Right after work I hot-footed it down to the Mall to pick up that nice life bird spot.  He was exactly in the same place described by Felley.  Just east of the restrooms foraging low in the small trees and on the ground.    I never got closer than 30 feet and worked pretty hard to get good looks around 7:15 p.m. in the quickly decreasing light.  After I finally got a good look in some decent light I pished to see if he would move closer.  The pishing only frightened him up into the trees.
 
Also around:
Red-Winged Blackbirds
Orchard Oriole
Barn Swallows working the water edge in the pond area
E. Kingbirds
Grackle
Blackpolls still singing
1 singing Veery toward the reflecting pond
Song Sparrow
House Sparrow
 
Now all we need is a Mourning Warbler at Arlington Cemetery or a Waterthrush at the Watergate.
 
Denise Ryan
Washington, DC
 
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 1:19 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Lincoln's Sparrow at Lincoln Monument, 5/12


.. or at least close to the Monument.  A Lincoln's Sparrow was foraging
in Constitution Gardens, below the low trees between the Reflecting
Pool and the Constitution Gardens Pond.  This is a Mall bird and a Life
bird for me!  I love it when that happens.  It was quite tame and
obliging, and I watched it for about ten minutes.
   Other birds of note in the area:
Common Loons (1 at Maine Ave docks, in breeding plumage, 2 in
   Potomac opposite the Tidal Basin, 1 in breeding plumage, the other in
   winter plumage)
Orchard Orioles (several)  singing from the small trees between the
   north end of the FDR Memorial and the Potomac
Baltimore Oriole (1 male, singing from an elm near the Jefferson
   Monument)
Scarlet Tanager (a male, at DC Veteran's Memorial, bathing in standing
    water area)
Ovenbird (in the tree below which the sparrow was foraging)

Blackpolls found pretty much everywhere
Eastern Kingbirds ditto
Great Crested Flycatchers, several in the Lincoln Monument area

                                    Jim

Jim Felley
Smithsonian Institution