Hi Everyone,
 
I was on the phone with Hans Holbrook this morning around 9:00 a.m. when he excitedly spotted four ANHINGAs flying north in northern Virginia. He was at exit 14 on Rte. 267, so the birds likely hit Montgomery Co. soon thereafter. I was actually in the area, so I checked spots along the Potomac that seemed promising. It was a long-shot, but I had to try! I started at Hughes Hollow, then spent some time at Riley's and Violette's Locks. While I found no Anhingas, it was an excellent distraction that was rewarded by a transitional-plumaged EARED GREBE at Violette's Lock. The plumage was so strange that I sent the image to Matt Hafner to make sure I wasn't crazy! He agreed that despite the strange plumage the structure made the call clear. I'll post the image to my web site later when my connection decides to behave. Quite exciting! The other especially fun sightings for the day included my first BANK SWALLOW of the year, and watching a Falcate Orangetip disappear in my
 binoculars when a Barn Swallow swallowed it.
 
Other sightings included the following:
 
Hughes Hollow:
 
Wood Ducks - 6
Wilson's Snipe - 1
Tree Swallows ~20
Winter Wren - 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers ~10
Swamp Sparrows ~12
Bullfrogs - calling
Leopard Frogs - calling
Northern Water Snakes - 2
E. Painted Turtles - 30+
Juvenal's Duskywing - 1
 
Riley's Lock: 
 
Blue-winged Teal - 2 pairs
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Bufflehead - 6
Common Loon - 1
Am. Coot - 1
BANK SWALLOW - 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallows - 2
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Falcate Orangetip - 1 eaten by a Barn Swallow
 
Violette's Lock:

Common Loons - 3
EARED GREBE - 1
PB Grebes - 2
DC Cormorants ~50
BONAPARTE'S GULL - 1
Ring-billed Gulls ~20
Myrtle Warblers - 3
Tiger Swallowtails - 3
Zebra Swallowtails - 2
 
Hope you're all enjoying spring!  I've just returned from helping out in Arkansas with Cornell's search for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. Photos from the trip, as well as from a recent work trip to Hawaii are posted at http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html. I plan to post a detailed textual account from the Arkansas trip sometime soon when I'm more caught up on things. :)
 
Take care,
 
Bill
 
Bill Hubick
Elkridge, Maryland
bill_hubick at yahoo.com
http://www.billhubick.com