... were few and far between.  Gulls on the Tidal Basin included
Ring-billed, a couple of Herring and a couple of Greater Black-backed.
At the FDR Memorial were only a couple of robins and mockingbirds.  At
the DC Veteran's Memorial everything was completely quiet, and I soon
found out why - an immature Red-tailed Hawk was perched low in a tree.
Since this was the only bird around, I contemplated it for a while,
until a brave little trio showed up: a Downy Woodpecker, a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (immature) and a White-breasted Nuthatch.  They
foraged in all the trees of the area including the one the hawk was in.
Of course they stayed in the branches high above the hawk; bravery is
not to be confused with foolishness.
                              Jim

Jim Felley
Smithsonian Institution