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Subject:

DC on Jan 1 - 7 swans-a-swimming

From:

Paul Pisano

Reply-To:

Paul Pisano

Date:

Mon, 1 Jan 2007 14:28:00 -0500

I hit some of the usual spots in DC this morning - Hains Pt., Tidal Basin,
Anacostia River Park and Kenilworth Park before the rain really started
coming down.  Ended the morning with 36 species, with the best being the 7
TUNDRA SWANS swimming downriver at the mouth of the Anacostia, seen from the
tip of Hains Pt.  The only other species of note were the 5 or 6
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS seen in the Washington Channel (1), along the
Potomac River (4) and in the Tidal Basin (1), 1 MERLIN at the tip of Hains
(there don't seem to be as many wintering on the Hains Pt Golf Course as in
previous years), and 2 PEREGRINES - 1 on the RR Bridge and the other at
Kenilworth Park.  Biggest miss was Lesser Black-backed Gull - haven't seen
one this whole winter and gull numbers in DC are very low this year.  Here's
the whole list:

Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Tundra Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
American Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
European Starling
House Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Brown-headed Cowbird

I ended 2006 with 198 species in DC.  I hadn't been doing a big year until
tropical storm Ernesto in early Sept., which dumped several great birds into
DC and boosted my numbers.  But even after that I still didn't try hard
enough to break 200.  I missed a number of regularly occurring species,
including Tundra Swan.  So it was a bit frustrating to have it be one of my
first birds for 2007.  Oh well, such is birding in DC.

Hope you all see great birds in 2007,
Paul Pisano
Arlington, VA