Another great day at Rock Creek Park.  Taking Gail's advice, 
I started at dawn at the horse field just downhill from the 
ridge and was rewarded with good birds, including PALM 
WARBLER, EASTERN PHOEBE, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, YELLOW-BILLED 
CUCKOO, and BLUE-HEADED VIREO.  Lots of warblers too (full 
list below).  The ridge added little to my tally, but others 
reported Black-throated Blue, Northern Parula, Tennessee, 
Nashville, Bay-breasted, probably more.  The maintenance 
yard was jumping though (got there around 8:30 am) with 
highlights including WHITE-EYED VIREO, my first NASHVILLE 
WARBLER for the season, a LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and an 
amazingly long look (5 mins) as I was leaving at a 
first-winter CONNECTICUT WARBLER as it foraged among the 
leaves near the first trail entrance to the yard (i.e. 
between the "ruins" and the main trail back to the stables). 
I'll definitely be back tomorrow morning...

Here's my full report submitted to eBird:

Report Details
Location name: Rock Creek Park
Observation date: 9/26/06
Duration: 3 hour(s) 20 minute(s)
# of people in birding party: 1
Are you reporting all the species you identified? Yes
Total # of species: 46
Observation type: Stationary Count
Start time: 6:45 AM
Distance covered: N/A
Area covered: N/A

Checklist diary notes:
A great day at the park, following the front that passed 
through early yesterday. Clear, cool, calm. I started at the 
horse field, stopped briefly at the ridge, and finished at 
the maintenance yard. Highlights included Palm Warbler, 
Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 
and Blue-headed Vireo at the field, and White-eyed Vireo, 
Nashville Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Connecticut 
Warbler (great look!) at the yard. Most of these were firsts 
for the season for me. LOTS of Black-throated Greens and 
Maggies around. Confusing fall warblers included likely 
Blackburnian and Blackpoll at the field (needed extra eyes 
for those). May have seen a Pine Warbler high up in a pine 
tree near the stables. May have glimpsed a Yellow-rumped at 
the yard, and Ovenbirds in the pre-dawn light along the 
road. Others saw Tennesse, Northern Parula, Black-throated 
Blue, Bay-breasted, Winter Wren, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 
if not more.

Species Details
Species Name Number Reported
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 (heard only, very strong)
Broad-winged Hawk 4 (soaring above Nature Center parking lot)
Mourning Dove 3
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO 2
Chimney Swift 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 4
Downy/Hairy Woodpecker 1 (strong call note)
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
White-eyed Vireo 2
BLUE-HEADED VIREO 1
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 50 (many flying over)
American Crow 3
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 4
House Wren 1
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 5
Wood Thrush 1
American Robin 20
Gray Catbird 10
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 4
NASHVILLE WARBLER 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 2
Magnolia Warbler 5
Black-throated Green Warbler 10
PALM WARBLER 1
Black-and-white Warbler 2
American Redstart 2
CONNECTICUT WARBLER 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Scarlet Tanager 1
Eastern Towhee 2
Song Sparrow 1
LINCOLN'S SPARROW 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Indigo Bunting 1
Common Grackle 100 (many in the woods foraging on the ground)
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 10

D

-- 
Derek C. Richardson, College Park, PG County, MD
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/Archives/Photos/birds.html