Hi all,
   I birded Merkle, Jug Bay, and NWVC today. It wasn't very birdy but I
thought I'd post just to let anyone interested know that I spotted an
immature Red-headed Woodpecker at Merkle. I imagine it was one of the three
reported earlier by Susan Henyon (thanks for posting). It was along the
Mounds Trail in the dead trees in the swampy area. 
  
   There were hundreds of geese at Merkle but a not-very-thorough inspection
yielded no Cackling Geese. Best waterfowl were Green-winged Teals, Gadwalls,
and American Wigeons.

    There weren't many ducks at Jug Bay, just a lot of American Black Ducks
and Mallards. There were lots of gulls, mostly Laughing Gulls. The
observation platform is not finished and it doesn't look like any progress
has been made since I was last there in August. At that time I spoke to
someone who was working on it and he said they were ahead of schedule and
expected to finish in the fall. It doesn't look now like that will happen. 

    I stopped by the NWVC briefly in the late afternoon, but it was quiet. I
was hoping for an American Tree Sparrow but no luck this time.

Mike Ostrowski
Greenbelt, MD