Jason Berry reported a female Common Goldeneye on McMillan Reservoir in DC on January 14. Since I had an appointment in DC today, Tuesday, I decided to go over to the reservoir to take a look at just after 11 a.m..
I started at the NW end of the reservoir, near the end of Harvard St. and quickly saw a small diving duck way beyond the close-in Ring-necked Ducks (75-plus), many Mallards, 2 Coot and 1 Ruddy Duck. It was dark with some white on the wing and had a dark triangular head -- Jason's female Goldeneye. I then walked about a third of the way down the reservoir and looked again. This time I saw 5 Lesser Scaup with another diving duck, this one very white on the sides with a triangular head -- a male Common Goldeneye. These ducks were diving actively, staying under water for a long time and returning to the surface only fleetingly.
I didn't have time to tarry and in any case it was raining hard enough at 40 degrees to feel mighty cold. I didn't make it all the way down to the SE corner of the reservoir, where Jason says that ducks often hide from the wind.
So there are at least two Goldeneye at McMillan Reservoir, which these days is proving to be better for DC waterfowl than the recently cleaned and sanitized Georgetown Reservoir.
Jason Berry's advice about where to park, in a recent post of his, should be heeded by anyone who decides to go to McMillan. It's in a very confusing part of Washington, with one-way streets that wiggle this way and that. And the parking enforcement people are all over the place. Drivers in DC should be aware that the city derives significant revenue from parking fines and speed cameras and drive/park accordingly.
Michael Bowen Montgomery Bird Club Bethesda, MD
D.H. Michael Bowen 8609 Ewing Drive Bethesda, MD 20817 Telephone: (301) 530-5764 e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom
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