from Australia and straight back to work with barely a chance to even download my pictures from the holiday, get the camera back to the mender and then check in first thing in the morning for a double trip to Newark and Washington Dulles.

The return migration is probably warming up nicely as this is published, but at the time, I worried that I might just be a week or two too early in mid August. Just the same, I took a cycle down the road through the graveyards at Newark and was pleased to see a couple of young White-tailed Deer stags in the early morning mist. The advantage of a 15 hour time change is that early mornings are easy.

The “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” seemed to be upon us as a gentle haze rose from the damp grass. The lightest of breezes encouraged it uphill as the sun appeared for the day.

I had not done very well for the north-bound migration, so I was hoping to catch a few early birds on the journey south for the winter. Menlo Park produced Black and White Warbler, American Redstart and Pine Warbler. Baltimore Oriole were seen on a couple of occasions, but only a Red-tailed Hawk sat for a picture before my battery died in the small camera.

There are other posts describing the cycle routes around the Iselin and Woodbridge areas, follow the links below while I get on with the catching up.

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/newark-woodbridge.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/merrill-park-new-jersey-sept-2011.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/gill-lane-woodbridge-ewr-december-2011.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/woodbridge-tour-newark-may-2012.html

To expedite the catch up process, a brief Washington post will be added here too. A visit to Raglan’s Wood produced some White-tailed Deer, but almost no birds. A cycle ride down to Great Falls River was more productive and very enjoyable in the sunshine.

It was a busy Saturday at the park, with lots of people staking out picnic tables and getting the barbeques stoked up ready for the day. The Potomac River was flowing as gently as I have seen it, but more drownings occur during times of low water I am informed by the warning signs.

The river is not the only danger around here as I found when I stopped on the road to watch some White-breasted Nuthatches chasing each other around a ‘killer tree’.

A couple of new odonata were found including an American Rubyspot Hataerina Americana on the rocks below the weir and an Eastern Ringtail Erpetogomphus designatus.

For more in-depth profile of Great Falls Park follow the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/great-falls-park-virginia.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/great-falls-park-virginia-april.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/great-falls-park-july.html

Visit the dedicated USA page and you will find more posts from IAD including Shenandoah National Park.

Meadowlark Botanic Gardens, Tyson's Corner, IAD. April 2012

A quick visit to Raglan's Wood (Google Earth ref; 38 55 23N 77 14 28W enter via Tyspring St. off Gosnell Rd) early in the morning produced a close encounter with the local White-tailed Deer.

My new compact camera comes equipped with a video function and I will embed some motion to the post if I can figure out how. Until then, this was my favourite still from the old Canon.

 

 

I was headed towards the Meadowlark Botanic Gardens, but opening time is not until 10.00 so I found a couple of en-route divertissements to while away the golden hours of the early morning.

Freedom Hill (Google Earth ref; 38 55 00N 77 14 29W) is just a few hundred yards beyond Raglan's Wood, but I was surprised to note that deer activity here was much reduced. There was much more understorey ground cover which has been eaten away at Raglan's Wood. The birds enjoyed the extra cover and White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos fed from the ground in front of the thickets. A Brown Creeper clung to the trunk of a pine tree near the car park and the ubiquitous Northern Cardinals kept up their whistles as a soundtrack for the day.

Meadowlark Botanic Gardens (Google Earth ref; 35 56 15N 16 53 04W) was entrusted to the care of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority by Gardiner Means and Caroline Ware who had previously run the 74 acres as a small farm. NVRPA expanded it slightly and created a public garden in accordance with Gardiner’s and Caroline's wishes.

As a birding site, much of the gardens have been well manicured giving a sterile feel. Much of the bankside along the lakes was closely cropped and the only waterfowl seen were Canada Geese. My go to guy in times of trouble, ie when not much is presenting itself for pictures, is the American Robin. It is always to be found on nice lawns and will always sit for a photo.

To be fair, Lake Gardiner had been allowed to become slightly dishevelled with some weed growth in the water and reeds in the far corner and this concession to nature had attracted a Red-shouldered Blackbird who performed from the seed head of a reed mace.

Bird boxes have been erected around the grounds. A Tree Swallow had already staked a claim to no. 12 and had started preparations for his anticipated family.

At last I found Lake Lina which represented a slice of Virginia native wetlands and whispered to me of snakes and dragonflies. If I had known of Lake Lina at the beginning of the morning, this is where I would have spent my time.

Carolina Chickadees and American Goldfinches flitted through the trees here and a Red-shouldered Hawk soared beyond the borders of the park. The Canada Geese look set to consolidate on their position as primary waterbird of the gardens.

It was here that I found my first American ode of the new season, a red-crayon Blue Corporal, Libellula deplanata. Another darner and a damselfly were too quick for me to identify.

In the bushes close by, an Eastern Bluebird stopped for a good look.

Time was running against me this morning and I still faced a thirty minute cycle back to the hotel. I had just enough time left to take a quick once round by the Korean Bell meadow where a Cooper’s Hawk flew over, chased by Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows (PS refers to the slight recomposition of the swallows).

A small trickle runs along a wooded ditch and at last I managed to get a picture of a Chipping Sparrow. They had been calling all day, but had managed to stay out of range or tucked behind a leaf to avoid the attentions of my lens.

Birds seen; 20

Black Vulture 1, Canada Goose 20, Cooper’s Hawk 1, Red-shouldered Hawk 2, Mourning Dove 1, Tree Swallow 25, Barn Swallow 4, Eastern Bluebird 2, American Robin 15, Hermit Thrush 3, Carolina Chickadee 4, Tufted Titmouse 2, Blue Jay 1, American Crow 5, House Sparrow 6, American Goldfinch 3, Northern Cardinal 3, Chipping Sparrow 4, Common Grackle 10, Red-winged Blackbird.


The cycle ride from Tyson's Corner to Meadowlark Botanic Gardens takes you through the pretty town of Vienna. Cross the Leesburg Pike onto Gosnell Road and turn right after 600yds onto Old Courthouse Rd. Keep straight for 3 miles and the gardens are on your left. There are a couple of hills, but nothing sustained.

Opening times are from 10.00. Closing times vary with the time of year. Follow this link for more on closing times.

More posts from Tyson's Corner including; Great Falls Park and Shenandoah National Park can be found at the dedicated USA and Canada page.

Raglan's Wood, Tyson's Corner,

The weather was threatening to be wet and windy for the next day, so I popped out quickly to Raglans Wood (Google Earth ref; 38 55 23N 77 14 28W enter via Tyspring St. off Gosnell Rd) for my fix in case tomorrow got rained off. There was not much time before dusk, but the evening looked very pleasant if just a little chilly.

White-throated Sparrows and Northern Cardinals were making plenty of noise, but I had only brought a small compact camera which was unable to discern the birds and focus on them among the branches.

Thankfully, it takes a nice landscape picture, even in portrait attitude, so this is more of a descriptive post. The White-tailed Deer that can often be seen there were quite approachable this evening, and filled the frame much better, making focus possible.

The cropping zoom of post production reveals a curious pixel property that makes the picture look as if it has been hand painted. It's an attractive effect in the right situation, but not the one I was hoping for in my new compact camera.

A Red-shouldered Hawk was heard in the woods beyond the cut. A new path has been opened up and I followed it in search of the hawk, which I assume must be resident as I always find it here. A party of birds along this path included American Robin, Brown Creeper, Carolina Chickadee and White-breasted Nuthatch. Further along I could hear Hairy Woodpeckers, but was thrown into a crisis of confidence about my aural skills as I was seeing Downies, then a larger bird with a bigger bill appeared around the base of the trunk to confirm what I thought I was hearing.

In the past, Raglan’s Wood has not produced much in the way of birds, but today it was as productive as I have seen it. None of the birds were terribly special, but there was a better selection than previous visits, with 20+ species in just over an hour.

Species seen; 22

Great Blue Heron 1, Canada Goose 1, Red-shouldered Hawk 3, Mourning Dove 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Downy Woodpecker 2, Hairy Woodpecker 2, Northern Flicker 1, Eastern Phoebe 1, American Barn Swallow 1, Carolina Wren 3, American Robin 4, Carolina Chickadee 3, Tufted Titmouse 4, White-brested Nuthatch 1, Brown Creeper 1, American Crow 3, Common Starling 6, American Goldfinch 1, Northern Cardinal 12, White-throated Sparrow 8, Chipping Sparrow 1.

Links to other posts from Raglan's Wood can be found below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/raglans-wood-tysons-corner-fairfax-va.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/raglans-wood-july-2011.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada Page for other posts from nearby, including, Great Falls Park and Shenandoah National Park.

Raglan's Wood, Tyson's Corner, Washington, IAD

Boys' day out Pt. 2

The sun rose by 07.30 to find us (us being Mike, Dave and me) well on our way along Route 66 towards Shenandoah National Park. The snow and sleet front had passed over and the scenery along the route was stunning in the early morning light. We had thought it prudent to look at the website to check that the park would be open. It had been closed during the storm of the previous day and we were hoping for a prediction on its status for today. It was such a beautiful autumn morning that we could not resist driving down, despite there being no updated info on the website.

As we drew closer to Front Royal, the northern portal town for Shenandoah National Park, the snow became thicker and lay inches deep on parked cars. The glorious sunshine and the autumn colours in the trees were spectacularly enhanced by the blanket of snow, but it gave me twinges which were borne out when we came upon the barrier blocking the entrance to the park.

It was closed of course. A couple of miles upstream along the southern fork of the Shenandoah River is a high lookout which gives out across the river to another Appalachian ridge in the distance to the west. I believe this to be the George Washington National Forest. A chap looked incredulously from the frosted window of his canoe-hire centre when we pulled into his car park. When he realised that we were not planning to go tubing on the river he turned back to his heater as we took in the fabulous scenery and found our first few birds of the day.

A Pileated Woodpecker flew across the river and a Downy Woodpecker pulled into a tree close by.  The bright red of the Northern Cardinals in the car park impressed my companions who are not birders (yet). But this was not going to fill our day, so once again we repaired to a diner (the excellent Knotty Pine in Front Royal) to consider our options.

Asking at the local gas station threw up the name Raymond J “Andy” Guest Shenandoah River State Park. It was only a few miles along the road, south from Front Royal (at Google Earth ref; 35 50 35N 78 18 04W) and it seemed like a reasonable alternative. It was even said to occasionally harbour bears. Indeed there was a bear, “Stella”, stuffed and mounted in the visitor centre just beyond the entrance control post, but no live ones were found here. The State Park is many times smaller than the National Park and can easily be covered in a day.

A platform jutting from the hillside afforded a magnificent view across the snow-frosted valley. We chose to follow a couple of paths, namely the Cottonwood Trail which led us alongside the Shenandoah River and the Wildcat Ledge.

The snow on the boardwalk of the Cottonwood Trail was frozen and crunched loudly under our boots, so we turned off onto the Wildcat Ledge trail. Tufted Titmice had formed small foraging flocks with Carolina Chickadees and we watched four Bald Eagles in the meadow to the north from the lookout point at the end of the trail. Wildcat Ledge is a dead-ending trail, so we retraced our steps and gave the crunchy boardwalk another go. We could see the eagles in the air now, circling to gain some height.

There was a nice selection of birds found as the boardwalk looped around and back on itself. Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers and Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen on a few occasions with a Red-tailed Hawk sitting atop a leafless tree in the meadow. Singletons included White-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-breasted Sapsucker and Carolina Wren.

Early in the afternoon, the sun had warmed the air sufficiently for us to remove jackets and hats. Perhaps Skyline Drive had been re-opened by now. Sadly it hadn’t. Perhaps it is still early in the season for snow. The trees still had plenty of leaves and the snow would have been laying heavy on them. Though it looked as if a man with a snowplough attached to the front of his truck could have it cleared in mere moments, we had not considered that the weight of the snow could have brought down a few trees as well.

So if you find yourself in Front Royal and the Shenandoah National Park is closed, do consider the Shenandoah River State Park. It may not have the scale and the bears, but it was a very pleasant place to enjoy some stunning scenery. My thanks go to Mike and Dave for being so understanding and proactive and for being such good company on a long day out.

We arrived back at the hotel to find the only bird of the day that actually sat for a photograph. A Northern Mockingbird perched in a tree adjacent to the entrance to the hotel.

Birds seen; 32

Great Blue Heron1, Turky Vulture 8, Black Vulture 1, Bald Eagle 4, Mourning Dove 6, Red-bellied Woodpecker 2, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1, Downy Woodpecker 3, Northern Flicker 4, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Cedar Waxwing 60, Carolins Wren 3, Northern Wren 1, Northern Mockingbird 1, American Robin 15, Hermit Thrush 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 4, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Carolina Chickadee 12, Tufted Titmouse 6, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Blue Jay 15, American Crow 35, Common Starling 60, American Goldfinch 6, Yellow-rumped Warbler 8, Chipping Sparrow 3, Song Sparrow 4, White-throated Sparrow 15, Dark-eyed Junco 12, Northern Cardinal 8, Common Grackle 8.

The Boys' day out Part 1 can be found here.

Other posts from the area can be found by following the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/raglans-wood-tysons-corner-fairfax-va.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/great-falls-park-virginia.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-falls-park-virginia-april.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-falls-park-july.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/raglans-wood-july-2011.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/shenandoah-national-park-virginia-iad.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for other North American posts

Shenandoah National Park, Shenandoah River State Park, IAD, Tyson's Corner, Washington.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, IAD

I have been humming John Denver songs ever since I discovered that the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah National Park are only a one hour drive from our slip hotel in Tyson’s Corner. On an IAD itinerary, I found myself with a day off and a companion in the shape of AM. We had a car and a tent and were out of the hotel by 05.00.

After stopping for provisions, we made it to the park entrance at Front Royal (Google Earth ref; 38 54’ 11”N 78 14’ 33”W) by 06.30. Immediately we found our first White-tailed Deer and very shortly after that, our first Black Bear. We had stopped at the visitor centre at Dickey Ridge (Google Earth ref; 38 52’ 18”N 78 12’ 17”W) and were taking an exploratory walk around.

American Goldfinches were common and Eastern Towhees were calling from the trees. We had moved onto a short circular road (which I think was intended as an overflow car park) to get a better look at a Red-bellied Woodpecker when AM noticed something moving in the weeds by the road and as we watched, a small bear’s head popped out. It must have been as surprised as we were for it darted back into cover with a little yelp. We quickly withdrew as its mother was almost certainly close by and might have reacted badly to the cub’s scare. We returned a few moments later, safe in the car, but the bear had moved on. 

I must commend AM for her reaction to the bear and for showing no qualms about taking another walk further down the road which brought Worm-eating Warbler, Tufted Titmouse and the ubiquitous Chipping Sparrow. We were still on a bit of a high when we saw our second bear of the morning. This one was moving through the woods by the side of the road, feeding and snuffling through the roots and leaf litter. We watched for a while until it came down into the roadside weeds and then out onto the tarmac, crossing the road right in front of us. AM felt the urge to get out of the car, but thankfully resisted.

We were on Skyline Drive which runs for 105 miles north and south through the park. There are plenty of pull-ins, viewpoints and often there is enough room on the shoulder to pull over to look at something exciting. Park regulations require that you pull completely off the road if stopped. Maps, details of facilities and charges can be found at the National Parks Service website for Shenandoah.

Surely we had used up all our luck after we found a third bear which gave us a desultory look before continuing on its way through the woods. We had set out with a philosophy that you don’t see bears if you don’t go down to the woods, but had been realistic about our chances of actually finding one. To find three was way beyond what we had expected.

At Elk Wallow (Google earth ref; 38 44’ 20”N 78 18’ 36”W), we stopped for a breakfast burrito and a chat with a fine chap named Russ. He gave us a tip which was to wear a sheet of Bounce (the fabric conditioning sheet) inside our hats to keep the insects away. We weren’t sure if he was setting us up, and suspected a conspiracy to take the rise out of English people when someone repeated the same advice to us later on.

At Big Meadow (38 31’ 42”N 78 26’ 14”W), we paid the $20, pitched camp, brewed up and then took a short walk along the legendary Appalachian Trail. It was a non-descript forest path for the stretch that we walked, but it runs for more than 2000 miles from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north and was brought to the attention of the non-hiking public by Bill Bryson in his 1997 book, ‘A Walk in the Woods.’ White-tailed Deer were seen in the gloom along The Trail as well as White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Thrush and Northern Cardinal.

An evening ranger walk from the visitors' centre at Big Meadow was not what we had expected, but was interesting in its own quirky way. More importantly, Northern Bobwhites were calling from the meadow which gave us (well, me) a focus for the next morning.

There are stories about AM and what an important part tea plays in her morning regimen, but she agreed to have a walk out across the meadow to find the bobwhite before breakfast. I shall put our stroke of luck down to AM’s self-sacrificing attitude, because I don’t usually deserve such good fortune.

A Northern Bobwhite was calling just a few meters from where we parked the car and allowed us a very close approach while putting all his effort into his characteristic and emphatic “Bob, Bob White.”

There were plenty of deer around the campsite as well as Eastern Chipmunk and a Grey Catbird that came onto our pitch to serenade AM.

We de-camped and began our journey home, stopping occasionally at lookout points and finding Indigo Bunting, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Common Yellowthroat. The bunting proved elusive and would not sit still long enough for me to get a good focus. I had missed a few of them on the first day as they fed from thistles with American Goldfinches at the pull-ins. I would have given some good stuff for that picture.

At the Elk Wallow picnic area, we took our last walk into the woods and added Pileated Woodpecker to our list after reaching as far as the AT again. We had warmed to Russ on the outbound journey and dropped in to the service area to see him again. He told us that 3 or 4 bear sightings in a day was about the norm, but let’s not forget that this was also the man who had us wearing fabric conditioning sheets to ward off the insects, so it was hard to know how much credence to give him.

Whether you use Bounce sheets or proper repellent, you will need something if you visit the mountains in July. We used liberal amounts of repellent as well as the fabric conditioning sheets and were still pestered by tiny flying insects. Bites though, were mercifully very few.

We rounded off the trip with a final (fourth, so below par for 2 days according to Russ) bear sighting as the weather began to close in and we headed for the park gate to drive the 60 miles back along Route 66 to Tyson’s Corner.

Here is a tip for anyone hiring a car from IAD, Washington Dulles Airport; have some quarters to hand. Toll roads from the airport demand exact change. The toll on Route 267 East is 75 cents and you pay twice, so will need 6 quarters. I felt very foolish blocking the toll gate and having to walk back along the line begging for change. Twice.

Another tip for walking in bear country is to make a noise so that the bears know that you are coming. Seasoned walkers often use bells attached to their hiking sticks to alert the animals to their approach. Remember that a surprised bear is a dangerous bear and use your common sense; do not approach bears and do not leave food out.

Birds seen; 28

Turkey Vulture 9, Northern Bobwhite 1, Mourning Dove 4, Chimney Swift 6, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4, Red-bellied Woodpecker 2, Pileated Woodpecker 2, Eastern Phoebe 2, Barn Swallow 32, Cedar Waxwing 10, Brown Thrasher 4, American Robin 14, Wood Thrush 1, Tufted Titmouse 19, White-breasted Nuthatch 4, Blue Jay 4, American Crow 21, Common Raven 4, House Sparrow 12, American Goldfinch 40, Black and white Warbler 2, Worm-eating Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 1, Eastern Towhee 17, Chipping Sparrow 65, Northern Cardinal 4, Indigo Bunting 7, Brown-headed Cowbird.

Mammals seen; 4

Black Bear 4, Eastern Chipmunk 6, White-tailed Deer, Grey Squirrel 25.

Other posts from this destination can be found at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/raglans-wood-tysons-corner-fairfax-va.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/great-falls-park-virginia.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-falls-park-virginia-april.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/raglans-wood-july-2011.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-falls-park-july.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for other posts from the region.

Chipping Sparrow
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, IAD