We had a nice walk from Pennyfield Lock upriver along the C&O towpath this morning.  Many volunteers were working on the Potomac River cleanup, including folks in canoes and kayaks on the Potomac, so waterfowl numbers were small.  But we had a very nice surprise when we had a nice close view of a flock of 5 Red-breasted Mergansers right next to the near bank on the River by the first impoundment.  They flew upriver shortly after we found them, probably reacting to a canoe across the River.  When we first parked at Pennyfield, we had a wonderful look at a Barred Owl that flew right over us and landed in a tree about 20 feet away (until the Blue Jays chased it off).  We saw our first of season Blue-gray Gnatcatcher as well.  Otherwise the usual suspects for this time of year.  Complete list from my eBird report follows.

Jim Nelson
Bethesda, MD

Location:     C&O Canal, Pennyfield Lock
Observation date:     4/5/08
Notes:     Potomac River cleanup was underway using canoes and kayaks, so fewer waterfowl were on the River.  Red-breasted Mergansers were clearly viewed close to near shore in a single group.
Number of species:     37

Canada Goose     4
Wood Duck     2
Mallard     5
Red-breasted Merganser     5
Great Blue Heron     1
Black Vulture     6
Turkey Vulture     7
Red-shouldered Hawk     3
Red-tailed Hawk     1
hawk sp.     2
Mourning Dove     1
Barred Owl     1
Red-bellied Woodpecker     5
Downy Woodpecker     6
Northern Flicker     2
Pileated Woodpecker     1
Eastern Phoebe     5
Blue Jay     14
American Crow     6
Fish Crow     1
crow sp.     3
swallow sp.     1
Carolina Chickadee     31
Tufted Titmouse     9
White-breasted Nuthatch     4
Brown Creeper     1
Carolina Wren     11
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     1
Eastern Bluebird     1
American Robin     8
Yellow-rumped Warbler     8
Song Sparrow     8
White-throated Sparrow     8
Dark-eyed Junco     4
Northern Cardinal     7
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
American Goldfinch     4

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)