Waterfowl diversity in the District of Columbia is on the downswing.
Today, February 18, I failed to find any Snow Geese (or anything more
exotic) with various groups of Canada Geese in D.C.
The ponds on the DC side of Chain Bridge, just upstream, had a single
female COMMON MERGANSER. This may well be the very white bird reported to
VA-Bird by a Virginia commuter in a moving vehicle earlier this week.
Georgetown Reservoir had 7 CANVASBACK (I saw the same birds there on
February 8, and they probably have been there even longer), 3 LESSER SCAUP,
1 AMERICAN COOT and very little else. Even the gulls (Herring and
Ring-billed) were in small numbers. The flock of Ring-necked Ducks that
spent most of the winter in the reservoir might have moved on -- I didn't
find a single Ring-neck.
In the Washington Channel and Potomac River flanking Hains Point the
sizeable (200+?) flock of LESSER SCAUP remains, though it seems to be
breaking up into numerous scattered, smaller groups. One of the close-in
groups held at least 2 drake GREATER SCAUP. The Channel also held a
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT and a PIED-BILLED GREBE.
Good birding.
Mike Bowen
Bethesda, MD
D. H. Michael Bowen (Mike)
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda MD 20817-3845
Tel/Fax: (301) 530-5764
e-mail: dhmbowen@xxxxxxxxx
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