🚀 go-pugleaf

"MrKablooey�" wrote:
> 
> Driving home on the BW parkway (295 South) near Cheverly/Bladensburg exit
> (rt 202) there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of BIRDS flying
> overhead and sitting in the trees.  Alfred Hitchcock would be PROUD (if not
> outright frightened) by the amount of birds that can be seen.  It's usually
> around 5:30PM that I pass them.  They made a recent reappearance and I
> haven't seen them since last year but they're there every year.  Anybody
> have a clue as to WHY they pick that particular area to congregate?  It's
> right before the exit that takes you to the Safeway in Cheverly.

Well, oddly enough this general geographic area seems to have always been a
good place for winter roosting. 

There's that town in Virginia that's the favorite winter roost for the
vultures, much to the townsfolk's dismay, the area of Rockville near the
intersection of Route 355 (the Pike) and Randolph/Montrose Road has for years
been a gathering place of astounding numbers of crows. North Rockville and
Gaithersburg have fairly amazing goose populations... one day I was up near
Lake Forest Mall and was astounded to see geese walking all over the place,
with one bold one marching down the sidewalk and honking at pedestrians.

Actually I think it's kinda cool.

For some reason lots of the crows have taken to hanging out in my neighborhood
of Aspen Hell during the daytimes. There's this one particular house, exactly
like any other house so far as I know, which regularly has wall-to-wall crows
standing on its roof. Why they prefer that house, I have no idea, though of
course the superstitious would consider this quite ominous. 

I would guess that the rise in bird populations is probably symptomatic of
them adapting best to urbanization and suburban sprawl, or at least adapting
better than just about any other animals outside of the damned deer or the
coyote. For what it's worth, even some of the rarer birds seem to be making a
comeback. I know that there's at least one Great Blue Heron that fishes the
banks of Rock Creek within a stone's throw of Viers Mill Road, and I've even
seen some grebes stalking around here and there. 


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