They don’t belong here. They arrived unannounced, six of them all at once.  Definitely from somewhere south.  And so flamboyant.  Roseate Spoonbills.  Almost unheard of this far north on the Atlantic flyway.  The Pelecaniformes- long-legged waders like herons, ibises, egrets- made an extended stay in Allen’s Fresh Natural Area, a feeder creek on the lower Potomac just south of the 301 bridge between Maryland and Virginia. Allen’s Fresh is a hotspot for ecological diversity. 21 miles of...

Guarding the wide mouth of the Potomac along its southern edge, Smith Point Lighthouse also roughly marks the Maryland/ Virginia border...

The road to New Point Comfort Lighthouse seems to go on forever. But inevitably, it will only take you so far. Here, in the middle...