Dear All

Frank Hawkins and I did the customary gentlemans' tour of DC points riverine this morning.  The Tidal Basin held about 600 gulls at dawn (unlike yesterday when there was zero gulls - where do they go to?) of which 90% were Herring Gulls but with one nice adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, which looked pretty similar to the one two weekends ago.  Also there 1 Common Loon, 3 Pied billed Grebes and - later - two ruddies and a Bufflehead.

Down to the Anacostia (avoiding the runnists on Hains Pt) and the gull roost under the S Cap St Bridge held one adult LBBG and a single Laughing Gull (the laughers are going to all leave just in time for the CBC...).  Ducky interest comprised 1 fine drake Goldeneye, 6 Horned Grebes, 3 Buffleheads, 5 Black Ducks and a Coot.  A Peregrine perched atop the navy cruiser.  A group of 'smaller' Canada Geese held a single Cackling Goose, a different bird from the one Paul Pisano found a couple of weeks ago (but I am pretty sure that Paul's bird was amongst the Canadas by Memorial Bridge yesterday morning).  Further upstream on the Anacostia another Lesser Black backed Gull - a 1st winter - was perched up on a shingle bank and the Orange-crowned Warbler continues in the weedy patch alonside the river at Poplar Point.

A drop by the pools at Constitution Gardens en route home yielded another group of smaller Canadas, 3 Ring-necked Ducks and a female scaup sp that we both thought was a Greater, rather than the more likely Lesser.

All the best

Gary Allport

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