Thousands of birders have submitted around 50,000 checklists from more than 60 eBird hotspots along the C&O Canal, racking up a total of 316 species.
The canal path begins at mile 0 near where Rock Creek empties into the Potomac River—and where eBirders have spotted Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night Herons stalking in the shadows of the Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, D.C.
Within the District of Columbia, the most popular C&O eBird site is Fletcher’s Cove (mile 3.1), with around 3,000 checklists submitted and 200 species spotted. Christopher Murray, former president of DC Bird Alliance, says habitat around Fletcher’s Cove includes “the deep waters of the Potomac River, the high bluffs that tower over the river on the Virginia side, and riparian habitat.”
In spring the woodlands surrounding Fletcher’s Cove attract great numbers of migrating warblers, vireos, tanagers, and orioles. According to Murray, it’s one of the best local spots to find a breeding Prothonotary Warbler.
“I know of nowhere else in the city where this bird can so reliably be found,” Murray writes on the Friends of Fletcher’s Cove website, recalling how seeing and hearing a Prothonotary is often the highlight of the spring bird walks he leads at the site.
Crossing into Maryland, Montgomery County boasts many of the C&O’s most-birded locales, including Violette’s Lock (mile 22.1)—the site along the canal with the most eBird checklist submissions. The lock is a beloved birding spot for Kathy Calvert, an eBird reviewer for Maryland’s third Breeding Bird Atlas who has been birding the C&O Canal for around four decades.
“I’ve had so many great Maryland birds at Violette’s,” says Calvert, “It’s a fairly wide river at that point and there are rapids and some exposed rocks, which make a good habitat for a lot of different species.” She notes that her personal eBird lists include plenty of relative rarities for the region, such as Whimbrel, American Avocet, and Arctic Tern.
Calvert’s favorite C&O spot is 30 miles upriver at Lander Boat Ramp (mile 50.8), where she says the foot and bike traffic gets a bit lighter. This April Calvert spent a morning sitting on the dock watching birds heading upriver along the Potomac and spotted two Bald Eagles, a kingfisher, three species of woodpeckers, and 16 species of songbirds, plus a pair of Common Loons zooming high above.
The C&O Canal path ends at the Cumberland Terminus (mile 184.5), another well-birded section that has attracted local rarities in recent years such as American Golden-Plover, White Ibis, and Ross’s Goose.
According to local eBird Hotspot volunteer editor Michael Bowen, the entire 184 miles of the C&O Canal is a natural flyway for birds, and the best birding spots are a matter of personal preference.
In the book A Birder’s Guide to Montgomery County, Bowen wrote: “The C&O is a perennial favorite of birders, with each one swearing that his or her chosen stretch is the best during migration.”
