After waiting 3 hours in the cold, I was afraid that Paul O'Brien's had
jinxed me forever, never to find a MD rarity ever again.  I arrived at
1:30pm and learned from others that the bird hadn't been seen since the
original sighting of the day at 10:30am.  About 6-8 of us worked its favored
stretch of the C&O Canal all afternoon, looking at every kinglet, chickadee,
nuthatch and yellow-rump time and time again in the hopes that it would turn
into the Townsend's Warbler.  At 4:40, with the sun just about to dip below
the horizon, we were about to throw in the towel.  Alas, perseverance paid
off and at 4:42pm the bird appeared out of nowhere and fed in what sounds
like it's favorite maple - the one that's riddled with sapsucker holes right
where the entrance road crosses the towpath (the NPS sign is at its base).
The bird showed well for about 11 minutes, spending most of its time in that
tree, and occasionally feeding the next tree over (on the opposite side of
the road).  Then it took off, gave a high, thin "seep" note, and flew
downriver over the trees.  It dropped into a tree closer to the river, then
took off again, continuing to head downriver.  Hopefully it was just going
to a roost site, and will return tomorrow.

Good luck to those who will be searching for it this weekend.

Paul Pisano
Arlington, VA