I had a couple of out-of-season/rare birds this morning (6/3) at Hains
Pt. in DC.  The first was a basic plumaged Common Loon in the Washington
Channel.  When I saw the bird I was immediately reminded of the Pacific
Loon that Rob Hilton found here on Memorial Weekend a number of years
ago.  Try as I might, I couldn't turn today's bird into a Pacific.

While standing at the point and watching the river, I picked up on a
tern flying up the Potomac, heading towards me.  It wasn't until it
continued up the Anacostia that i was able to get a good side view and
determine that it was a Royal Tern.  It was not a full breeding adult,
which makes me think it was a second summer bird or perhaps an adult
that hadn't gone through it's pre-alternate molt.  It was a large tern
(clearly Royal or Caspian), with narrower wings than a Caspian, and
black on the upper surface of the outermost primaries.  The tail seemed
to be in molt as it was king of messy looking.  It had a little white in
the forehead and black cap.  The bill was a strong orange-red (perhaps a
little redder than I think for Royal, but not as heavy as a Caspian's).

I also saw an adult male scaup on the Potomac, directly opposite the
point and close to the National Airport shoreline.  I believe I saw this
exact same bird about a month ago.  Both times I struggled with the ID. 
The first time I called it a Lesser because it's the default scaup on
the Potomac and I thought I could see a little bump in the back of the
head.  But today I'm calling it a Greater after seeing it flap its wings
on three separate occasions and seeing what looked like a strong white
bar going out through upper surface of the primaries.  I'd appreciate
confirmation one way or the other from anyone else who has seen this
bird.

As for local breeders, I heard 1 Great Crested Flycatcher, 2 Eastern
Kingbirds, 1 Warbling Vireo, 2 Baltimore Orioles, and 1 Orchard Oriole. 
Perhaps not too bad, though I would have expected at least 1 or 2 more
Warbling Vireos.  The big miss was Yellow Warbler - I'm not sure where
they are.

As for cuckoos, I saw/heard 3 birds yesterday a Kenilworth Aquatic
Gardens and 1 this morning near the tip of Hains.  They were my first
for the year, but I've been out of town the last half of May.  I mention
it since others have commented that numbers seemed down.  Perhaps
they're just a little late.

Good birding,
Paul Pisano
Arlington, VA


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