A few hours delayed, but it doesn't look like anyone has posted yet
today... Rob Hilton and several others saw the SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER
in MD this morning, at the usual location and at least up until 11:00am.

Like Gail & Barry, I did a swing through Hains Pt as well early this
morning.  I didn't see any shorebirds either, but saw 3 sp. of raptors -
1 COOPER'S HAWK, 1 ad. BALD EAGLE, and 1 ad. MERLIN.  Both the eagle and
the Merlin were at the tip, with the Merlin perched in the top of one of
the tall trees.  This is not the first time I've seen a Merlin at Hains
Pt. in August.  I have a record of one seen there on Aug. 31st, though
I'm not sure which year.

This past week I flew out of National Airport and noticed a nice mat of
hydrilla on Roche's Run (Arlington Co.).  I stopped by there today, but
it was pretty birdless.  From there I went to the mouth of 4-mile Run,
which is DC waters.  There's some hydrilla there, too, but it too was
pretty quiet birdwise.  Only saw 3 CASPIAN TERNS, 70 DOUBLE-CRESTED
CORMORANTS, and 1 LAUGHING GULL.  Hydrilla mats in DC these past few
years have been weak, so perhaps this is a good sign that it's coming
back - and bringing birds with it.  I haven't had a chance to scope the
Potomac off of Old Town Alexandria (again, looking into DC waters) to
see if there's much of a hydrilla mat there.  Back in the day this was a
real hot spot.

Good birding,
Paul Pisano
Arlington, VA