Local #6 Wollomonopoag Conservation Area

 

This  is the adult Great Horned Owl

    A couple of days ago my new friend Danielle found out about baby Great Horned Owls growing up in a marsh in Wrentham, MA. Since neither of had anything to do on Wednesday afternoon we decided to explore. She sent me the ebird report for the directions and off I went. This conservation area (which I refuse to write again) is only twenty minutes from my house. So to explore a local place that I had never been, that possibly had owlets, was pretty exciting.

  I met Danielle at 3:30 at the parking area. It was only a short trip out to the swamp, The swamp has dozens of dead trees that were killed by flooding, probably from the local beavers. In many of these trees are large nests of Great Blue Heron. Many of the nests are occupied by these four feet tall birds. However, one nest is occupied by  a Great Horned Owl family. My policy is never to talk about owls especially nests, but this nest is in the middle of a swamp so no one can harass the owls by walking up to the babies and taking photos. 

 

 We had fantastic views of the owls, a parent and two babies in the scope. The photos aren't as good because the mid-afternoon sun was in our face. Still, seeing the babies owls was well worth the trip. 

   After we got our share of the owls we walked around the conservation area. The trail is long and we ended up doing over three and a half miles. We ended up hearing or seeing every woodpecker species except Yellow Bellied Sapsucker (including Pileated). My second favorite highlight was seeing three Spotted Turtles. Spotted Turtles were recently taken off of the Massachusetts Endangered Species list. I had never seen three in a day before. I'm pretty sure Danielle's second highlight was the Brown Creeper (maybe 2) that were feeding near my turtles. 

Two photos that are annoyingly 
bad(ish) of
Spotted Turtles

 

 All in all, this place is fantastic. I am very grateful for the invite to go. Seeing the owls in a safe, respectful place with beautiful scenery was awesome. More importantly, I'm making a new birding friend that lives close by and will bird on the north side of the Rhode Island border.

Local #5 Nickerson Walking Woods Preserve

Hermit Thrush

 Friday evening Laurie and I went to the Nickerson Walking Woods Preserve in Attleboro. I first went to this place a couple of weeks ago and really liked it. Going late, we didn't see many bird species. However, we did see three Hermit Thrushes and Red Squirrels. We heard a few Pine Warblers and Spring Peepers. The walk took a little over an hour but I really enjoyed it. 

Red Squirrel

LocaL #4 Caratunk Wildlife Refuge

 Today I carried dead weight on my shoulders. I walked almost five miles at Caratunk Wildlife Refuge in Seekonk, MA with a camera that had a dead battery. So, no photos in this post. However, only sixteen minutes from home I birded with my new friend Danielle. Caratunk did not let us down. We walked almost all of the trails and saw some pretty decent birds. We had an American Kestrel, Palm Warblers, Pine Warblers, and Blue Gray Gnatcatchers, and a very early Yellow Warbler,  along with other common birds. We birded for three hours but time flew by looking at all of the birds. 

   I am really enjoying beating the high gas prices by birding and fishing local. Tomorrow morning I'm going to South County to bird with friends on my day off but will probably hit the fly pond in the evening. Three cheers for spring!

Local #3 Back to the Fly Pond

 I went fishing at the fly pond again this evening. Very quiet, not much jumping. I hooked but did not land one trout. The highlight was a Golden Shiner. It was the first I have ever caught there. Unfortunately, there were plenty of sunfish around 

Local #2- Fly Fishing

 

Photo sucks but got some trout fly fishing today

Hooked 5

At least four other takes.

Too many sunfish

Landed 2 Rainbows.

Not great, but lots of action over 2.5 hours

Northern Virginia Civil War Battlefields

 

 If you are a history buff, you may enjoy this post. If you think history is boring, or worse offended by it, you may as well click off now. Assuming you are still reading, chances are if you have ever gone to a Civil War battlefield or heard of one, it is Gettysburg. Gettysburg Battlefield is so popular I would consider it a tourist destination. For sure, the community depends on tourist dollars.

    However, there are many other Civil War battles that took place that where many men saw there last day. The area around Fredericksburg, VA saw four major battles. One each in 1862 and 1863, and two in 1864. When we were in  DC, the weather for Thursday was unpredictable. There was a chance of thunderstorms all day up and down the East Coast. We knew it was going to rain so instead of being on our bikes two miles from our car in a severe Thunder Boomer, I came up with a plan to go to the battlefields. Worst case scenario, we would be on a short trail on the battlefield if the weather deteriorated.

This is the Sunken Road and wall the
 South was entrenched behind

The battlefields were about a ninety minute ride from our Greenbelt Campground. Our first stop was the Visitor Center in Fredericksburg.  Fredericksburg also was the first battle chronologically. It happened in December of 1862. The Visitor center sits on the main part of the battlefield. Unbelievably, much of the area is covered with houses. These houses sit on hallowed ground where men bled and died. I was shocked so much of the battlefield was built up. 

    A quick rundown of the battle- The Union forces arrived at Fredericksburg first. They were commanded by the newly appointed General Burnside. They arrived without pontoon boats. For ten days they could not cross the river. This gave the South, commanded by Lee, time to set up his defense on the high ground above the river. Once the pontoons came, the Union tried to set them up as  makeshift bridges. The sharpshooters picked off the Union Engineers so the North opened fire on the town with canon basically destroying it. Once across the bridges the Union ransacked the town. After ransacking the town, the Union attacked the strong position at Marye's Heights. Thirteen times they charged the Confederates. The South had canon stationed on top of the hill aiming down at the Union soldiers. The infantry was protected by a stone wall and a sunken road. The Union had a half a mile of open ground to cover from the river to the wall. They never made it. It was a slaughter. The night after the battle was cold. Dying soldiers lied in freezing mud only adding to their agony. After the battle, both sides settled down for their winter quarters.

This is the top of Marye's Heights. The canon 
were placed at the top of the hill. The stone wall is in front
in the photo. Below, Union soldiers had a half mile
of open ground to cover. They never made
it to the wall despite 13 attempts

Marye's Heights is still protected. I got to walk the sunken road and see some original stone work. You can not see down to the Rappahannock River thanks to the housing units. However, you can still get an idea of what Northern Soldiers went through because of idiotic leadership. The Visitor Center has a video recreating the battle. You can get maps there. The Ranger on Duty knows all there is to know about the area. 

Chancellorsville-

  After we left Fredericksburg we went to Chancellorsville. It is about a 25 minute ride west. This battle happened in June of 1863. It was the lightening bolt that convinced Lee to invade the north and lead to Gettysburg. Happily, this battle happened in what is still farm country and the area is very pretty today.

At this crossroads, which was here at the time of
the battle, Lee had a quick meeting with
Stonewall Jackson while his men marched to their
flanking movement. It was the last time they'd meet.

   On the way to the main battlefield you come across the Spotsylvania County Museum. At this spot, the first day of the three day battle happened. The main battlefield is a few miles down the road.  This was probably Lee's biggest victory.  Against a superior force he divided his forces twice. He left men in Fredericksburg to keep part of the  Union army from  joining the main body. Then he split them again. Stonewall Jackson took half of the men around the Union flank and hit them by total surprise. The Union flank rolled up and they were routed on the second day. The commanding general Fighting Joe Hooker lost all will to fight and the north was basically leaderless. 

At the far front of the photo, 1500 yards away Confederate 
canon dueled with Union Canon before a frontal
assault pushed  the Union back across the river

   The biggest loss to the Confederates was Jackson. Jackson was shot multiple times by his own men after scouting enemy lines. He died a few days later of pneumonia. Day three the Confederates charged with a frontal assault on the Union line and again, were victorious.  The north was humiliated. The South was emboldened and headed north towards Pennsylvania.

   The battlefield is large. There is a battle road drive you can take that hits the major spots of battle. The battle was named after a house that a family (of slave owners) named the Chancellors. The west end of the battlefield where Jackson rolled up the Union flank is only five miles from the "Wilderness Battlefield" When we got done at Chancellorsville it was 3 pm. We thought about heading back to camp because our plan was to go to two of the four battlefields. However, leaving for the DC area was a bad idea at 3 pm. So we went to The Wilderness.

  The Wilderness -

The Wilderness happened in May 1864. The North had a new general U.S. Grant. Unlike his predecessors Grant was confident and aggressive. The battle was named after the rough ground it was fought on. The woods had been cut years earlier. The undergrowth and small trees were a tangled mess. It was impossible to move troops or to evens see the enemy a few yards in front. The vegetation was a tinderbox. Much of the fighting caused fires that killed many of the soldiers. As many put it, it was hell on earth. 

  It is actually a lot harder to picture the troop movements at The Wilderness because the area is a lot more open The tangled mess they fought in is no longer there. The two sides basically fought to stalemate after a couple of days, though the North lost more men, they also could afford to loose men and the South could not. Instead of attacking the entrenched men of Lee's line on May 8th after three days of fighting, Grant headed south trying to get around Lee's line to attack Richmond. Lee guessed Grant's next destination was Spotsylvania Courthouse and tried to beat Grant there. 

The famous "Lee to the Rear" incident
happened at the Wilderness.
The men would not go forward
until Lee got out of harm's way

  Spotsylvania is the forth battle in the Fredericksburg area. However we did not have time to go to that one. With a very early start, one could see all four battlefields in a day. We did not rush at the three we went to but we didn't do much hiking either. That was mostly because of the persistent light rain. We did walk a couple of short trails. One was to a field where there was an artillery duel between both sides followed by the third day assault at Chancellorsville. The other was a large field at Spotsylvania where a Texas Brigade came out of the woods after a long march to save Lee's army from getting destroyed. 

   All in all it was a great but somber day. So much death. It was the third bucket list thing I saw on the trip, Cherry Blossoms, Blackwater (the Sika Deer and Delmarva Fox Squirrel), and the Battlefields)

Monument to Jackson

at Chancellorsville.

Jackson's last words in a delusional fever

Just to the right of the path Stonewall Jackson was
shot by his own pickets.

Monuments at Night and DC Transportation

 

I've been to Washington DC five times now. I've wrote about almost everything there. If you want a quick run down on a museum or art gallery, just type it in the little search window on the website. Because I have been there so many times and wrote about it so many times, I'm only going to do the post about the Cherry Blossoms and this one. It seems like telling you the logistics is the most useful info I can give someone wanting to take a trip to DC.  

   I assume most people will want to stay in a motel/hotel in the city. Assuming you are driving, parking and driving is not a lot of fun. If you can get a hotel within walking distance of the mall your life will be a lot easier. . You will want to get to the National Mall. That is where the monuments and Smithsonian's are. We stayed at Greenbelt Campground twenty five minutes north of DC for $20/night. However, it wasn't for the faint of heart, Tuesday morning we woke up and it was 24 degrees. We drove into the city each morning and found parking. Another option is to stay across the bridge in Alexandria. This would save on hotel costs a lot. You would have to drive or take the train into the city, but it might be worth it financially.

 

FDR and his little dog 

 If you can't leave your car at the hotel, there is metered parking along the mall and by Jefferson at East and West Potomac Parks. I'm not sure you'd get a spot by the mall, but in the morning there is parking at West Potomac Park in the lots and on the street. Closer to Haines Point there is free parking but it is only three hours which does you no good for a day in DC.

   Once parked you have a few options for getting around the mall. You could walk, but this is a big area. It is a 45 minute walk from Lincoln to the Capitol. If you were to walk from the Jefferson area to the Smithsonian's you won't have any energy to enjoy the museums. 

   There is a cheap bus system that goes around the mall called the Circulator. It is only a dollar for a ride and well worth the time you will save walking and never mind the pain in your feet. The bus will take you to almost all of the sights. It is a good value.

https://www.dccirculator.com/ride/rider-tools/interactive-map/

   However, by far the best way to get around the National Mall is on two wheels. Luckily, there are many options here. We brought our bikes down with us. We found parking near Jefferson and rode our bikes all day and night around the mall. I think this is by far the best choice. 

  However, if you don't have your own bikes or don't want to bring them with you there are other options. There is a ride share program called Capitol Bikeshare. They are red bikes that are stationed all over the city. With a credit card you can take a bike from any station and take it for a ride to your next stop. This system is hugely popular. At any time while you are walking, someone will be riding by you on a red bike. The bikes are cheap but you do have to follow the rules. They are meant from going place to place in short rides not to use for the whole day. None the less, Capitol Bikeshare is an easy cheap way to keep your freedom from schedules.

https://capitalbikeshare.com/

  Lastly, new to me, are motorized two wheeled scooters. These are owned by Uber. They are a lime green color. Like the bikes, I saw them everywhere. Also like the bikes, you pay through a credit card online.  They moved pretty quickly when not near pedestrians. According to a Google Answer, they cost 15 cents per minute

There are multiple options for getting around DC. They are all cheap and efficient.

Just starting to get dark

Monuments at Night-

   Even if you go to the monuments during the day, you will still want to got to them at night. They are cool during the day, but magnificent when all lit up at night. There are multiple ways to see the monuments. If you park near Haines Point in the evening you will have three hours of free parking. Do not park inside the gates at Haines Point because according to Google, they do lock the gates. I don't think you want to test that theory. But on street parking is free for three hours which should be enough time to see most of them.

   Many of the monuments are close enough together where you can easily walk to them. Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korea are clustered in one area at the west end of the mall.  From the bottom of the steps you can walk along the Reflecting Pool to the World War Two Memorial.  You would also be as close to Washington as you need to be. A fairly long walk will get you to Martin Luther King and FDR.  Jefferson is probably another 10-15 minute walk from FDR. 

   Walking to all the monuments I mentioned is doable. If you didn't tire yourself out during the day, you can easily enjoy the monuments and even the walks to them. However, just like the day time, you can use the rideshare bikes or scooters. As cheap as they are, I don't know why you wouldn't use them. 

   

MLK

Another option is to take one of the countless bus tours. I'll admit I have never taken one. I've taken my bike to DC four of the five times. The other time, in 2017, we were only there for two days and used the Circulator. The cost seems to be between $40-50/person to take a Monuments at Night Tour. The number of companies offering bus tours to the monuments seems endless.

  Too be honest Laurie and I kind of make fun of all the tour buses. The people are lead out like lemmings. They have a certain amount of time at each monument. However, they do have some really good positive points. Most of the buses go to the Iwo Jima Memorial. With our bikes we did not dare to try to negotiate the traffic to Arlington. The Iwo Jima Memorial is one of the best. So we do miss out on that.

   Another good reason to be a lemming is you learn a lot. Most of these tour guides are experts. The monuments are built with history and symbolism in mind. You can learn a ton of cool facts. You could also learn the same things on a ranger led tour during the day. But if you are at the monuments you may as well go home with some knowledge. A couple of examples: There are 87 stairs at the Lincoln Memorial. The reason, Four score and seven is 87. Another- when the Vietnam Memorial was being constructed a soldier threw his Purple Heart into the memorial. So it can be said with honesty the memorial has a heart. It is things like that you can get from a tour. 

   On the other hand, you are giving up freedom of time. The tours last a specific amount of time and to hit all of the monuments you can not linger at your own leisure.  Laurie and I hung around Lincoln from sunset until dark because I was trying to get a photo of the monument with a plane going by and Lincoln being lit up inside. I had to wait for that balance where it was dark enough outside to make the lights of the inside glow. For the record, I should have put my camera on a tripod for this and used my shutter release cord. Still, we enjoyed the Lincoln Memorial for a good forty five minutes. 

   

This one is Laurie's idea. Washington seen 
between the columns of Jefferson. It was an 
awesome idea

   At the end of our night we stopped at Jefferson. No one was there because all of the tour buses were home for the night. Even in the dark the clouds were a pinkish-yellow. I don't know if it was from pollution, the lights of the city, or just the glow this night. It was beautiful. It was our warmest day in DC. It was still about 62 degrees well after dark. It was the perfect night and with our bikes it didn't matter how long we stayed.

   One last note, many of you are probably wondering if the city is safe at night. I have never felt uncomfortable or unsafe in the area of the National Mall at night. Obviously when there are crowds of a thousand tourists you have nothing to worry about. But even when we were the last people at Jefferson and we had a mile ride back to our car on a pretty quiet street, I never felt unsafe, nor have I at any other time I've been there.

This was taken right before we left for the night. 
It had been dark for an hour but the sky was 
still a pinkish-yellow. This is from
 the top stairs of Jefferson looking over the 
Tidal Basin

Blue Winged Teal- Local 1

   

Yesterday I went to Lonsdale Marsh looking for Blue Winged Teal. A pair had been seen for over a week and I had yet to go see them. After work I went looking for them. I spooked them before I saw them but I watched where they landed. I walked as close as I dared and sat down hoping they would come to me. Eventually they did and they were in beautiful light. I took a ton of photos. Some of the better ones are below.  I also ended up seeing five Wilson's Snipe which are a tough migrant to get.  I didn't get any photos of them. I also had a very cooperative muskrat hanging around which I enjoyed. 

   I'm starting a new "series" on my blog simply titled "Local". With the cost of gas all of us are probably driving a little less. I'm spending more time after work fishing and birding within just a few miles from home. My goal is fifty times this year to "go local". Whether it is sitting quietly photographing a teal, Spring Peeper, or catching trout on my fly rod, the goal is to inspire others to got outside. We all have a pond or hiking trail close to home. I spent too much time inside last year after work. I am breaking that habit this year.  I've gotten out the last three days. I can not just sit around and wait for vacations or getaways as I did last summer. These local posts will be short and hopefully full of photos. 

 

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Delmarva Fox Squirrel, not an easy find

    I talked a lot about the sky and wind in my post about the Cherry Blossoms. What I did not talk about was the weather. The early part of the week was cold, very cold. When we drove down on Sunday night it was in the thirties. It didn't reach forty degrees until late in the day on Monday. Tuesday was predicted for more of the same temperatures for Tuesday but with a very good chance of rain. We had planned on going to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge one day on the trip. We ended up choosing Tuesday because we did not want to bike ride around DC in a just above freezing rain storm. We woke up from our tent Tuesday morning to twenty four degree temperatures.

   From our campsite at Greenbelt Campground to the Blackwater Visitor Center we had a two hour ride. This is another of those places I've wanted to go since I was little. I don't even know how I first heard about it. Blackwater is a huge tidal marsh on Chesapeake Bay. It is a stopover spot for thousands of ducks and geese. I knew we wouldn't see thousands of ducks at this time of year, but birds really weren't the priority. 

   Our main goal going to the refuge was to see Sika Deer. Sika Deer are an Asian species. They were imported to many countries including parts of the US. Sika Deer were introduced to the Delmarva Peninsula and are doing quite well. They are not invasive and do not compete with our native White Tailed Deer. The Sika Deer live in the swamps and even feed in the water so they can peacefully coexist with our native deer. 

  Sika Deer like White Tails are active at dawn and dusk and I was told by a ranger, at night. So I knew our chances were slim to see one during the day. Since we arrived at 9:30 am, our chances were slim to stay till dusk.

   There was another animal on our radar. The Delmarva Fox Squirrel makes its home in the woods around the marsh. Until 2015 the Delmarva Fox Squirrel was endangered. Luckily their numbers have rebounded and they were taken off of the list. We hoped to see one and asked the ranger where our best hope was. Delmarva Fox Squirrels are big. A Gray Squirrel is about 20 inches including its tail. A Delmarva Fox Squirrel is thirty inches and the tail is long and bushy. The coloration can range from almost white to a silver grey.

   The two mammals were our primary targets. I had two secondary targets as well. They were Carolina Chickadee and Brown Headed Nuthatch. I had seen both in North Carolina in June 2021, but any time I can see a southern species I'm happy. Also, there was a King Rail calling somewhere on the refuge, but rails are hard and I wasn't too worried about it.

   The Wildlife Drive was short. Despite stopping at multiple spots and never getting above fifteen mph, we drove it in 45 minutes. Obviously we planned on doing it multiple times. Our first stop at the Observation Tower landed us six Bald Eagles. We also saw Northern Shovelers and various other common birds. 

   After our first trip around we hit the few trails at the refuge. The Woods Trail was one of the places the ranger told us to look for the squirrels. The woods were open and we had good sight lines to look far into the trees but did not see any squirrels. After that trail we went to another called the Wallace Trail where we also struck out.

   After the Wallace Trail we went back to Wildlife Drive. I heard a flock of birds that sounded like chickadees. I got out to investigate and we had Carolina Chickadees, Brown Headed Nuthatch, Yellow Rumped Warblers and a couple of Blue Jays in some pines. I was most interested in the Nuthatches because the only photos of them I had were of them high in the trees against a gray sky. All you could see was a dark outline of a bird. Happily, the birds played along and I got some much improved photo upgrades of the Brown Headed Nuthatches. 

Brown Headed Nuthatch

   Around 3 pm the long drive from home and the two early mornings caught up to us. We ended up taking a shot nap at the trailhead of the Woods Trail . I rolled my sweatshirt up, rested it against the window and was asleep in seconds. About an hour later we woke up. As far as I could tell no other cars entered the parking lot the whole time despite it having a bathroom. 

   We went back out into the Woods Trail again. I noticed some wild Daffodils way into the woods. I pointed them out to Laurie. She put up her bins for a better look. She quietly called me over because she saw a Delmarva Fox Squirrel. It was pretty far away but it was unmistakable. It was a silver white. I got some awful photos of it. Still we were pumped to see it. Of course once we saw one, we ended up seeing one more as we were just getting back to the car. This one was much closer and less shy. It was eating while sitting on a log. It was easy to get good photos of that one.

   After walking the woods trail we went through the refuge yet again. Each time we would get a new bird or two. We ended up with 39 bird species which is more than any I have seen on Ebird while I have been checking. At this point it was late enough to stay to see if we could spy a Sika Deer. The plan from 6 pm on was just to keep driving around as the shadows got longer and sunset approached. On our fifth time around we did not see any deer, but we knew the next time around would be our best hope. We went slow enough to plan on being at the most likely swampy area at sunset.

 

 Driving a straightway with swamp on both sides and our windows open we heard the King Rail. There was no doubt what it was but later Laurie checked a recording to confirm what we heard. We stopped and listened to the rail for two minutes or so. Just a few feet past the rail a Sika Deer came out of the woods. It started feeding on the edge of the road. 

  The deer was a buck with the knobs just starting to come through. At first I thought it was young, but based on the two stuffed deer at the VC and I read they only get to about ninety pounds, this one must have been an adult. It was easily ninety pounds. Unlike our White Tailed Deer, Sika Deer keep their spots. This one had a few on its back and legs. We watched the buck for about ten minutes. We was only fifteen feet from the car. 

   When we left him we drove slowly through the refuge to find more. We didn't see any more Sika Deer but did see twelve White Tailed Deer on our ride home most of them in the refuge. We did have a two hour drive back to camp mostly in the dark but what an amazing day. We got both our primary targets (deer and squirrel), both our secondary targets (Carolina Chickadee and Brown Headed Nuthatch. I even got a lifer in the King Rail. 

How to take perfect photos of Washington DC's Cherry Blossoms

 Despite the title of this post, you will see very few "perfect" photos of the famous cherry blossoms of DC. What you will see are a lot of very good photos and some bad photos to give pointers on how to maximize your photographic experience. In this post, I will tell you everything I learned over the past week.

   First off, to get fantastic photos you need a few things. Most importantly the majority of the flowers have to be in bloom. Secondly, you need a good quality camera. If your cell phone has a good camera, that is perfectly acceptable. Third, in my experience, a bright blue sky makes for much better photos than a dark sky or even the soft light of dawn and dusk. Lastly, it helps if there isn't any wind, but of the four things this is the least important and really an added bonus.

   Timing your trip-

  Cherry blossoms can peak anytime between March 15 and April 15. However the most likely time is the last week of March/first week of April. The last two years the blossoms peaked on March 28. When figuring out when to take time off from work the week of March 27-April 1 seemed perfect. However, the blossoms peaked this year on March 21. The whole week leading up to my vacation was warm. Warm was bad because it hastens the blossoms demise. I'd read updates about seventy degree days and it made my stomach sick. We left Sunday night and drove until just outside of DC (sleeping at a rest area for a few hours before dawn) so not to waste a travel day. We arrived in DC about 7 am on Monday March 27. 

   By the 27th the peak was "over" luckily there are 1700 trees and they do not all peak at the same time. We found many in full bloom. Getting close up shots of blossoms was easy. However, even on the 27th, I could tell some of the trees were past peak. Some had stems devoid of flowers that were there a day or two before. Others had a tint of brown on flowers on the way out. However, all in all, I think I got lucky. Monday was still close enough to be in peak bloom that I knew I'd get my photos and enjoy the trees.

   So, your guess is as good as mine. I still think the last week of March is the best time to plan a vacation despite the early bloom this year. Of course, making reservations last minute could guarantee peak bloom, but you still need to get lucky with the weather.

   Camera-

   I'm not going to lie, I got better photos with my Moto 9 phone than I did with my Canon t71. So if your phone takes good photos, you will be fine.

   Sky and light

    All photographers talk about the magic hour. They want the soft light before dawn or at sunset. I didn't get to the monuments for dawn but I was there at sunset and on cloudy days. I'll take the bright light shining down on the flowers with a blue sky.  Below are various close ups

  The majority of your cherry blossom photos are going to be around the Tidal Basin. You have the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial to get calendar quality photos of. To a lesser degree if you work the angles you can get photos of MLK Monument and parts of the FDR monument.

   By far the easiest monument to get gorgeous photos of is Washington. From the Tidal Basin it sits to the NW. This means that the in the late morning through early afternoon the sun is behind you. It is not only shining on the monument but also the cherry trees in front of it. From the MLK Monument it is as simple as finding the angle you want and taking a photo. You can shoot Washington with  flowers all around it or you can take photos of tourists taking photos with trees as a backdrop and the monument in the background. The opportunities are endless. One step forward or back and you may have an entirely better photo. Pray for a bluebird sky behind Washington.

I do not think this photo would have been as 
good if you took the person out of it

The Cherry Trees near the Washington
Monument did not seem to be blooming on
Monday, but on Friday they seemed dead. This is from Wednesday

People is a photo will give it life

The sky was pretty dramatic for this one

I've seen cherry blossoms framing the Jefferson Memorial in calendars since I was a kid. It was the shot I wanted. Since I've seen that photo so many times, I assumed it would be easy to get.  It was more of a challenge than I thought. Jefferson sits on the east of the basin, so unless you are looking for a sunrise shot behind it, it sits in junk light in the morning. When the sun is at the south you can get fairly close to Jefferson by FDR, the problem here is, while Jefferson is in good light, the trees here were kind of bare. I had to work to find suitable limbs to frame Jefferson. Also, you are surrounded by bigger trees and a hill behind you, so there isn't as much light on the trees. What you have is a silhouetting affect where Jefferson is bright and the flowers are dark. Obviously you can correct this to a point with flash or playing with your white balance.

 

Though the flowers are a little blurry (it was really windy)
you can see they do not have the same "pop" as in other photos
I think the trees on that side of the basin blossom first

This is what I mean by Jefferson being in light but the flowers are dark and silhouetted 

Notice the empty spaces on the branches

I lightened this one up so the pink would show through

 In  the afternoon, you can get photos across the basin from MLK, the paddleboats or anywhere in-between. You should get some postcard quality shots, but you will have to work to find the angles you like. Again, if you are not there during peak bloom, some of the nicer "framing branches" were quite bare and not worthy of your time. My advice is to give yourself a couple of hours walking around the basin looking for shots of TJ that you like. Don't expect to walk up the the pathway, take a photo and expect it to be an Ansel Adams.

 Bad Weather and Bad Timing

   As I said, Monday the flowers were still close to peak bloom. I also had a nice blue sky to work with. I went back on Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday I did a couple other daytrips from DC. Wednesday I could tell there were less flowers on the trees and by Friday I could see brownish tinges on many trees. If you wanted close ups of fully bloomed flower clusters they were still relatively easy to find, but you did have to look for them. 

We saw multiple brides and a few grooms getting photos

These were the first trees we parked near on
Monday morning. The sun was just coming up so 
there wasn't much light. It was a huge relief
that the trees were still pretty

There's only about two branches that you can get with 
Martin Luther King. But at the bottom of the hill is where 
I got all my best photos of the
Washington Monument

   The deteriorating blossoms weren't a big deal for me because I had my day on Monday. However, April 2/3 is a big deal in DC. This is the peak of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Thousands of people will descend on the city for it. Even on Friday, we could tell there were way more tourists than the previous days. 

   To be honest, I felt bad for them. I've wanted to see Washington DC's Cherry Blossoms forever. If I would have went down there past peak, I'd have been sick. Like I said, I was watching the warm weather of last week with dread. I would have been crushed if I went down there "for nothing". So I sincerely mean it when I say, I truly felt bad for people that planned their vacation around this weekend.

   So what to do... 

   Unfortunately turning back the clock is impossible and waiting another year is a long time, so it is best to make do with what you got. If you get there and the trees are all leafed out, I guess you mentally accept that DC is still really photogenic. For times like this weekend where the flowers are noticeably in decline there are a few things you can do. You should still find a few clusters that are in peak. Close ups of those are nice. Obviously the more past peak the harder they will be to find. Remember there are 1700 trees,  they are all in different light and soil, they are not on the exact same schedule.

   You can back up. Getting shots of the trees from a distance should mean the trees will look full for a few more days. Even if individual branches or flower clusters are wearing out, the trees could still make good photos. The hardest photos to get would be the ones framing the monuments. Finding bright colorful flowers would become harder each hour day by day.

If your sky is a nasty gray, try to get the close ups at eye level instead of shooting up. Your going to be stuck with a grey sky behind the monuments, but try to cut as much of the sky out as you can focusing lower on the trees and water.

Obviously, the longer you are there the better the chances for nice weather. Planning one day to see the trees is playing Russian Roulette. 

Some other tips

 

Sometimes you need a little
help to get the blossoms to the right
height

 If there isn't any wind, you should find multiple places where the monuments and trees reflect into the water. I was not so lucky. It was windy all five days of my trip. It would sometimes lay down, but most of my photos were taken in twenty plus mile winds.

   You can get a map of where the trees are. The Tidal Basin with the monuments in the background is the classic place. There are Cherry Trees all the way to Haines Point and by the Washington Monument. Go for walk or better yet bring your bike.

   Understand where the sun will be in your photos

   Expect crowds. Though I think I went before the crowds arrived, there were plenty of places where I had to wait for an angle between branches or near the water. I was okay with that.

   Don't be afraid to put people in your photos. You probably can't avoid them in every picture anyway. I took a few photos near the Tidal Basin of brides and grooms doing their wedding photos.

   Don't rush your photo. Make sure the horizon is flat or at least make sure Washington is perpendicular in your picture and Jefferson isn't crooked as opposed to the water and sky (see below).  You can tilt your photos when you get home on even the most basic photoshop program, but do you want to do that too many times? 

Could I have screwed up the leveling of this one anymore?

   To sum up- I think a vacation planned for March 25-April 1 would be ideal for hitting it prime even if peak is a few days before or after these dates.  

   I feel lucky to have gotten a lot of good photos based on the peak being a full seven days before I got there. However, as I stated in the first line of this post I didn't get the perfect photo. Would the pictures have came out just a tiny bit better if I got there three days earlier? I could have gotten more reflecting photos if the wind would have calmed down while I was there. Lastly I was on museum time for the most part. I got a couple hours in the morning to take pictures before the museums opened and a couple hours after they closed (or we were too burned out from reading) to get shots. 

   I got enough good/great photos to be satisfied that I can cross the Cherry Blossoms off of my bucket list. I know if I ever went back during peak, non windy, bluebird sky conditions my photos would only be slightly better than the best ones I got. However, seeing the trees in full bloom and walking through Washington DC in the spring is something I hope will not be a once in a lifetime experience.

   LASTLY AND OBVIOUSLY THIS IS IMPORTANT- BACK UP OUR PHOTOS!!! It doesn't matter how you do it. Send them to the cloud. Email them to yourself. Put them on Facebook. Put them on your computer then transfer them to an external hard drive. Make prints. Whatever your way is JUST DO IT! You do not want to lose your photos when your phone crashes. 

A shit ton of flowers and a ton of...well, you know