March – April 2026: Baltimore Water Taxi Cruises

Bring your binoculars to Baltimore for fun winter birding cruises on the Patapsco River!

Horned Grebe, Cooper’s Hawk and Redhead. Photos courtesy of Dr. Frode Jacobsen.

Scroll down this page for for more information about our 2026 cruises. Registration is open for the March 7 and March 21 cruises . We will open registration for the April 4 cruise as soon as we have met our minimum of 15 participants. If you wish to add your name to the interest list for April 4, please email dmvbirds@gmail.com with your name and the number of people in your party.

2026 Cruise Information

Birding by Boat on the Baltimore Water Taxi (BOATING)
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm (please arrive early to park and arrive at the dock on time; scroll down for parking and meeting info)
Cost: $50/person
Guides: Russ Kovach, Brenda Miller & Jim Rapp
Meeting Location: the Port Covington Marina, located at 321 E Cromwell St, Baltimore, MD 21230. Meet at the dock for the Baltimore Water Taxi. GPS Coordinates for the dock: 39.264381, -76.604892
Parking: There is metered parking on nearby streets for $2/hour. The 250 Mission Garage is a 6-minute walk from the boat dock, and parking there will be ~$12.00 for four hours. Click here to reserve your parking space in the 250 Mission Garage.

2026 Dates

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2:00 – 3:30 pm

We tallied 19 species on the Jan. 10 cruise.

Saturday, March 7, 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Registration is open! Click here to register for the March 7 Baltimore Water Taxi cruise.

Saturday, March 21, 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Update (posted 10:00 am on Sat., Feb. 14): There are three spots open on the March 21 cruise.

Registration is open! Click here to register for the March 21 Baltimore Water Taxi cruise.

Saturday, April 4, 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Update (posted 6:30 am on Wed., Jan. 28): Registration will open as soon as we have met our minimum of 15 participants for this cruise. If you wish to add your name to the interest list, please email dmvbirds@gmail.com with your name and the number of people in your party.

General Information

Birders on the Baltimore Water Taxi.

Ahoy, birders! Join us for afternoon birding boat trips aboard a private charter with the Baltimore Water Taxi. We’ll cruise the Patapsco River around the Baltimore Peninsula and Fort McHenry while enjoying scenic views of the city skyline and scanning the Baltimore waterfront for birds, including waterfowl, gulls, raptors and more! Your guides will help you locate and identify the species as we ply the waters of the Patapsco.

We had a great time birding on the Patapsco last winter. Check out these eBird lists from our 2025 cruises:

We may run a few land-based morning field trips before the water taxi cruises. We will update this web page with morning field trip information soon.

Google Map of estimated afternoon cruise route

Some common sense approaches to make your birding trips more enjoyable:

  • Wear appropriate clothing and shoes for winter weather in Baltimore.
  • Bring rain gear, as field trips will run rain or shine.
  • Arrive with enough time to park and arrive at your field trip meeting location at least 15 minutes before the trip departs.
  • Use a restroom before the field trip departs. Restrooms may not be readily available at the field trip locations.
  • Bring your own binoculars. Loaner optics are not available.
  • Small coolers with snacks, wine and/or beer are welcome on the water taxi!
Hooded Merganser. Photo courtesy of Dr. Frode Jacobsen.

Please note:

  • No cancellations later than two weeks before the cruise departs. For a further explanation of our refund policy, please click here.
  • Trips will go in the rain or fog, unless torrential downpours prevent us from viewing wildlife.
  • If the trip is canceled due to dangerous conditions (typically storms or strong, gusting winds), we will notify you as soon as possible via email. Please note that the email will be sent to all participants BCC, so you may need to check your email spam folder. A full refund will be provided within 15 days.
  • eBird checklists for all tours will be shared with participants.