I had a nice early morning walk around Schoolhouse Pond today.  Highlights
included when a full breeding plumage Cattle Egret circled the pond and
landed on the mudflats.  It stood preening for about five minutes before
flying off to the northwest.  I don't know if I've ever seen so much of
the peachy-orange plumage on a Cattle Egret before.

Also present were several singing White-eyed Vireos, Northern Parula, Blue-
gray Gnatcatchers, and one Blue-headed Vireo.  In the cattails were a
Swamp Sparrow and a singing Marsh Wren, as well as the usual Red-winged
Blackbirds.  Also of note were two Double-crested Cormorants, a pair of
Wood Ducks, a Belted Kingfisher, an Osprey, and a Killdeer.  Yellow-rumped
Warblers were plentiful, being scattered in the trees lining the boardwalk
the entire way around the pond.  And, over four hundred noisy Laughing
Gulls flew over, mostly in groups of 30 and 40.

Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS