Hi Folks! I spent an hour on my deck at North Beach, Calvert County MD [35 miles due east of the US Capitol Building] before heading off to work. Red-throated Loon: 8 Common Loon: 26 Horned Grebe: 10 Northern Gannet: 50 [exact count] Mallard: 3 Bufflehead: 20 Surf Scoter: 35 Osprey: 1 Laughing Gull: 4 Bonaparte's Gull: 30ish Little Gull: 1 ad. winter plumage Ring-billed Gull: 15 Herring Gull: 80 Great Black-backed Gull: 15 Royal Tern: 2 Forster's Tern: 2 Fish Crow: 5 Barn Swallow: 2 Good Birding! Jim Jim Stasz North Beach MD jlstasz@aol.com