Local native Donald Sweig, Ph.D, who retired in 2002 after nearly 30- years as the County Historian for Fairfax County, is an avid birder, nature photographer, and naturalist. His observations about locally observable birds and other fauna and flora, as well as local history, will appear occasionally in the Connection. He can often be found in Riverbend Park in Great Falls, Va., along the C&O Canal in Montgomery Co., Md., and in other local natural areas, parks, and wildlife refuges.