On Tuesday, October 30, 2012 5:35:21 PM UTC-4, Rob Ostrowski wrote:
> 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.
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> 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.
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> 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.
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> Rob Ostrowski
> Bowie, MD
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