After birding with a several dozen people at Rock Creek Park on Saturday 
morning, I was expecting crowds at the Azalea Collection at the National 
Arboretum on Sunday but the birders were surprisingly light.  Thankfully, the 
brids were quite good.  Someone with a better ear and knowledge of bird song 
than I have said that he counted 35 species within the first 10-15 minutes.  

I didn't do quite that well, but I did get some great birds.  There was a small 
flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS moving through the trees at the eastern end of the 
azaleas.  I found a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD buzzing around the 
flowers.  For interesting warblers, I found a MAGNOLIA WARBLER, BLACK 
THROATED BLUE WARBLER, and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (first I'd seen 
amongst the azaleas) amongst the usual suspects.  On two seperate 
occasions, I got fantastic looks at a female NASHVILLE WARBLER only about 
12 feet away.  I also was able to study a cooperative WARBLING VIREO sitting 
quite close to one of the many RED-EYED VIREOS I saw.

It was a beautiful morning to be out.

Max Wilson
Kensington, Montgomery County, MD
mercretas AT hotmail.com