Nettles, Flowers, Millions, 125 Cooper’s Hawks, and a Mysterious Trailcam

Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina

Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina

Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos

Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia

American Robin Turdus migratorius

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus

Woodchuck/Groundhog/Siffleur Marmota monax

Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes

Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes

Cabbage White Pieris rapae

European Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

European Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

Silver-spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Cherry-faced Meadowhawk Sympetrum internum

Stingy Nettles

NDG Quiet Place, July 25, 2026, Planet Earth

-Late post, as is tradition

-15 species in 90 minutes

-Sunny and clear, 20 degrees

-Nursery feel to the weedy fringe, with many juveniles in evidence (Robins, Chipping and Song Sparrows, Cardinals, Chickadees, House Finch)

-Two Red-eyed Vireos heard, but no Warbling Vireos heard this year

-Young Cooper’s Hawks were out and about, and vocal

-I’m pretty sure I heard a White-throated Sparrow

-Was pleasantly surprised to see a Yellow Warbler here, a presumed breeder

-Peak summer birding: bugs and webs in the eyes, cicadas in the ears, nettles stinging legs through pants

It’s been in the news recently that this site was sold (?), and that it’s worth 125 million bucks. That’s a massive amount of money…hard to visualize just how large of a number 125 mil is. Let me help put it into perspective. If Cooper’s Hawks were worth 1 million $ per bird, that would be 125 Cooper’s Hawks, which is a lot of damn Cooper’s Hawks. Imagine 125 Cooper’s Hawks all in one room?

There was much general tarting up of the site in evidence, no doubt related to the $$$. Perhaps also related to this was a trail cam and mic set up, with a note that the units were set up by a branch of federal government and that their purpose was “to record birdsong and help us monitor bird communities at this location.”

I have a suspicious heart. It seems a thick slice of coincidence that the government suddenly cares about bird communities at this location. This particular location, in my opinion, is where the condos would naturally go (first) in any development plan at the site, due to flat terrain, proximity to a main street and entrance, and a lack of any infrastructure or historical artefacts at the site (apple orchard and secret nun graves aside).

The placement of the recording devices seems noteworthy for another reason – the camera and recorder were tucked into the quietest possible area of the entire section, bird-wise. Why not put them in the nearby bird-rich areas of scrub, woods, forest edge, flowery gardens, or scrap wood piles? Or in any one of the other birdy areas of the greater site? Instead, they sit in a rather sterile, unbirdy corner of the perfect place to put condos.

I fear the powers that be purposefully put this stuff in a quiet corner, and aren’t really interested in finding out that a wide variety of birds (87 species casually logged in the past few years) call this place home or use it as a rest stop during migration. Based on the where the cameras and recorder are placed, an environmental impact assessment could hypothetically be produced which states that just a few common species call the site (the WHOLE site?) home.

It’s also entirely possible that I’m too suspicious, and I’m making up nasty stories. Could be that it’s all an innocent deal, a chance for some kids to have a cool summer job.

If this were a Disney movie, I’d find a rare snake at my quiet NDG place, and at the last minute I’d sprint over the pin the cease work order to the first bulldozer, as the cigars fall out of their (the fat cats) mouths in shock, or the monocles would fall off their faces, or whatever.

Did I mention that the spot is where I set my cozy mystery pamphlet-sized book, The Christmas Bird Diary?

It’s been a hot and rainy summer.