Hello all... Thursday, 16 Sep 99, Bob Abrams and I held a vigil at my grandparents-in-law's house in North Beach, on the Chesapeake. We were able to stay in the lee of the house by staying inside (or sitting on the stoop), remaining dry. More importantly our lenses stayed dry. We arrived at about noon or a little earlier. After finding a tree down in the driveway (that I did not have to saw into pieces) and finding the rest of the house in tact, we began to search the bay for birds. The wind was from the Northeast for much of the day, but at times there was a westerly component to the wind. The bay was choppy. Visibility was poor, about 300-400 yards for much of the day. There was a break where we could across the bay, and the Bay Bridge. However the ceiling was always present. Rain was a heavy mist for much of the morning, then when visibility improved, the rain stopped. The list of birds was not impressive. There were two jaegers seen flying south at about 1:30, and they remain jaeger sp. There were also two black terns seen. The more common birds seen in numbers were about 100 common terns, 12 Forster's Terns, a few Royal Terns, many Great Black-backed Gulls, Herrings, Ringers, and Laughing Gulls were also noted, although the later were only seen on the ground near the hotel at Herrington Harbor. Four swallows flew past. We never got on them. We departed the bay around 5PM. Cheers, Todd Day BlkVulture@aol.com Jeffersonton, VA