Hello everyone,

My brother Mike and I decided to spend the morning looking for terns and waders in Montgomery County. We started out at Hughes Hollow around 6:30 AM where we didn't see anything unusual - plenty of Great Egrets and GBHs. It poured shortly after we arrived, so we hustled back to the car and drove over to Violette's Lock. We set up on the bank of the river, after turning right on the tow path from the parking lot and walking down a little trail not more than a quarter mile away. About 90 minutes or so into our watch, four FORSTER'S TERNS were seen flying up and down the river near the Virginia shore, undoubtedly the same group Dave saw a little later. Thirty or so minutes later Mike spotted a very suspicious Tricolored Heron-looking heron land on a branch in the middle of the rapids. I was able to get my scope on it fairly quickly and confirm that it was a beautiful juvenile TRICOLORED HERON. The bird was very active, not staying in a single spot for longer than 20 or 30 seconds. After a minute or two of switching locations in the middle of the river, it flew to the near shore and gave us great views. 

This is our view of the bird when it first appeared: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35144142@N04/3758532755/sizes/l/

And here it is once it flew closer: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35144142@N04/3759328640/sizes/l/

When we left, it was still on the near shore, a little further west from the rapids. We returned to the spot a couple hours later when the bird activity was largely replaced with boat activity, including jetskiers about where the heron had been. 

As I was posting to the list on my phone, I noticed Dave Czaplak had just posted about a STILT SANDPIPER and other great shorebirds at Summit Hall Turf Farm, not too far from where we were standing. I sent Dave a text about the heron and we left to check out the shorebirds. We passed Dave on Sycamore Landing Rd, each of us going to find the other's birds. After toying with a few different locations to try see through the foliage, we found the STILT SANDPIPER, two PECTORALs, 1 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, one Least Sandpiper, and a few dozen Killdeer. 

An awesome and unexpectedly wild morning which produced 8 county birds. 

Robert Ostrowski
Crofton, MD