I too have had Robins singing all through the night in DC mid-spring, but I'm in a pretty well lit part of town.  I did notice it more if I was getting up early, early pre-dawn to go birding on the Eastern Shore!  Since it was mid-spring, it wasn't always warm enough out to keep the windows open all night, so I can't claim any kind of records for numbers of nights or hours.

And, not necessarily nocturnal singers, but a few years back while Atlasing for owls in Rock Creek Park in the spring, I did scare a Blue Heron out of the creek by the zoo in the late evening, several hours after sunset.  I wasn't aware that they hunted at night.  I would have expected the Night Herons there, but not the Blue.

Denise Ryan
Washington, Dc

-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Carrol Cowan
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 5:39 PM
To: 
Subject: [MDOSPREY] night singers


A couple summers ago there was a Robin singing in my neighborhood (sort-of Georgetown) in the middle of the night.  I don't recall whether this went on for nights or weeks, but it wasn't just a single occassion.

My theory is that I was staying up too late, and the territorial male was hearing the 1:00 bird on my clock.  The real bird would sing at 3:00 - or in between - as well.

And there were a couple occassions when I discovered there were Crows roosting on the roof, when the lighting was just right and they would take off barking vociferously when the other clock's midnight Great Horned Owl called.  

The downtown Starlings seem to be active all night long.
--
Carrol Cowan 
Washington DC 
arielamcATatt.net