First week of April I will be in Cambridge with two non-birding but  
nature-liking adults, two 6 year olds, and a four year old.  My 6  
year old nephew has 2x binoculars and his own field guide, gifts from  
me, and he likes looking at and drawing birds.  His twin sister likes  
pretty things, including birds.  Though my 4 year old nephew is the  
love of my life, he is also a noisy hyperactive dynamo, and the only  
bird he knows is an Andean Condor from his "Go, Diego, Go" cartoons.

We'll be staying at the Hyatt in Cambridge, which claims to have it's  
own "nature preserve" with a "Great Blue Heron Rookery."  I will make  
them drive me around Blackwater, of course, to find the White  
Pelicans that eluded me last time.  Can someone tell me where they've  
been hanging out?

Basically I'm looking for three kinds of information:
1) birding spots safe for young children and interesting to non- 
birders (like Blackwater, at least the driving route)
2) fun activities for kids and families within an hour's drive of  
Cambridge
3) interesting historical or educational sites within an hour's drive  
of Cambridge

Okay, I'll throw in a #4:  great birding spots at which I might  
convince my family to drop me off for an hour or two while they do  
something else :)

Any advice on birding with young children is also welcome.  I'll loan  
my nephew better binoculars, of course.

Thanks!  Please email me directly instead of replying to the list.


Beth C. Kantrowitz
Hyattsville, MD