Dave Boltz and I stopped by Hunting Creek in Fairfax County this morning just
as the low tide period was ending. We did see some birds still hanging around,
though they were fairly far away. The best bird was a Royal Tern sitting out
with some Caspian and Forster's Terns. We were able to compare the Royal Tern
to the Caspians which were sharing the same sand bar. The top of the Royal's
head was completely white and there was a noticeable gap between the black band
on the head and the large orange bill. The Royal appeared to be a bit smaller
than the Caspians. There were also three Semi-palmated Plovers, a couple of
Pectoral Sandpipers, many Semi-palmated Sandpipers and both Yellowlegs species.
Five Bald Eagles and an Osprey with a large goldfish were also there.
Larry Meade
Vienna, VA
