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Subject:

Hughes Rd and Hollow

From:

"Gary Ender (home)"

Reply-To:

Gary Ender (home)

Date:

Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:26:07 -0400

After a nice morning at Rock Creek Park, I tried the evening at the polo 
field on Hughes Road and Hughes Hollow for sunset.  The birds were not 
unusual, but it was a great evening.

At the polo grounds there were a dozen or so HORNED LARKS and a flyby 
COOPER'S HAWK.  At the Say's phoebe spot, there was a large flock of 
HOUSE FINCHES.

At Hughes Hollow, there were the expected GREAT BLUE HERONS and GREAT 
EGRETS, one GREEN HERON, and at least one RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in the 
distant dead trees.  Several BLUEBIRDS.

What were particularly nice were the simultaneous views of BLUEBIRD AND 
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH (yellow adult, pumping tail) and BROWN THRASHER AND 
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER (adult male).  Also had FOS WHITE-THROATED 
SPARROW.

Sunset was nice, but the full moon was quite amazing at HH.  By 7:30 the 
first "star" was up, even though the sky was still somewhat blue.  The 
star was in the SE, so it had to be Jupiter.  With the 60x scope the 
four moons and two dark cloud bands were clearly visible and quite a 
treat. 

The great blue herons had previously perched in bare trees, but when the 
moon came up they were out there hunting by moonlight until I left.  As 
I got in my car, I heard a GREAT HORNED OWL.  And as a I returned on 
River Road, a fox crossed.

Gary Ender
Bethesda, MD