Today was one of the most exciting days of birding that I can remember. I
started my morning out at Fort Washington NP on the Potomac, where, before
being asked to leave by park personnel, I saw seven Common Loons and a
White-Winged Scoter flying down river. I then headed over to Wharf Road to
see what was in Piscataway Creek. The abundance of waterfowl that I
reported on a few days ago was still present, but a bunch more Northern
Shovelers had arrived since my last visit, bringing the count to 210. Three
Dunlin waited out the bad weather on the little hydrilla that remained.
When I arrived at the entrance road for the boardwalk at Piscataway Park, I
found the gate closed, which almost made me try a different location, but I
decided to park and take the long walk in. I'm glad I did. After seeing a
few shorebirds flying downriver that were too distant to ID, I was thrilled
to get relatively close looks at a Red-necked Phalarope and a Red
Phalarope. Later on, I heard from Mikey Lutmerding, who was scoping from
the National Harbor, that ten Brant were headed my way. Sure enough, about
5-10 minutes later, a group of nine Brant flew by. I then walked north
along the remaining narrow stretch of beach to try to get a glimpse of the
south side of Piscataway Creek. I immediately saw a Tree Swallow feeding
over the water, and then thirty seconds later, noticed that the only other
accompanying swallow was a Cave Swallow! I've never made a point to chase
down this species in the state, always telling myself that I would see one
when I see one. However, I did not expect it to happen away from Worcester
County and Point Lookout.
Shortly thereafter, I heard from Mikey that a large group of Pomarine
Jaegers were flying south. I quickly trained my scope on the river channel,
and after waiting ten minutes, I was treated to amazing, upclose views of a
group of 31 adults. Some had tails longer than their bodies. They continued
down river into Charles County, flying sometimes as high as the treeline,
and sometimes right next to the water. Ridiculous.
Rob Ostrowski
Bowie, MD
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