Don't you just love those what-bird-was-it questions from non-birders?
The description is usually good enough to narrow the field down to a
couple hundred possibilities.  My all time favorite: "A bird was singing
in our campsite this morning.  What was it?"  Rarely are they much
better but I listen to them all since it helps public relations and you
never know what you're going to hear.

Yesterday, one of these questions came to me in an e-mail forwarded by a
non-birding friend.  It told of two large birds and a nest.  That's a
good start.  It ended with the comment that his closest guess was a
downy woodpecker.  In the middle was a near-perfect description of
Yellow-crowned Night-herons.

Today, I went over to check it out and sure enough, there's a pair of
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS nesting in Hyattsville.  This is a couple of
miles downstream from the Sligo Creek colony so they should be expected
here.  Nevertheless, this is, as far as I know, the first confirmed
nesting in the county in over a decade.

I am reporting this here because it is a significant record; I do not
plan to say anything else about the location since as a general policy I
do not disclose nest locations in public forums.  Also, I do not want to
annoy the neighbors.  The nest is located in a quiet neighborhood blocks
from the nearest water.

There is no need for county listers to disturb either the nest or the
neighborhood since the species is reasonably easy to find in Prince
George's County.  One or two adults have been seen at the Fran Uhler
Natural Area during safe dates every year for at least a decade.  As far
as I know, these sightings do not include a nest and do not include
young birds.  I do not understand the lack of nesting evidence since the
habitat looks perfect for this species.  You are welcome to visit this
area on your own or you can join one of the monthly walks.  They are at
7:30 AM on the first Saturday (i.e. TOMORROW) of every month.  The
meeting location is the end of Lemmon's Bridge Road.  From Bowie
Community College, head NW on route 197.  Turn right just past the MARC
station and be sure to stop before you hit the gate.

Dave
-- 
David Mozurkewich
Seabrook, PG MD