Visiting Cambridge

[Haninah Levine]

Hello,

I am planning a last-minute trip to the Cambridge area tomorrow, and I’m looking for any tips. It looks from eBird like the Snow geese have not arrived at Blackwater yet, is that correct? I still plan to go by there and see everything else there is to see this time of year, even if the usual flocks of snowies are missing. Are the Long-tailed ducks hanging around near the lighthouse downtown these days?

All the best, and happy holidays,

Haninah

[Haninah Levine]

Thank you to everyone for the advice! We had a delightful two-night trip to Cambridge, and checked off every bird on our target list and then some - although views ranged from unforgettable to mediocre, depending on the species.

We were staying at an AirBnB near Oakley Street, and a big thank you to everyone who suggested a visit to the seawall at the end of Oakley Street - it's quite a scene at dawn, with hundreds of Canvasbacks, Lesser scaups, Wigeons, Mallards, and Canada geese milling within twenty yards of the seawall, and assorted Buffleheads, Ruddy ducks, and Surf scoters patrolling farther afield.

At Blackwater, we did not find the same enormous flocks of Snow geese right by the side of the road that we found two years ago - in fact, we had to settle for just a few distant views of the geese this year, although that included a beautiful dusk flight out over the open river. We were rewarded with other great sightings, including a Short-eared owl hunting and posing in broad daylight within fifty feet of our car (the highlight of the trip), dozens of Tundra swans posing in the field behind the Visitors Center at sunset, Killdeer and Eastern meadowlarks in the fields, flyovers of Pintails, Shovelers, and Eastern bluebirds, and plenty of Brown-headed nuthatches and Carolina chickadees. My young son was incredibly proud of himself for spotting the first Tundra swans and Snow geese of our trip, in both cases looking up while we had our eyes glued to the marshes and spotting flocks passing overhead.

As for the Long-tailed ducks - those saved themselves for last. On the way out of town, we stopped to let my son play at the playground by the Dorchester County Visitors Center, at Sailwind Park, and I walked out on the breakwater behind the park. There they were, weaving in and out among the pillars of the highway bridge, a bit far for a great view, but unmistakable in all their glory.

Finally, I'd like to put in a good word for the town of Cambridge itself. We loved the apartment we stayed at, in a quiet neighborhood just a few blocks away from the holiday cheer downtown. We especially enjoyed our dinner at the family-run restaurant Bombay Social, the pastries at the Black Water Bakery, and the beers at the RAR Brewery - as well as a box of oysters, fresh out of the Nanticoke River, that we picked up at Choptank River Crab & Oyster Company along Cambridge Creek. I can't say enough about this cheerful, charming little vacation destination!

All the best,

Haninah

[Haninah Levine]

I almost forgot, another highlight, non-avian: my first Delmarva fox squirrels! I always wondered how people tell the difference between fox squirrels and Eastern gray squirrels, but when you see these chunksters barreling across the forest floor or clamoring through the trees… you know!