After a testing session in my dentist's chair in Northwest DC this
morning (October 26), I went for a brief birding stint at Battery
Kemble Park, off Chain Bridge Road, which is the closest birdable
green space to the dentists's office.
While lots of White-throated and Song Sparrows, together with
numerous Carolina Wrens, were not surprising, one bird was: a COMMON
RAVEN. It was perched at the top of a tall dead tree at the very
upper part of the park, and was periodically displaced (accompanied
by loud aggrieved croaking) by a persistent Sharp-shinned Hawk.
This was my first Raven in DC and species #238 for me in "the
District." A pleasant surprise. But perhaps it shouldn't have been,
because Ravens are being seen more commonly in Montgomery County just
to the northwest and a pair reportedly nested in Cabin John, MD, just
outside the Beltway, in 2008. I had never seen a Raven in Montgomery
before January, 2007. Since then I have 9 records. My neighbor, Jim
Nelson, who lives 3-1/2 blocks from me in West Bethesda, has had
Ravens on his street. So far, we haven't, but I'm looking and listening.
So DC birders should keep their eyes and ears open. I don't remember
another recent report of a Raven in DC, and there are no DC records
in the eBird database, which however does not go back very many
years. Common Raven is on the list of official birds of the District
of Columbia (added in 1984, the "baseline year," per the MD-DC
Records Committee) and is not on the "Review List" for D.C., so it is
not officially a rare bird. Perhaps the species was more common
around here in the more distant past, before extensive urbanization
occurred. (That's just speculation on my part.)
If other birders have heard/seen Ravens in the District of Columbia
in recent years, I would be very interested to hear about the
sighting(s), as perhaps would other users of MDOsprey.
Mike Bowen
Montgomery Bird Club
Bethesda, MD
D.H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom
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