Birds in Washington and Virginia: A REALLY Quick Comparison

My 6th grade block teacher was Mr. Spoor, which is a rather unfortunate name. Mr. Spoor was an old hippie who loved birds. Plenty of students referred to him simply as "Bird Man" because he knew everything about birds and even insisted that we make large bird books as one of our main assignments. Most students probably came away from his classes hating birds. And I sort of wanted to. But who can just collectively hate birds??? Not me. I feel like a dork admitting it, and even more so since in my mind this connects me with Mr. Spoor, but I really do like birds. They're amazing, and the variety never ceases to fascinate me.

Having said that, I am certainly no bird expert. But living here in Virginia I have noticed some of the differences in the birdlife between here and Washington. The most obvious is the lack of bald eagles:

There's a park just a quarter of a mile from the house I grew up in that has at least two bald eagle nests. So it's a rare day at the park when you don't see them swooping around. And they are an awe-inspiring sight. But what I love about bald eagles is that they are so majestic and beautiful, but then if you manage to hear them call out to each other, they have THE most ridiculous high-pitched little chirp. It makes me laugh every time. (If you're curious, I found a pretty good YouTube clip of it.) I was so proud when I was able to pick out that sound. Occasionally when I'm at Fay Bainbridge State Park, I can actually hear the eagles before I spot them.

There probably are some bald eagles somewhere around here, but I have yet to see them. And I miss them.

Another bird I miss, though not as much, is the great blue heron:

We do have them here, but not nearly as many. I'll see one every few months if I'm lucky. In Seattle, you can see them lined up along the waterfront, ten or twenty at a time. Something about their shape and the slow way they walk always makes me think of brontosauruses. (Can you see it, too? I'm not just crazy here, am I?) Anyway, they're beautiful and graceful birds and when I do see one, it always makes me happy.

But the purpose of this post isn't just to complain about Virginia. Because there are some fun birds here, too. Although the first one I'm going to bring up may not qualify. But first, this is a blue jay that you'd find in Washington:

Kind of pretty. But mostly just mean. I remember one dreadful afternoon when our cat managed to kill a baby jay, and its furious parents spent the rest of the day dive-bombing us if we left the house. Not that I can really blame them in this case, but the fact is that these are not nice birds. And I doubt the Virginia version is much nicer. But I do have to give it credit for being a lot prettier:

No comparison there. These ones are absolutely gorgeous. Points to Virginia.

But I think my favorite bird here, which I had never even seen until I moved to Virginia would have to be the cardinal:

Obviously I had heard of these birds. And I knew they were red and everything. But every time I actually see one, it's like that little burst of color goes straight to my heart. It's impossible to not be happy watching a cardinal bob around in your backyard. These little guys almost make up for the lack of eagles.

Mr. Spoor would be proud.