Hi all --

Barry and I went down to Hains Point (East Potomac Park) to look for the Brant that Paul Pisano reported yesterday (I was out of town -- of course -- so couldn't go for it Sunday.) Well, no Brant but we did have a RED-THROATED LOON just off Hains Point, in the Potomac River, about in a line with the tip of the Point and the airport control tower. This is a pretty unusual bird in DC, I had never seen one until this autumn  when we had two fly over Rock Creek. This was a much better look as the bird sat and preened for some time.

Another interesting thing were the numerous flocks (ranging from 2 to 50 birds) of LAUGHING GULLS flying low and fast up the Anacostia, past the Point. They appeared to be coming straight up the Potomac, veering off just before the Point and going up the smaller river. The birds appeared to be on passage, but why in a northerly direction??

There was a MERLIN on the golf course.

We stopped by Georgetown Reservoir on the way home but there were men working on the causeway and no shorebirds apparent on the mud of the drawn-down section of the reservoir. Ducks included Ring-billed, Ruddy and Bufflehead.

Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper
Colesville, MD