Three of us attended a Montgomery Bird Club walk this Sunday morning from Pennyfield Lock to Violette's Lock on the C&O Canal.  It started out foggy and proceeded to get hot, muggy, and still.  This seemed to limit migrants.  We saw only Magnolia Warbler, Black and White Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat plus Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-eyed vireo, and Baltimore Oriole.  Almost every bird moving in the trees was either a Carolina Chickadee or a Tufted Titmouse.  Of particular interest was an adult Red-headed Woodpecker near the impoundments upstream of Pennyfield -- first I've ever seen in this stretch of the Canal.  The first impoundment is still a dry grassland, and the second, notwithstanding Hanna, has only a little water in it.  It did attract two Solitary Sandpipers and some ducks.  On the River we found no gulls or terns, just the usual Belted Kingfishers, Canada Geese, Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, and Mallards.  Our total species for the morning was 34.  Complete list from eBird appears below.

Jim Nelson
Bethesda, MD

Location:     C&O Canal, Pennyfield Lock
Observation date:     9/14/08
Notes:     Foggy early.  Very hot and humid and no air moving.

Canada Goose     33
Wood Duck     2
Mallard     12
Double-crested Cormorant     22
Great Blue Heron     9
Green Heron     1
Solitary Sandpiper     2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo     2
Belted Kingfisher     4
Red-headed Woodpecker     1
Red-bellied Woodpecker     1
Downy Woodpecker     6
Northern Flicker     3
Pileated Woodpecker     3
Eastern Wood-Pewee     4
Eastern Phoebe     5
Red-eyed Vireo     4
Blue Jay     16
American Crow     7
crow sp.     1
Carolina Chickadee     23
Tufted Titmouse     28
White-breasted Nuthatch     9
Carolina Wren     10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     1
Eastern Bluebird     1
American Robin     5
Magnolia Warbler     2
Black-and-white Warbler     1
Common Yellowthroat     2
Eastern Towhee     1
Northern Cardinal     21
Indigo Bunting     1
Baltimore Oriole     2
American Goldfinch     6