Brief trip to corner of West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland (with a side trip to Pennsylvania) July 14-July 18

Burnside's Bridge, Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD, Jul 14, 2023

Bloody Lane, Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD, Jul 14, 2023

Dunker Church (with famous photo in the foreground), Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD, Jul 14, 2023

We just returned from a brief trip down to the area of where West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland come together.  This trip was a replacement for our original plan for July which was to be a trip to western Colorado for a week and a half but Wilson's surgery and recovery changed those plans.  We toyed with a number of ideas for a trip closer to home and finally settled on the above mentioned area with the focus being on some historical stops as well as a visit to the Shenandoah National Park.  We flew down to Dulles on Friday the 14th and stayed in Shepardstown, West Virginia right along the Potomac River. After a two hour delay in Hartford due to thunderstorms we finally made the short flight down to Dulles and then drove out to the northwest to our lodging in Shepardstown in West Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Maryland. We made it there around 3:30 and dropped off our stuff and then decided to head across the river to the historic town of Sharpsburg, Maryland where the battle of Antietam was fought in September of 1862, which was the single bloodiest day in American history.  A thunderstorm was moving through as we arrived and we dodged it on and off for the next hour plus as we visited multiple sites at the battlefield. Typical open country birds sang and called from the various fields and other species were present along hedgerows and along Antietam Creek. It was neat to finally see a battlefield I had read about so many times in the past.  Although certainly not a bird centered trip I had a number of species and warblers were among them and a more detailed look at them can be found at the following link.

Yellow throated Warbler, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Sharpsburg, MD,  Jul 15, 2023

Wood Duck, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Sharpsburg, MD,  Jul 15, 2023

Little Round Top from Devil's Den, Gettysburg National Battlefield, Gettysburg, PA, Jul 15, 2023

High water mark (pinnacle of Pickett's Charge), Gettysburg National Battlefield, Gettysburg, PA, Jul 15, 2023

On the first full day on the short trip I was out before dawn to take a walk along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail in Maryland. The trail is over 180 miles long and follows the path of the old canal and is a wide open dirt road with easy walking (with the bonus of some good birds). I’m certain the place is really hopping during migration as it was still quite active even during the low activity time of July. I spent about an hour and a half walking the trail and found 42 species including some still singing like Acadian Flycatchers (many), various sparrows and a few species of warblers including Yellow throated Warblers. I then returned back to our house rental and then we headed northeast to Gettysburg where we spent most of a very hot day exploring the battlefield as well as a few museums. I last visited the area when I was a kid so it was nice to go back many years later to see it again.

White eyed Vireo, Yankauer Nature Preserve, Sherpardstown, WV, Jul 16, 2023

Potomac River, Harper's Ferry NHP, Harper's Ferry, WV, Jul 16, 2023

John Brown's Fort, Harper's Ferry NHP, Harper's Ferry, WV, Jul 16, 2023

Common Mergansers, Harper's Ferry NHP, Harper's Ferry, WV, Jul 16, 2023

Kentucky Warbler, Sweet Run SP, Hillsboro, VA, Jul 16, 2023

Louisiana Waterthrush, Sweet Run SP, Hillsboro, VA, Jul 16, 2023

Carolina Chickadee, Sweet Run SP, Hillsboro, VA, Jul 16, 2023

On Sunday the forecast called for some possible showers but thankfully they never really materialized. It was a bit threatening looking early on with a few sprinkles of rain as I headed out again at first light. I decided to try a new spot which was just five minutes away, the Yankauer Nature Preserve.  I walked a bit over a mile and half and spent about an hour and a half exploring the various trails and had the place totally to myself the entire time. I added a number of species both for the trip and for my West Virginia list. I also made a very brief stop along the Potomac River at a spot called Dam #4 before stopping at our house and then heading down to the Harper’s Ferry area (about a half hour away). We walked along the river down to the historic old town area (made famous by the John Brown’s raid there in 1859). After taking in some more history we headed across the Shenandoah River and into Virginia with our destination being Sweet Run State Park.  I hoped to catch up with some new species there and had some decent luck as we walked a few miles through the forest. By this time the sun was starting to pop out and being in the shade of the forest made it more tolerable. 

American Redstart, Fox Hollow Trail, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Hooded Warbler, Fox Hollow Trail, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Purple Martins, Fox Hollow Trail, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Indigo Bunting, Fox Hollow Trail, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Ovenbird, Land Run Falls Trail, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Hooded Warbler, Land Run Falls Trail, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

 Land Run Falls, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Smoky view of mountains, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

White spotted Skipper, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Ovenbird, Rocky Branch Trail, Shenandoah NP, VA, Jul 17, 2023

Monday we decided to head down south to the Shenandoah National Park, where we would spend several hours. Before making the drive down I headed out early again and went back over to the nearby Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. It was another productive stop with the most unusual sighting being a Black crowned Night Heron calling as it flew upriver. I tried to relocate along the river without any luck. Once we got our stuff together for the day we drove down to the north entrance of the park in Front Royal, arriving a bit before nine. Our first walk was along the Fox Hollow Trail where I added a number of new species for the trip. We then headed further south going past multiple overlooks that typically would offer fantastic views of the mountains but more smoke from the ongoing Canada wildfires dropped visibility considerable. After a few more stops we made it out of the park at Thornton Gap a little before two and started the long drive back toward Shepardstown. Overall a productive day with 67 species total. We finally made it back to our lodging around dinner time after lots of time outside and on the road getting down and back from the park.

Prothonotary Warbler, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Sharpsburg, MD,  Jul 18, 2023

Potomac River in the fog, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Sharpsburg, MD,  Jul 18, 2023

Yellow throated Warbler, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Sharpsburg, MD,  Jul 18, 2023

View from Henry Hill, Manassas National Battlefield, Manassas, VA, Jul 18, 2023

On the last day of our getaway I started my morning along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal once again and yet again the location produced some good birds including some good looks at Prothonotary Warblers.  We then went for a walk at the Yankauer Nature Preserve before starting our drive down toward the airport for an early evening flight.  We ran into a bit of an issue when one of the tires on the car was slowly leaking air and after four stops we finally found an air compressor that worked and we filled the tire back up.  Our final destination before heading to the airport was the Manassas National Battlefield, where we spent a hot early afternoon exploring various parts of the battlefield.  We made it to the airport in mid afternoon and then got delayed a bit on the flight home.  

Overall for the trip I found a total of 94 species with the breakdown by state listed below:

Virginia:71

West Virginia: 75

Maryland: 67

Pennsylvania: 44