I made stops at a couple spots for water birds this afternoon. Most seem 
to have cleared out, leaving little to see.

At Anacostia Park, there was a Lesser Black-backed Gull among the three 
common gulls. I also found a Killdeer on the mudflat south of the Penn. 
Ave. bridge. One juvenile bald eagle soaring overhead rounded out the 
good birds.

The area around the Tidal Basin was a bit more productive, but not by 
much. One Pied-billed Grebe and one American Coot were in Washington 
Channel. Only one Lesser Scaup was in the Tidal Basin itself, but there 
was a large flock of scaup on the Potomac just south of the railroad 
bridge. (I'm guessing that the ducks found the Tidal Basin less 
hospitable now that the paddleboats are active again.) Two male 
Red-breasted Mergansers were flushed from the same area by a motorboat. 
The grove near the FDR Memorial held flocks of grackles, red-winged 
blackbirds, robins, etc.

Good birding,

John Beetham

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John D. Beetham
Washington, DC

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