August 4, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Birding in Virginia, July 2025

Here we go again, gradually getting caught up (blog-wise) with thrilling tales of birding from just over a year ago, gradually getting caught up to the present.

July 7: I ended up deciding to go birding on the Dowell's Draft trail (near Braley Pond), mainly in hopes of getting a better photo of a Northern Parula than in my previous outing in that part of Augusta County. I finally succeeded in finding one, but there results were only so-so. Much more conspicuous were the Scarlet Tanagers and American Redstarts. I also spotted Worm-eating Warblers, Black-and-white Warblers, a Hooded Warbler, an Indigo Bunting, and an Ovenbird, but they were all very camera shy. I got some good exercise, at least. Ironically, the big highlight of the day was while I was driving through Churchville on the way to Dowell's Draft: a Bald Eagle flying overhead! So, I stopped in front of a house and took some quite photos.

(Dowells Draft & Churchville, July 7, 2025.)

July 12: I went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Route 610 for the first time this month. Neither the Kentucky Warbler nor the Yellow-breasted Chat were present, a possible sign that breeding season was over. Nevertheless, I did see an Indigo Bunting, Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Wood Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher, and Hooded Warbler. I heard and glimpsed a Broad-winged Hawk, as well as a Cooper's Hawk soaring up above. Cerulean Warblers were still vocal, but they were staying out of sight in the tree tops, as usual.

July 17: Bell's Lane seemed to be full of bird families with newly-fledged youngsters in the afternoon. Most notable were the Eastern Kingbirds, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and Orchard Orioles; a first-year male is at top center, and an adult female is at lower right. Also seen were American Goldfinches and Eastern Phoebes. To my surprise, I didn't see or hear any Indigo Buntings.

(Bell's Lane, July 17, 2025.)

July 26: I went for a walk along Bell's Lane in the late afternoon, getting rained on just a bit. I saw Downy and Red-belled Woodpeckers, a Northern Flicker, as well as Eastern Kingbirds, Eastern Wood Pewees, an Eastern Phoebe, some Gray Catbirds, a Field Sparrow, and a female (or young) Orchard Oriole. The big highlight was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, but of course, I couldn't get a photo of it.

July 28: The bright sun really brought out the colors of the birds in the afternoon along Bells Lane. I was thrilled to get my first good look at a Ruby-throated Hummingbird this year! In fact, there were TWO of them, squabbling over territory near "Cujo Corner"!! Other highlights included an Indigo Bunting (singing an unusual song), an American Redstart (adult male), several Eastern Kingbirds, an Eastern Phoebe, White-breasted Nuthatches, various woodpeckers, a House Finch, a family of Chipping Sparrows, and a female Orchard Oriole. Finally, I saw a probable Osprey flying overhead but couldn't get a photo.

Primary colors! (Bell's Lane, July 28, 2025.)

Additional photos and montages, including individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages, can be seen on the Wild Birds chronological (2025) page.

August 3, 2026 [LINK / comment]

CHOKE! Braves sweep the Nationals

The Washington Nationals really choked in Atlanta over the weekend, suffering the first four-game sweep loss of this year. It was the first time they had been swept in a four-game series since September 15-17 of last year (including a double-header on September 16), which was also against the Braves, but that time it was played in Washington. On Saturday, Miles Mikolas gave up 4 runs over 6 innings, which is fairly typical for him. His job his to eat up innings and try to keep the game fairly close. But by the 8th inning the score was 8-0, and the Nats' 3-run rally really didn't matter. Final score: 8-3. On Sunday Cade Cavalli was pitching, and he did fairly well, but an error by shortstop C.J. Abrams helped the Braves take a 3-2 by the time he was relieved in the 7th inning. Final score: 4-2. During that 4-game series, the Nationals were spectacularly ineffective in clutch situations, getting just 3 hits out of 29 at-bats with runners in scoring position. That is worse than awful!

Earlier in 2025, the Nats came very close to being swept in a four-game series to the Colorado Rockies June 16-19, in Washington, but eked out a 4-3 win in 11 innings in the final game of that series.

In Philadelphia this evening, the Nats got off to a surprisingly good start when newly activated Abimelec (?) Ortiz hit a solo homer in the first inning. He was acquired in a trade for Mackenzie Gore with the Texas Rangers during the off-season. He was called up to play one game for the Nationals on July 12 (when he doubled) and then was called up for a second time today. In the 2nd inning Daylen Lile hit a two-run homer, and in top of the 7th inning Nasim Nunez made it to 3rd base on a pitcher's throwing error but was then caught in a rundown breaking for home on a ground ball to the pitcher. Rookie mistake. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Andrew Alvarez had a shutout going, and then recently-acquired Tom Cosgrove came in as a reliever in the bottom of the 7th, and before you knew it, the Phillies had a 4-3 lead thanks to a grand slam by Derek Hill. It was the same old story: a crappy bullpen letting them team down. An inning later Clayton Beeter gave up a 2-run homer, and that's how the Phillies won it, 6-3. And thus, the Nats have chalked up their longest string of consecutive losses this year: SIX.

James Wood seems to have pulled a muscle in his side, or something like that, so he will get examined tomorrow. He has been in a slump lately, not having homered since July 26, when he and C.J. Abrams both hit two homers.

Nats trade away big stars

Not surprisingly, given their sudden plunge from being wild card contenders to being mere also-rans, the Nationals front office reacted by cashing in their chips. This meant (on Saturday night) trading away star Luis Garcia Jr. to the New York Yankees for four pitchers, all right-handed: Jake Bird, Yovanny Cruz, Ben Grable, and Jack Cebert, the latter three being minor league "prospects." The Nationals can spare slugging power, but it's sad that they parted ways with the player who has been with the team the longest. Garcia started as a semi-regular 2nd baseman in mid-August 2020, playing alongside the same guys who had just won the World Series. He subsequently put up decent but unspectacular numbers until this year, when he finally blossomed into a first-class slugger. Who knows why it took him so long? In any case, Adios, Luis!

In his debut with the Yankees tonight, Garcia hit a 2-run homer in the 7th inning (his 24th of the year) to give his new team the lead. Welcome to the Bronx! But one inning later the Cardinals scored 7 runs and went on to win it, 13-7.

And then, just before the deadline at 6:00 this evening, the Nationals traded their ace pitcher Foster Griffin to the Cleveland Guardians for three pitchers (Will Dion, Josh Hartle, and Kendeglys Virguez) and outfielder Nick Mitchell. I saw one analysis of that transaction that rated the Guardians an A- and the Nationals a C. No one can say whether Griffin will be as good in coming years as he was with the Nationals in his first full year in the majors, but I wish General Manager Paul Toboni had offered him a multi-year contract rather than cashing him in. All these transactions based on future speculation made me think that baseball reverses one of the classic sayings: A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand!?

For context, last year the Nats traded away their closing pitcher Kyle Finnegan and hustling outfielder Alex Call. Alex has been doing very well with the L.A. Dodgers this year. Meanwhile, another former National, Lane Thomas, was just acquired by the Atlanta Braves. He didn't do as well in either Cleveland or Kansas City as he had done in Washington, but maybe he'll get with it again in Atlanta.

NL Player of the Month: C.J. Abrams!

On a much brighter note, C.J. Abrams was named National League Player of the Month, his first such honor. He had a batting average of .348, with 23 RBIs and 10 home runs during the month of July. Congratulations, C.J.!

Even MORE stadium page updates!

Today (technically, yesterday) I finished updating all the pages for past and present MLB stadiums in the state of Missouri (5 stadiums) and touched up some of the ones in Texas that I had updated last month. Among the newly spiffed-up ones is Busch Stadium III, which features these dazzling composite photos of St. Louis and the stadium itself:

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Three views of downtown St. Louis: from the Gateway Arch (with the Old Court House in front), from the west, and from the south.

Scenes from a visit to Busch Stadium III in August 2011; view from the Gateway Arch on August 10, 2015.

Some of the composite photos of the sites of stadiums that no longer exist are interesting as well.

Some corrections

When I updated the Sutter Health Park page a couple days ago, I deleted a sentence that was obviously WRONG: "The Tampa Bay Rays are playing here in 2025." That was a reference to George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, of course.

On July 3 I stated "the Stadium name chronology page has been updated," but provided the wrong link. It should be THIS!

August 2, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Birding in Virginia, June 2025

Here goes yet another valiant effort to get caught up with blogging about my birding activities last year! As usual, the text is based largely on Facebook posts I was making at the time...

June 4: I got another "primary color trifecta" while hiking and birding with Jacqueline along the Falls Hollow trail around the middle of the day. I finally got my first photo of a Black & White Warbler of the year, along with a Hooded Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, and Ovenbird. Other highlights included Scarlet Tanager, Blue-headed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, and Acadian Flycatcher. Beautiful! We also heard but didn't see a Wood Thrush or two. In addition, Jacqueline was delighted to see a Baltimore Oriole as we were passing through the village of Westview, but my eyes were on the road.

June 7: I joined an Augusta Bird Club field trip to Highland County led by Allen Larner, with only one other member (Scott Priebe) showing up. We met with four birders from Fredericksburg at Bramble Hill, as the property once owned by the late Margaret O'Bryan is known. While everyone else was occupied elsewhere I located a pair of Golden-winged Warblers, the first ones I have seen in a few years! I don't recall ever seeing a female before, and this one was gathering nest material. The other highlights were Black-throated Blue, Canada, Magnolia, and Chestnut-sided Warblers, among some more common ones. We saw a Bobolink at the Blue Grass cemetery, and a Least Flycatcher at the Straight Fork meadow, along with an Alder Flycatcher which I only glimpsed. A Bald Eagle was north of Blue Grass, a Scarlet Tanager (F) was near Laurel Fork, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was near the West Virginia border. We saw both a male and female of that species in fairly close proximity. Allen and Scott tabulated 71 species altogether.

A rare Golden-winged Warbler (F), carrying nesting material, along with other five other warbler species (all male). (Highland County, June 7.)

June 10: I was passing through the Shenandoah National Park on the way back from Dulles Airport (!), and wouldn't you know it, I scored another "primary color trifecta": Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tanager, and Common Yellowthroat! These photos were taken at various overlooks in the central portion of the park, but mostly along the Pocosin Cabin trail. Cerulean and Chestnut-sided Warblers were every which way! Of note, I saw my first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year, a female.

Primary colors! (Shenandoah National Park, June 10.)

June 14: After the menacing clouds lifted early in the evening, I went for a walk along Bell's Lane. Right away I heard that Yellow-billed Cuckoo again, and this time I got a nice closeup view! Near Cujo Corner were a few Cedar Waxwings, and at the high point I heard the distinctive song of an Orchard Oriole. Soon I got a nice view of a first-year male, and he flew to another tree where an Eastern Kingbird happened to be perched. Nice combination shot!

June 21: I had another primary color "trifecta," at three different locations: by the construction site along Barterbrook Road (where the new bridge over I-81/64 recently opened), at the gate in front of Shenandoah Wetlands Bank (south of Stuarts Draft), and near the dam in front of Coles Run Reservoir in the Big Levels area. On the way, I stopped at the Cheese Shop to get some goodies and to see the Purple Martins for the first time this year. The Scarlet Tanagers were mating, so there may be some babies in the Coles Run area in a few weeks!

June 23: Bill Benish, Ann Cline, and I went on an "impromptu" sort of field trip today, hiking over four miles total along the Shenandoah Mountain trail south of the Confederate Breastworks. (We were thoroughly exhausted.) Nearly all of the target birds graciously made appearances; see the caption below. We also saw a Worm-eating Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, a Veery, some Dark-eyed Juncos (at the high point of our hike, where we turned around), and a Pine Warbler. We also glimpsed one or two possible Ruffed Grouses and heard some Indigo Buntings, Eastern Towhees, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Missing in action: Hooded Warbler. All in all, nevertheless, a truly memorable day.

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ovenbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Canada Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and (CENTER) Black-throated Green Warbler. (Shenandoah Mountain trail, June 23.)

June 28: I explored the Ramsey Draft are on the western edge of Augusta County, and achieved both of my objectives, in both cases with fledglings being fed by their respective parents. First, the Blackburnian Warbler, which are usually found high up in trees where it is difficult to see. This time they were right at eye level, thanks to the fledglings, who needed to be fed. It was the closest I had ever seen a Blackburnian Warbler, and I was thrilled to get such good photos. This was right next to the bridge over the stream immediately adjacent to the picnic area. Too bad the father (which has much brighter colors) wasn't there! Second, some Northern Parulas, which were my first ones of the year. Nearby were a Louisiana Waterthrush, Worm-eating Warbler*, and several Black & White Warblers. I also heard an Ovenbird and Wood Thrush in the vicinity. I then hiked up the Road Hollow trail, but hardly saw any warblers, just a Scarlet Tanager and an Eastern Wood Pewee. It was a truly memorable day!

Blackburnian Warbler (F), etc. (Ramseys Draft, June 28.)

NOTE: Three of my Blackburnian Warbler photos, including two with a fledgling that confirms that breeding has occurred in that location, are included on the Virginia Bird Atlas!

Additional photos and montages, including individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages, can be seen on the Wild Birds chronological (2025) page. (NOTE: I incorrectly wrote "2024" in the note at the end of the July 24 blog post, but the link itself takes you to the correct set of photos.)

July 31, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Nationals' postseason chances are in jeopardy

As the MLB trade deadline on Monday, August 3 approaches, decisions about possible trades are having a vital impact on the Washington Nationals' postseason prospects, and vice versa. The Nats were having a pretty good month overall, but lost their last three games of July: 5-2 to Toronto on Wednesday, 5-4 to the Braves at Truist Park yesterday, and 6-2 to the Braves this evening.

Starting pitcher Foster Griffin, upon whose shoulder's the Nats' hopes rest to a large degree, had a rare bad outing in this evening's game. Still, it was close until the 6th inning, and for the second night in a row the Nats had runners on 2nd and 3rd with less than two outs, and then failed to score. That's just inexcusable. Just like the night before, the Braves immediately capitalized on the Nats failure to execute by staging a big rally: Michael Harris hit a 3-run homer, and then the Braves got one more across the plate. The solo home runs by C.J. Abrams (4th inning) and Andres Chaparro (9th inning) were merely symbolic. The Nationals did, however, set a team record for homers in one month (50) in July, leading the majors in that category for the season (164) as well as in RBIs (573), slugging percentage (.446), and stolen bases (123). (Most of that sentence was copied from the Washington Nationals page, which has just been updated with statistics for the month of July.) The Nats' record for July was 11-13, and they are now 10 1/2 games behind the Braves in the NL East, slipping back into 4th place behind the Miami Marlins. I try to be optimistic, but it's not looking good...

MORE stadium page updates!!

Yesterday and today I finished updating all the pages for past and present MLB stadiums in the southwestern states: California and Arizona, with the exception of Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. (I did Nevada a few days ago.) It was exhausting work, but I'm pleased that the pages look much cleaner and more consistent than before. One of those page updates, Candlestick Park, may be of particular interest because of the new composite photo displayed on it...

Photos of Candlestick Park taken July 6, 1961, courtesy of Mr. Vernon Hofer.

I have now created such composite photos for 28 of the current 30 MLB stadiums, excluding Sutter Health Park and Globe Life Field. Some of them (such as the one displayed above) are based on photos submitted to me by fans, and I have been very careful to credit them properly. Not all of them are yet publicly accessible, however, because only the revised stadium pages display them. I need to make a few changes to the five stadium pages for Missouri, perhaps one or two stadiums in Texas, and then Georgia (Atlanta) and Florida are all that I have left to do as far as page formatting. THEN I can get back to the FINAL PHASE OF DIAGRAM REVISIONS!!!

Coming soon: Field of Dreams!

As the month of August gets underway, I should mention that I intend to post a new diagram for the Field of Dreams page, since a new stadium is being built there for the game between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies just two weeks from today! (I mentioned that in my blog post on June 26.) See MLB.com.

So when am I going to do diagrams of London Stadium or Gocheok Sky Dome? Good question! (Maybe after I pay an in-person visit...)

July 29, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Peru 2026: The Fujimori political dynasty is reborn

Yesterday marked the 205th anniversary of Peru's independence from Spain (1821), and every five years on this date a new president is inaugurated. This time, Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori (who died in 2024), took the oath of office. Today she was the central focus of the series of parades through the streets of downtown Lima. She won a run-off election in late June by a very narrow margin over left-wing Roberto Sanchez, and it took several days for the vote count to be certified. There were grumblings about irregularities, but apparently the result has been widely acknowledged as legitimate.

Keiko Fujimori's victory mainly reflects the growing concern in Peru with crime and street violence. Most recent presidents of Peru have been left-wing, and in some cases fearful of offending the poorer classes from which crime is spawned. She pledged to restore order, which was probably the biggest accomplishment of her father a generation ago. When Alberto Fujimori was president (from 1990 until 2000), his conservative populist party was called "Cambio 90," or "Change 90," referring to the year of his first presidential campaign. The Fujimorist political movement became rebranded as "Popular Force" as his daughter repeatedly ran for president, falling short in her first three attempts before finally succeeding.

Although Keiko Fujimori has insisted that she has learned the lessons of her father's mistakes (indulging in corrupt practices and abusing human rights), much remains to be seen. For Peru's business sector, she is no doubt preferable to the alternative offered by Roberto Sanchez. Peru overcame terrible economic stagnation and chaos from the 1980s that was to a large extent the result of a left-wing populist president (Alan Garcia) embarking on reckless projects without serious financial analysis. Thanks to Fujimori's stabilization policies in the 1990s, Peru embarked on a spectacular period of economic growth that has greatly modernized the country. Can Keiko Fujimori restore those "golden years"? In any event, the Peru page has been updated (for the first time in several years!) with chronology items and a few photos. (NOTE: I have begun updating some of the other country pages as well, concentrating first on the ones I have traveled to.)

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas (March 2004); Chorrillos, the seaside area southeast of Lima; Palace of Government in Lima; a residential neighborhood in Ventanilla Alta, north of Lima. (February 2017)

Impeached Peruvian presidents

As noted by the Washington Post on July 3, Keiko Fujimori will be the tenth Peruvian president to serve in the past ten years (including some who served briefly on a "provisional" basis), a period of extraordinary tumult that tested the country's institutions to the limit. Here is a brief summary of the challenges to executive authority from the legislative branch:

• 2018: Congress removed Pres. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is removed by Congress on corruption charges, replaced by Martin Vizcarra, as a consequence of the Odebrecht scandal.
• Nov. 2020: Congress removed Pres. Martin Vizcarra after he ordered a drastic curfew in Apr. due to covid-19. Replaced by Manuel Merino and then Sagasti. In Nov. 2025 he was sentenced to 14 years in prison on corruption charges related to the Odebrecht case.
• 2022: Congress removed Pres. Jose Pedro Castillo (left wing) in Dec., after he tried to dissolve Congress, replaced by Dina Boluarte.
• Oct. 2025: Congress removed Pres. Dina Boluarte (left wing) to prevent her from assuming dictatorial power, replaced by Jose Jeri.
• Feb. 2026: Congress removed Pres. Jose Jeri, apparently out of partisan distrust, replaced by Jose Balcazar.

While there was some justification for some of these removals, the sheer number (five within the space of nine years) was an indication that the balance of power between the three branches of government in Peru was out of whack. In the United States, we have had four occasions when the president was impeached by the House, but only once (in 1866, against Andrew Johnson) was the Senate's vote to convict even close. When the U.S. Constitution was drafted, it was understood that dividing the legislative branch into two chambers would keep its powers in check. Accordingly, of the 50 states, only one (Nebraska) has a unicameral legislature.

When the current constitution was drafted in 1993, in the aftermath of a political and economic catastrophe that left the existence of the Peruvian state in question, it was decided to eliminate the Senate, and have all legislative functions be exercised by a one-chamber Congress. After the inherent flaw in such a unicameral system became obvious, Peruvians recently agreed on the need to restore the "upper chamber" -- the Senate. This was carried out earlier this month, and Keiko Fujimori's party will have (in conjunction with parliamentary allies) a majority in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Interior of the Peruvian Congress, now known once again by its former name: the Chamber of Deputies. (Feb. 28, 2017)

Interior of the Peruvian Senate, which had been closed for 34 years but was recently restored by a constitutional amendment. (Feb. 28, 2017)

Another curious aspect of Peru's political system is that they have TWO vice presidents. The extra backup position came in very handy during the past ten years when the president was being replaced so often!

NOTE: This is my first blog post about Latin America in many years. I intend to resume occasional blog commentaries about politics in Latin America, after I finish updating the rest of the Latin America country pages.

July 27, 2026 [LINK / comment]

D.C.'s "Bash Brothers"?
Abrams and Wood both hit two more home runs!

The Washington Nationals wasted multiple run-scoring opportunities versus the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, thus allowing the visiting team to eke out a 3-2 win. On Saturday, Foster Griffin was pitching, and for the first time since June he allowed more than one run to score. Nats 5, D-Backs 3. And on Sunday, both C.J. Abrams and James Wood hit two home runs, adding four to the Nationals' MLB-best team total. (After Andres Chaparro homered in tonight's game with Toronto, it's now 157 home runs, five more than the second-place New York Yankees.) The bullpen buckled a little bit, as Matt Krook (who has been sent back down to the minors) gave up 2 runs in the top of the 9th, but Clayton Beeter got the job done as the Nats held on to the precious 10-7 victory. It was a series win (at home!) against a potential wild card rival.

Tonight in Our Nation's Capital, future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer took the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays, getting a warm nostalgic welcome from the fans in D.C. He gave up singles to the first two batters in the first inning, and then walked the bases loaded with one out, but managed to escape unharmed. The Nats scored one in the second, but it easily could have been more. Even though Scherzer didn't even last three innings, it's fair to say that keeping his cool is what ended up making the difference in the game. Blue Jays 3, Nats 2. (The same score as the Friday night game!)

Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins had lost 12 games straight through Sunday, thus allowing the Nats to climb back into third place. It's as if they and the suddenly red-hot Boston Red Sox were mirror images of each other! But tonight the Marlins finally won, scoring 3 runs against the Phillies in the bottom of the 9th inning, so now only one game separates them from the Nationals.

C.J. Abrams and James Wood are setting all sorts of records, and folks are making comparisons with the Oakland A's "Bash Brothers" of the late 80s and early 90s, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. (Hopefully the PED issue will not recur.) With 27 so far, Abrams has now hit more home runs in a season than any other shortstop in Nationals history. He leads the National League in RBIs, with 82. For his part, Wood is the first National to reach 30 home runs in a season since since Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto in 2019 (34), and he stands a very good chance of breaking Alfonso Soriano's record of 46 home runs with the Nationals in 2006. (See the Washington Nationals page; scroll down a bit.)

Nats & Red Sox make big trade

Speaking of the Red Sox, the Nationals traded their blossoming 3rd-baseman slugger Curtis Mead for left-hand pitcher Connelly Early, who is currently on the Injured List. It's a very logical move, since the Nationals are so overloaded with sluggers as it is. They desperately need reliable pitchers, both starters and relievers. Curtis Mead had been DFA'd by the Chicago White Sox in late March, and since the Nats picked him up Mead has done everything possible to prove his value as a major league player. He was a popular player, one of the few Australians in the major leagues, and he'll be remembered fondly in Washington. Best wishes in Bean Town, Curtis!

[This is the new general manager Paul Taboni's first big transaction during a baseball season, and most analysts are impressed with what he has done thus far. As the trade deadline approaches, 2026 postseason dreams will clash with the cold, hard front-office reality of building a team that can contend for a world championship for years to come.]

Nats draft Chris Hacopian

I was watching the early phase of the 2026 MLB Draft two Saturdays ago, and just missed seeing the Nationals announce their pick for the #11 slot: Chris Hacopian, a second baseman who was born in Montgomery County, Maryland. (Just like James Wood!?) Hacopian went to Texas A & M, used to go to see games in Nationals Park, and is very enthusiastic about his future team.

More stadium page updates!

I devoted the weekend and part of today to bringing the stadium pages for the northwestern and Rocky Mountain states up to date. That means making the data tables consistent in content and format, and including composite photos of stadiums where available, as well as composite photos of cities in the case of stadiums that are either in MLB use or are still standing (such as Oakland and Montreal). I also included Cashman Field in Las Vegas, which will become a full-fledged MLB city less than two years hence.

Of the cities shown on the U.S. map that I posted last week, I have not yet visited four of them: Sacramento, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Tampa-St. Petersburg. I passed through Sacramento on an Amtrak train at night, but didn't really see anything. And of the 26 cities that I have visited (including four "twin" metropolitan areas), I didn't take any downtown photos in either Atlanta or Phoenix.

Re-scanned photo: Kingdome!

As mentioned on Friday, I am trying various techniques in scanning old photos and slides, and sometimes a second or third effort yields much better results. A good example would be this photo of the Kingdome, which I took while a friend and I were exploring the Olympic National Park and the city of Seattle in 1987. The image from the first scanner I used had very poor color balance and intensity, and no amount of digital tweaking could improve it much. But this image has decent color balance as well as details in the stadium and nearby buildings. Success!

The Kingdome in Seattle, July 1987. Roll your mouse over the image to see a panorama that includes the downtown skyline. Somehow I tweaked the red, green, and blue light settings just right to get a rich, nicely balanced image, but for the life of me, I haven't been able to do it again. The tiny image below, probably derived from a scan of a printed photo rather than the original slide, was formerly shown on the Kingdome page. Pathetic, huh?

July 24, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Birding in Virginia, May 2025

This is another episode in my "catch-up" blog posts about birding, the last one being seven days ago. If I can cover two in one post, rather than just one month as usual, and if I do three posts per week, I might get caught up with my birding blog posts by the middle of next month!

On May 1 I visited Bell's Lane early in the evening and saw Eastern Kingbirds for the first time this year. Also present were American Goldfinches, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Eastern Bluebirds, and Eastern Towhees. Also, plenty of Gray Catbirds, of course. There was also a Northern Flicker in the back yard. The next day I saw my first House Wren of the year along Bell's Lane.

On May 3 I drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, hoping to see the Kentucky Warbler that had been reported near the telecommunications tower along Route 610. Indeed, I found it! All six birds pictured below were the first ones of that species I had seen this year. At the first BRP overlook, I heard and soon saw Indigo Buntings (center), and along Rt. 610 to the south I saw (clockwise from top left) American Redstarts, a Kentucky Warbler (appropriate on Kentucky Derby Day!), a Hooded Warbler, a Cerulean Warbler up in the tree tops (as usual), and an Ovenbird very close by. Wow!!!

Blue Ridge Parkway, May 3, 2025.

On May 9 I saw my first Yellow Warbler of the year while walking along the Mill Place trail in Verona in the morning. It was hard to see as it hopped around the willow branches, but I finally got a nice look. On the other (north) side of the pond, I noticed an Eastern Kingbird near the ground, which seemed strange until I noticed it (presumably she) was gathering nesting material. I also heard and glimpsed an oriole, but couldn't be sure which species it was. Over on Bell's Lane I spotted some kind of yellowish warbler in the tree tops, but my photos were inconclusive. I also heard a Common Yellowthroat (FOY) and White-eyed Vireo, but didn't see either one. I did, however, get a nice look at a Red-bellied Woodpecker guarding his (presumably occupied) nest hole! Nearby was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher darting about.

On May 11 Jacqueline and I went hiking in the Shenandoah National Park for the first time this year, from McCormick Gap to the top of Bear Den Mountain and back, about 3 miles round trip. The birds more than lived up to my expectations! We saw Yellow-breasted Chats (my first of year) at two different overlooks, plus multiple American Redstarts (bottom left), Hooded Warblers (bottom center), Chestnut-sided Warblers (top right), and Scarlet Tanagers; the latter two were also first of year. Indigo Buntings, Ovenbirds, Red-eyed Vireos, and Wood Thrushes (the latter three not pictured) rounded out a spectacular day.

Bear Den Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park, May 11, 2025.

On May 15 I visited Bell's Lane in the afternoon, by which time the sun was out. I saw four birds for the first time this year, and got photos of three of them: Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Orchard Oriole. I also saw a Baltimore Oriole fly into a big tree. (I had heard both oriole species previously, so it's really only two FOY species.) The other highlights included a White-eyed Vireo, at least three American Redstarts, a Red-eyed Vireo, some Brown Thrashers, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tree Swallows, and Eastern Meadowlarks. Finally, I heard a Great Crested Flycatcher and a Common Yellowthroat. Yesterday, I also checked out Bell's Lane, but the light conditions were too poor for decent photos. I did hear a Black & White Warbler (FOY) very close by, but never saw it.

On May 16 I walked to the top of Betsy Bell Hill, hoping to see a Black & White Warbler, but without success. I did, however, see a Scarlet Tanager, some E. Wood Pewees, Red-eyed Vireos, and Great Crested Flycatchers.

On May 17 I went back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway / Route 610, and that Kentucky Warbler (bottom right) was still in the same location, by the telecommunications tower! I also had a great closeup view of a male American Redstart there. A mile or so to the south I heard a Cerulean Warbler, but I had to wait over a half hour before I got a good view of it. I also saw M & F pairs of Hooded Warblers and Black-throated Blue Warblers (FOY for the latter) there, as well as more Redstarts (M & F) and an Eastern Towhee or two. At the Humpback Rocks picnic area I saw an Eastern Wood Pewee, and at the Hickory Springs overlook I had a nice view of an Indigo Bunting, but none of the hoped-for Chestnut-sided Warblers. Red-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos were heard in multiple locations, but I didn't see any. Still no Black & White Warblers!!

On May 18 I went to Bell's Lane mostly for exercise, and had two interesting sightings: a young Cooper's Hawk up above, and a very small bird with a thin beak hovering like a hummingbird next to some bushes. I soon realized to my utter astonishment that it was a Least Flycatcher, and I managed to get a couple photos before it got away. Wow! This was near Carolyn Ford's gate where we always look for owls in the winter. Nearby were some Brown Thrashers, Song Sparrows, and a Northern Cardinal.

On May 20 I hiked along the Chimney Hollow trail for the first time this year, and saw most of the birds that usually frequent that location this time of year. I saw my first Acadian Flycatcher (bottom left) and my first Black-throated Green Warbler of the year, and heard (but did not see) my first Blue-headed Vireo and first Northern Parula of the year. Other birds heard only: Red-eyed Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black-and-white Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and two Yellow-billed Cuckoos. Finally, I saw three other warbler species, shown on the right (top to bottom): Worm-eating, Ovenbird, and Louisiana Waterthrush. NOTE: There were quite a few fallen trees, some of which have been sawed and removed from the trail, but it is totally blocked at one spot.

On May 22 Jacqueline and I went for a walk along Bell's Lane in the afternoon, where we saw numerous Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows, and heard some of the latter species' babies clamoring for food inside the nest boxes. A female Red-bellied Woodpecker was tending to a nest hold near "Cujo Corner," while a two Eastern Kingbirds were noisily hunting for insects in the pastures. The highlight of the day was hearing and then seeing a male Orchard Oriole very close by.

On May 24 I led an Augusta Bird Club field trip hiking to the Reddish Knob-Bother Knob area on the northern tip of Augusta County, not quite reaching it due to all the time and energy it took getting there. It was about 3 miles altogether, plus more distance walking around various other bird hot spots along the way, including the Reddish Knob summit. I was joined by six club members, and we had a great time. Interestingly, while we were still gathering in the Food Lion parking lot, we noticed a flock of 30 or more Cedar Waxwings feeding on the berries they love. A very auspicious beginning! Later we had a great closeup view of an Indigo Bunting at the Briery Branch Reservoir, and then on the way up had great views of Chestnut-sided Warblers, a Scarlet Tanager, and a Common Yellowthroat. (The latter was a first-of-year sighting for me.) Thanks to a new member (Christine), I also saw (very briefly) a Black-and-white Warbler for the first time this year. Finally! At Crossbill Corner, we saw a Black-throated Blue Warbler, an American Redstart, a Brown Thrasher, and finally a dozen or so Red Crossbills. While there we met with William Leigh Tern, who gave us some good tips on what to look for. Next, we drove up the road a ways toward Bother Knob and hiked about a mile and a half each way. There we saw a Blackburnian Warbler, a Canada Warbler, and a Black-throated Green Warbler, along with a few Dark-eyed Juncos. I finally saw my first Blue-headed Vireos of the year as well! We heard several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Veeries, but never saw any. We also had a great closeup view of a Chestnut-sided Warbler while at the summit of Reddish Knob, as one shown in the first composite photo. In sum, it was a truly spectacular day, with ideal weather and fun companionship.

SEVEN WARBLERS! Reddish Knob, May 24, 2025.

SIX NON-WARBLERS! Staunton, Reddish Knob, etc. May 24, 2025.

On May 30 Jacqueline and I went for a casual walk along Bell's Lane late this morning, and I was pleased to see a Common Yellowthroat (female) there for the first time this year. (I had heard a male singing there previously.) Other highlights included Indigo Buntings, an Orchard Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Towhee, and White-eyed Vireo. I also heard a Baltimore Oriole and possibly a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Finally, on May 31 I paid a visit to the waterfall in Folly Mills (south of Staunton) for the very first time. I was glad (and quite surprised) to see a Red-headed Woodpecker, but it was hard to photograph in the tree tops. Other highlights included some Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Wood Pewees, a Scarlet Tanager, and a Wood Thrush. I also caught brief glimpses of a Louisiana Waterthrush and an Acadian Flycatcher.

Additional photos and montages, including individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages, can be seen on the Wild Birds chronological (2024) page.

July 24, 2026 [LINK / comment]

The Nats win another road series

After splitting the first two games of the series against the Rockies in Denver, the Washington Nationals fired on all cylinders for the game on Wednesday afternoon. Cade Cavalli pitched 6 shutout innings, during which the Nats scored exactly once on a timely 2-out sac fly by James Wood. That would have been enough, as the bullpen held up this time. Eddy Yean, who was called up from the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday, pitched two innings, and Max Kranick, who had a rough outing in Sacramento on July 18, closed the game. Nasim Nuñez sparked a rally in the 7th inning with a 2-run single (helped by a fielding error), then Luis Garcia homered (#21!), and the visitors put 6 runs on the board, with one more in the 8th inning. Final score: Nats 8, Rockies 0.

Tonight the Nats begin a 3-game home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the often-shaky Zack Littell expected to pitch after Carson Palmquist "opens" with an inning or two. The D-backs currently rank third in the National League wild card race, behind the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. If the Nationals are going to make it to the postseason, they will need to overcome the D-backs as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. It's a tall order, but it is an eminently attainable objective -- as long as the front office manages to acquire a good pitcher or two in the next ten days or so. In the 6th inning, the score is tied, 2-2.

How about those Red Sox?!

This is the time of year when trends often shift, either due to injury or morale factors, and the postseason picture starts to come into focus. For the Boston red-hot Red Sox, the first half of 2026 was a miserable frustration, and most people counted them out. But in early July, they started to click, winning nine straight games before the All-Star break, and then six more games afterward. Their opponents during this streak included two strong teams (Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays), two weak team teams (L.A. Angels and N.Y. Mets), plus the Baltimore Orioles. It was the Orioles who finally beat them 5-1 in the second game of a double-header on Wednesday. The Red Sox tied their franchise record of 15 consecutive wins, which they last accomplished in 1946 -- back in Ted Williams' day. Well, you can't win 'em all!

So who was the last team to beat the Red Sox before this year's big winning streak started? The Washington Nationals, of course! That was on July 1, the end of a 3-game series in Fenway Park in which the Nats prevailed in two games out of three.

More stadium page updates, eh?

Four more stadium pages have been updated to conform to the new standard, with city composite photos and (where available) stadium composite photos. And all four of them were in Canada! It happens that I have begun scanning old slides (inherited family archives, etc.), and I managed to get slightly-improved images of some stadiums that I saw for the first time during a cross-country journey in 1987. One of those was in Montreal!

Olympic Stadium in July 1987, as work on the retractable roof was being completed, which is why the crane was there. The guy in front, José Benitez, was kind enough to show me around the city.

Likewise, I found some slide photos of the city that allowed me to create a composite photo of Montreal as well. Both this image and the above stadium photo (including a large version) are now shown on the Olympic Stadium page. Please note that my scanning endeavors are part of an ongoing project, and I may end up posting improved versions of these photos in the near future.

TOP: Downtown Montreal skyline (to the east) on a misty, rainy day, seen from Mount Royal Park. In the distance is the St. Lawrence River. BOTTOM LEFT: A distant view of Olympic Stadium (to the northeast) and residential neighborhoods from that same elevated location. BOTTOM RIGHT: Place Jacques Cartier in Old Montreal; on the right is Hotel Nelson.

July 21, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Even Steven: at 100 games, Nats are were 50-50

For the first time ever, the Washington Nationals attained a perfectly balanced record of exactly 50-50 two days ago, after winning the final game of the series against the Athletics. They came very close to reaching a 50-50 record twice before: July 24, 2018 (losing to the Brewers in Milwaukee) and July 23, 2011 (losing to the Dodgers in L.A.). Both times, of course, they then had records of 49-51.

Also for the first (and almost certainly the last) time ever, the Washington Nationals played a series in Sacramento, California over the weekend, and boy was it a doozy! In Sutter Health Park (capacity just over 14,000), On Friday the offensive juggernaut got started in the 3rd inning, and by the end of the 7th inning, the score was 18-2. The Nats tacked on five more runs in the top of the 9th, while the A's narrowed the gargantuan lead by two runs in the bottom of the 9th. Cade Cavalli had a fine 6 innings on the mound, while the often-woeful Andres Chaparro hit two home runs, to the surprise of almost everyone! Harry Ford, who was just called up from the minors to fill in as backup catcher for the injured Drew Millas, hit his very first home run in the majors! There was no momentum from that victory, however, as the home team jumped to an early lead on Saturday. After giving up 6 runs in the first two innings, Nats starter Zack Littell settled down for a while and put 3 zeroes on the board, but then the home team scored 2 more runs. Max Kranick then took the mound but was relieved after another rally by the A's. The Nats failed to get any hits until the 7th inning, and the only run they scored was in the 9th inning. Final score: 15-1. The day-to-day net difference of the margin of victory defeat was a mind-boggling 33 runs! (A 19-run positive margin on Friday vs. a 14-run negative margin on Saturday.) Also worth noting: until the Saturday game, the Nats had hit at least one home run in ten consecutive games! The rubber game of the series on Sunday was much more normal. C.J. Abrams and Dylan Crews both homered, while the Nats' superb ace pitcher Foster Griffin only gave up one run over 7 innings. It was the 8th straight game in which he pitched 6 or more innings while giving up only one run, thus setting a record for the Nationals. And thus the wildly inconsistent Nats eked out a series win.

On Monday the Nats took on the Colorado Rockies in Denver, and none other than Andres Chaparro hit a 3-run homer in the first inning! The Rockies soon tied it, but the Nats tacked on more runs in the later innings thanks to home runs by Jacob Young and C.J. Abrams, thus winning the game, 7-3. Tonight got off to a fine start with yet another homer by Abrams in the first inning, and he later added another one, reaching 24 total for the year! But the Nats pitchers (especially Carson Palmquist, Miles Mikolas, and Clayton Beeter) just could not contain the Rockies, and a home run in the 8th inning by Hunter Goodman proved to be decisive in the 8-7 loss, putting the Nats right back to an even .500 record. Since the Miami Marlins also lost today, the Nats could have claimed a tie for 3rd place in the NL East, but that quest will have to wait another day.

One more thing worth noting: Thanks largely to C.J. Abrams (with four homers in three days) and Andres Chaparro (with three homers in four days), the Nationals now have the most number of home runs in the majors, with 149, which is 3 more than the New York Yankees! They also have substantial leads now in RBIs as well as runs, the statistic that was cited in that table of team offensive statistics I posted on Friday.

NOTE: When I was assessing the Nationals' near-term prospects for winning and whether they will be "buyers" or "sellers" as the August 3 trade deadline approaches, I meant to cite Danielle Allentuck's article on that topic in the Washingtonp Post.

MORE stadium page updates

Just for the record, on Sunday I updated the pages for the SIX (6) MLB stadiums located in Ohio, three each in Cleveland and Cincinnati. Some of the stadium composite photos on those pages (such as Crosley Field) are "ver-r-ry int-er-esting," as Sgt. Schultz would say. Also, I did likewise for Wrigley Field, thus finishing my work for the three MLB stadiums in Illinois.

Las Vegas sneak preview

The Sacramento Athletics played a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Las Vegas Ballpark recently (June 12-14), as a way to promote interest among the team's future fan base. That means I need to update the Anomalous stadiums page soon. I still don't understand why they didn't just move to Las Vegas Ballpark (located in a suburb on the west side of the city) after they departed from Oakland 21 months ago, rather than taking a 3-year detour through Sacramento. Back in 1996 the Athletics played six games in Cashman Field (on the northeast side of the city, NOT on "the seedy south side of Las Vegas," as that page says) because of construction delays at Oakland Coliseum. I have yet to visit Las Vegas, just as I have not yet visited two other MLB cities: St. Petersburg and San Diego. For this purpose I would count Anaheim as part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Otherwise, I've seen them all.

Spain wins World Cup

Well, baseball fans, you can enjoy the rest of the summer without being annoyed by all the hoopla over the 2026 World Cup. Felicitaciones (congratulations) to the people Spain for their triumph over Argentina! To my surprise, the smoke had cleared away by the time the final match at "New York-New Jersey Stadium" got underway. The English team took third-place honors over France in the game at "Miami Stadium" on Saturday.