Hi Lin,
I've made 4 attempts to see it and was successful on 3. Each time it took me a good amount of time to pick it out. The first day was extremely bright and all the birds were backlit; it wasn't until the duck pivoted that I saw the buff forehead and rufous head. At first it looked like a Redhead, but it finally swam in the right light for me to see all the field marks. There were also a ton of birds to choose from. The second trip was not successful (and also terribly bright). On the third try, I found it with a large raft of American Coots on the right side of the cove; there was a separate raft of many American Wigeons but apparently it preferred the coots' company that day. Finally, on Saturday, Heidi Trasatti and I found it after 2 full scans. It wasn't until I individually started clicker-counting every other species of waterfowl that I actually picked it out. I also noticed on all 3 trips that it seems to be the most hyper/frantic of all the ducks. It picks at food in the water constantly, bobbing its head up and down and swimming in a zigzag pattern.
So...go on an overcast day, check in any coot rafts, make sure every Redhead is actually a Redhead, look for a hyper duck, and if all else fails, test your patience and count every single duck. Eventually it's going to jump out at you.
Tim Carney
Baltimore/Anne Arundel
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