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Subject:

Re: Barn Swallow at Hughes Hollow plus Riley's Lock, 3/14

From:

Jim Moore

Reply-To:

Jim Moore

Date:

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:29:14 -0400

I was watching from Violette's Lock later in the afternoon and thought 
of a merry-go-round as an analogy. Hundreds of ducks and gulls were 
being sent downstream rapidly on much stronger than normal currents, I 
would guess about 10-15 miles an hour, and as soon as they would 
approach the Violette's Lock rapids, they would fly back several hundred 
yards upstream and the whole process would start over again. Think I saw 
several of the same groups of birds go by on at least four or five 
different occasions over a 20 minute span.  Have never seen anything 
quite like it before. 

I had a first year Great Black-backed Gull and lone male Redhead at 
Violette's Lock, but otherwise many of the same birds you reported.

Good birding!
Jim Moore
Rockville, Maryland
PLEASE REPORT YOUR BIRD SIGHTINGS to http://ebird.org/


Andy Martin wrote:
> I had to use Tschiffly Mill Rd to get down to the Riley's Lock 
> Aqueduct around 12 noon this afternoon. Riley's Lock Rd was flooded 
> out. Very cool looking out on the flooded river. It was like a 
> conveyor belt of waterfowl and gulls with plenty of birds drifting by 
> in the fast currents and also had the fun of watching many fly back up 
> stream.
>