The highlight of my morning walk around Schoolhouse Pond was a Black-
crowned Night Heron.  The bird was perched in a dense scrub willow on the 
edge of the pond to the left of the boardwalk spur leading to the office 
townhouses.  The bird had the plumage pattern of an adult, but the colors 
appeared to be muted, so it may have been a 2nd summer bird.  This is the 
same willow where a night heron roosted most of last summer.

Other birds included Trumpeter Swan #962, several Great Blue Herons, 
Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, American Redstart, Eastern Phoebe, 
Acadian Flycatcher, Osprey, Barn Swallow, Chimney Swift, Tree Swallow, 
Downy Woodpecker, and Eastern Bluebird.

Fred Shaffer

Patuxent MOS