Nancy and I went to Lily Pons today, hoping to see the Sora or American
Bittern recently reported to be there.

No luck with those species, but as we started down the trail the goes
between the large ponds near the greenhouses, a juvenile or female Anhinga
came up from the pond's edge and flew off slowly toward the east. We
backtracked to the greenhouses and then headed in the direction the Anhinga
had gone, hoping to get another look.

After about 15 minutes search, we headed back to the greenhouses again, and
there it was, making low, slow circles over the greenhouses. I left Nancy to
keep her eye on the bird while I went back to the store to get Chuck Finley,
who had described himself to us earlier as the Lily Pons resident birder.

I told him about the bird and headed back to the greenhouse area, while
Chuck asked his boss for permission to leave the store for a while. When I
got back to Nancy, she pointed to the bird, which had gained considerable
altitude and, while I was still visible naked eye, it was lost against the
sky unless its location was pointed out.

The bird continued to circle gaining altitude and then began to glide toward
the west. By the time Chuck arrived, only a matter of five minutes or so, it
had disappeared against the blue of the sky and was not seen again.

Anyway, a State bird for us and one of those unexpected surprises that makes
birding ever new.

-- 
Elliot Kirschbaum
Shepherdstown, WV
kingfisher500 at adelphia dot net