On a last-minute "lark" I decided to seek out the black terns and 
American golden plover. At 11:30, I saw six Dave's black terns 
(Chlidonias niger czaplaki), while two Andy's Caspian terns 
(Hydroprogne caspia martinianus) rested on the rocks just above the 
lock at Violette's, in the company of a few ring-billed gulls. The 
black terns were flying up and down the middle of the river, over the 
water plant mats. There was also one pied-billed grebe on one mat. 
Other river birds included great egret, double-crested cormorant, and osprey.

Fifteen minutes later, I was eyeing the American golden plover at the 
Hughes Road polo grounds. The bird was at the far northwest corner of 
the fields near the stored polo goals, just at the edge of the heat shimmer.

Howard Youth

Bethesda, MD