Yesterday afternoon at around 4 pm, I headed down the Virginia side of the
river hoping to intercept the Sooty Terns that had just been found in DC and
Prince Georges County. I stopped at Roaches Run (after 4:30 pm), Daingerfield
Island, the mouth of Hunting Creek, and Bellehaven Picnic area. No
out-of-the-ordinary birds at any stop, not even a Common or a Black Tern.
However, the velocity and volume of muddy water churning out of Hunting Creek
and into the Potomac was astonishing, and saddening.
On my way home I stopped at Gravelley Point and ran into some Virginia birders.
We saw Gary Allport at Hains Point, but no unusual storm birds. By this time
the sky was clearing and the sun was shining. One or two Lesser Yellowlegs
flew around the northern periphery of National Airport.
Best,
Rob Hilton
Silver Spring, Maryland