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Terrorist Birder

It all started with the Howard County Bird Club website. The site contains photos of nearly every bird ever seen in Howard County. Although photos from many locations are used, photos taken in Howard County are preferred. There was no photo of a rock pigeon taken in Howard County. There was a lovely photo posted—it just wasn't from Howard County. So I decided to go take a few snapshots.

There is a consistent gathering of rock pigeons a couple of miles from my house, at the bridge where Route 32 crosses over Cedar Lane. Around 11:00 a.m. one day I grabbed my camera and binoculars, drove down there, parked alongside Cedar Lane where there was a wide shoulder, walked back to the bridge, and started clicking away.

It so happened the birds were perched under the bridge right then, rather than on top of lampposts. There was also a lot of traffic going by under the bridge.

I finished my photography and walked back to the car. I had just finished putting my equipment away and started the car when the police showed up—two cars, lights flashing. Somebody had called them via cell phone. The caller thought that taking photos of the underside of a bridge and studying it through binoculars constituted suspicious, possibly terrorist, activity. (Duh—I didn't think of that.)

One officer walked up to my car and asked me what I was doing in the area.

"Photographing pigeons," I said.

"Photographing pigeons?!"

Clearly he didn't believe me, and I don't blame him. So I explained that a friend of mine is posting photos of all birds in Howard County on his website, and he didn't have one of a pigeon because nobody ever photographs those.

The cop looked at me suspiciously and said, "Step out of the car. Do you have any identification?" I retrieved my purse from the trunk and showed him my driver's license.

"May I ask the name of the website?"

"Howard County Bird Club."

"Did you use a digital camera?"

"Yes."

"Can I see the pictures?"

So I showed him a few photos.

"I'll be damned. It really is pigeons!"

He went back and talked to the other officer, the two of them had a good laugh, and then they gave my license back and let me go. They said there was nothing illegal about what I had done, but asked me if I understood why somebody would call it in. I assured them I did. They also said they would have to file a report describing the incident.

I wonder if I was mentioned in the crime reports in the Howard County Times? I can see it now.

To add insult to injury, the photos didn't even turn out any good!

—June Tveekrem
Columbia, Maryland