I started out at Constitution Gardens, and immediately I saw an adult bald eagle circling the Washington Monument. The lake at the gardens held basically the same group of waterbirds as the last time I visited: American wigeons, ring-necked ducks, lesser scaup, American coots, and superb redheads. A new waterbird species for this week was pied-billed grebe. The number of common grackles on the Mall has been building, and today I saw my first red-winged blackbird of the year. A few song sparrows and many robins worked the grassy areas around the lake.
From there I walked over to the DC WWI Memorial. As usual, the area around the memorial was quiet, but the azalea bushes held a trio of fox sparrows. All three let me approach closely for better looks at their rich rufous plumage.The Tidal Basin and river held numerous double-crested cormorants. Cormorants are clearly making a push northward, but I am not sure that their numbers have peaked yet. Lesser scaup are also on the move. There were several large flocks on the Tidal Basin, river, and Washington Channel. Red-breasted mergansers are also passing through. A sure sign of spring is the return of the railroad bridge ospreys. One was arranging the nest on top of the trestle, and a second was perched on the piling below.
As I made my way south to the point, strong winds made it difficult to see what might be on the river. So I stayed close to the golf course fence instead. As a result, I got a decent look at a swamp sparrow. Near the point I deviated from my original plan and approached the river walk again. As a result of that chance decision, I saw two American pipits on the concrete path. This was a chance sighting in a second way as well; since the first bird I saw on the path was a song sparrow, I assumed the others would be as well, but took a second look anyway. (It is always a good idea to take a second look!) It was only then that I noticed the thrush-like posture, ungainly strut, and bobbing tail that are characteristic of American pipits. This was an exciting sighting since I have only seen pipits once before. There was a third pipit on the other side of the point. At the tip of Hains Point, I spotted three Bonaparte's gulls among the fleet of ring-billed gulls.
On the way from Hains Point, I encountered yet another odd LBJ. After checking through the various field marks - notched tail with white outer feathers, white eye ring, white supercilium with hatching, striped breast, etc. - I determined that the bird was a vesper sparrow. Like today's fox sparrows, this vesper sparrow was very cooperative and stayed in the grass about five feet away while I examined it in detail. It is not every day that one gets such a good look at an unusual bird.Before calling it a day, I stopped by the Indian Museum to check the wetland display. Oddly enough, that was where I saw my first white-throated sparrows of the day. I am not sure how I went almost a whole day without seeing them. A final treat was a Cooper's hawk circling the Capitol's reflecting pool.
SPECIES SEEN: 41
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Mallard
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
American Herring Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
European Starling
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Vesper Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Roll mouse over images for attribution and species name.