Today at lunchtime I took a walk around my office (US Dept of Transportation HQ in SE DC). The only access to the Anacostia in the immediate vicinity is at the intersection of Frist St. & Potomac Ave. (by the Earth Conservation Corp bldg). This is in the shadow of the new Nationals stadium. There's a small green patch there, and in that patch today was a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. Obviously a migrant on it's way north. Also present was at least 1 COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.
And for what it's worth, this morning, on my way to work I stopped by Hains Pt. The road was closed at Buckeye & Ohio Drs at first, and later it was opened to the clubhouse but not beyond (this was between 6:45 and 7:30am). In any case, I did not see *any* Franklin's Gulls (he says, in a voice dripping with incredulity). I only saw 1 BONAPARTE'S GULL, plus the usual suspects, either at the pond opposite the tennis court parking lot or from the clubhouse parking lot. I wonder if the bird that Clive saw is the same as the one that Gail, Barry & Gary saw yesterday. It sounds like that one had a fair amount of brown in the tertials and coverts and minimal white in the primaries. The crisp adult I saw on May 3rd didn't have any brown, had a prominent white band between the gray and black of the primaries, and a pale pink wash to the breast.
Good birding,
Paul Pisano
Arlington, VA |