Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Tag: Birder

  • Bird House Flight Cage

    Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, DC (2007) The Smithsonian’s National Zoo Bird House (map) hosts many avian species, either within the building, the large flight cage or in the attached outdoor exhibits. This is one of the quietest parts of the zoo, a bit off the beaten track, and visitors have to really make a…

  • Fort Delaware

    Pea Patch Island, New Castle Co., Delaware (July 2000) The newly-minted United States government identified the need for a fort along the Delaware River. This would help protect the approaches to major port cities such as Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The military eyed Pea Patch Island, a swampy swath of river deposit that barely…

  • Dry Tortugas Ferry

    Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida (April 2009) I’d wanted to travel to the Dry Tortugas for as long as I can remember, from the first time I noted a blue dotted line protruding westward from Key West on a Florida map. This marked a ferry route to Dry Tortugas National Park (map), perhaps the most…

  • Catbird Seat

    “In the catbird seat” is an idiomatic expression in the United States. But is that true anywhere else? I don’t know. Essentially it means “a position of great prominence or advantage” (Merriam-Webster). Regardless, this was a rather unusual expression. What exactly did it mean, I wondered for so many years. Even so I never considered…