We can't always get to remote wilderness for birding, but fortunately plenty of great birding opportunities exist close to the city. I recently had the opportunity to visit three excellent birding spots – all within an hour's drive of Washington, D.C.. One of the sites was located in a rural setting, another in the suburbs, and the third was an urban park. It seemed like the only limitations to seeing a great number of wonderful species like the Scarlet Tanager were the weather and my tight schedule. You can read more about these D.C. area birding locations in this recent article.

Photo © William C. Webb