I commute to work using the GW parkway from the Roosevelt bridge to 123. When I first started, years ago, I would fairly frequently see bald eagles along the Potomac. I googled around and somewhere - I'm not even sure where - I saw that there was a nest site in the median of the GW Parkway right around spout run - going north, it was right before Spout run, driving south, it was just after spout run merged. So I'd look for the eagles every day, which was easier in fall/winter/spring, and often saw them sitting on the next or in nearby trees or just flying along the river. In the summer, the leaves were simply too thick to safely spot them driving by at 50 MPH. Come the pandemic, I'm not making the drive as often, so I lost track. I am pretty sure I saw them last spring, then not again in the summer, and I've just hardly been commuting but I realized over the winter that the tree hosting the nest is no longer there.
I think I've seen an eagle or two along the Potomac, but definitely not where the nesting site used to be. I've googled but haven't found anything - there's a nest in Alexandria that gets a lot of mentions, as does the pair in the Arboretum. I always thought of the Spout Run nest as my "secret nature" spotting on my commute. Does anyone know anything about them? Or know where I can look? Or someone to ask? Is there a community of eagle people someplace? I haven't yet tried Facebook - there's a MD Birding which seems to cover DC, and the Capitol Naturalist might also be good? Any ideas? |
I’ve seen a couple a little further south recently. Near the stream. Almost down to the 395 intersection.
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