I toured the Tidal Basin and the mall today, and found only a single 'migrant', an Acadian Flycatcher in the Enid Haupt Garden behind the Castle.  While the migrants may be gone, the local birds are bringing out their first fledglings:  House sparrows, starlings, Canada geese and mallards go without saying, but also mockingbirds, robins, grackles, Red-winged blackbirds, Mourning doves, Barn swallows and Northern Rough-winged swallows all had progeny about today.
   In the Tidal Basin, I also saw a pair of long-nosed gar in spawning mode (the smaller male staying closely by the larger females side).  I some some splashing in the water, which may have been the gar as well.  I was actually looking for spawning river herring (this is the season for blueback herring spawning), but I saw none.  River herring have recently become scarce in the Chesapeake, some say because of increased predation by rockfish.  But I digress piscatorially...

Jim

Jim Felley
Smithsonian Institution