Dear All

I stepped out of the house at 9.15pm last night (20th March) to get 
something from the car and immediately heard the sound of a group of 
schoolchildren playing in the distance - Tundra Swans.  Having jogged down 
the road to get a look up through the trees I was amazed to see a big wing of 
swans going over quite high but easily visible in the lights from the city (we 
live in Van Ness, NW DC).  I counted eight large 'V's of birds slowing beating 
north.  The birds took so long to go over that I ran back to the house and 
fetched my wife from putting our children to bed (9.15 and still awake - it had 
been a bad evening) and she was able to see the last flock going over.  I 
hesitate to put a number but the flocks I have seen before have been in the 
range 50-200 birds so there were several hundred at least and maybe even 
into four digits.  This was easily the biggest flock of Tundra Swans I have seen 
in the US.  What happenstance that I stepped out of the house just as they 
were going over.  Funny old world isn't it.

This morning from the office (Connecticut & M, NW DC) I saw a Merlin racing 
up Rhode Island Avenue at break neck pace.  I guess it might be the same bird 
as I saw a couple of weeks ago.

Cheers

Gary Allport