Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in The Birches, we use the following websites to find information relevant to The Birches and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for The Birches

• Astronomy & Satellites ...
  • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
  • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for The Birches:
  • 39.229273, -76.864141
  • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on The Birches

• Bird Watching ...
  • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
  • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Howard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Howard County
  • Since The Birches is near Baltimore County and also Anne Arundel County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Anne Arundel County

• Waymarking ...
  • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for The Birches

Communities Also Named The Birches ...

We found one communities that are also named The Birches.

Within Maryland, the name The Birches is unique.

Beyond Maryland, there is another community also named The Birches in the United States.

• Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
  • Alaska
    • This The Birches lies 3,421 miles [5,505.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the The Birches that is located in Howard County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near The Birches ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

• Arrowhead
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Arrowhead is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
• Cedar Woods
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Cedar Woods is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Woods
• Dasher Green
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Dasher Green is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher Green
• Fox Hill
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Fox Hill is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hill
• Gray Rock Farms
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Gray Rock Farms is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Rock Farms
• Harpers Choice
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Harpers Choice is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpers Choice
• Hobbits Glen
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Hobbits Glen is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbits Glen
• Locust Park
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Locust Park is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Park
• Long Reach
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Long Reach is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Reach
• Longfellow
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Longfellow is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longfellow
• Phelps Luck
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Phelps Luck is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps Luck
• Running Brook
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Running Brook is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Running Brook
• Thunder Hill
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Thunder Hill is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thunder Hill
• Vantage Point
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Vantage Point is located in Howard County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vantage Point

How Far From The Birches to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as The Birches to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in The Birches and extending to:

• Ellicott City, which is the Seat of Howard County, lies just to the Northeast.
• Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from The Birches to Annapolis, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 24 miles [38.6 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,876 miles [9,456.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,582 miles [10,592.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,459 miles [7,176.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'