Happy New Year, all!

I led the annual New Year's Day "Earliest Bird" trip for the 
Montgomery Bird Club this morning.  This trip started at 8 a.m. at 
Georgetown Reservoir (GR), and ended with a bit of a whimper after 11 
a.m when heavy rain, low fog, and an inoperative vehicle brought the 
group to a slightly premature stop.

Nonetheless we had some good sightings.  I'm including all our 
sightings below  in case some of them turn out to be "first of the 
year" for the District of Columbia.

Other DC locations visited included Constitution Gardens (CG), the DC 
War Memorial WM), Washington Channel (WC), and Hains Point (HP).

Species seen:

CANADA GOOSE   hundreds
MALLARD   60
RING-NECKED DUCK  4  (GR)
LESSER SCAUP  30   (GR, WC)
BUFFLEHEAD   7   (GR, Reflecting Pool)
COMMON MERGANSER  5   flyover
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER  (WC)  1 drake
RUDDY DUCK  8  (GR)
PIED-BILLED GREBE  3  (CG, HP)
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT  2  (CG)
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON  6  (WC)
TURKEY VULTURE  2  (Macarthur Boulevard)
BALD EAGLE   5 adults, most near HP
RED-TAILED HAWK  1
PEREGRINE FALCON   1 (14th St. RR Bridge)
AMERICAN COOT  4  (CG)
RING-BILLED GULL  '00s
HERRING GULL 50
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL 2  full adults, one at GR, one at HP
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL  10
ROCK PIGEON  20
MOURNING DOVE  24
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER  2
NORTHERN FLICKER  1
BLUE JAY  6
AMERICAN CROW  few
FISH CROW  few
CAROLINA WREN  2
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH  1  (GR)
AMERICAN ROBIN  2
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD  2
EUROPEAN STARLING  50+
SONG SPARROW  2
NORTHERN CARDINAL  2
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD  2
HOUSE FINCH   1
HOUSE SPARROW  6

Tony and Cynthia Mead had an EASTERN PHOEBE somewhere along Macarthur 
Blvd. before they joined the rest of the group.

Mike Bowen
Montgomery Bird Club
MD Ornithological Society

D.H.Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817-3845
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail:  dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom