On 30 MAY I observed a Common Merganser chick on the Potomac River at
Violette's Lock, Montgomery Co MD. It was standing on a stony beach midriver, then
ran into the water and rode rapidly downriver until it disappeared between the
islets 1/4 mile downstream from the head of the rapids. It was moving too
quickly to photograph through the scope. It was all alone, no adults or ducklings
nearby.

The duckling was in downy plumage. The crown and nape were bright rusty
cinnamon.The cheeks, throat, foreneck, breast and belly were bright white. There
was a sharp division just below the eye between the white of the cheeks and
throat against the cinnamon of the crown and hindneck. There was a small stripe of
white between the eye and bill, with a dark stripe below that. The body was
grayish-brown, with large white patches on the stubby wings, and white flank
patches behind the wings. The bill was slender as in mergansers, but not as long
as in adults.

I believe this description eliminates Hooded Merganser. I don't think it
eliminates Red-breasted merganser. I am GUESSING that Common Merganser is more
likely, based on the circumstances and location.

Common Mergansers frequently hang out in these rapids into mid-May. I have
seen single female Common mergansers flying into and out of the trees along the
river banks several times in May. When I see Red-breasted Mergansers here in
May, they are in flocks, feeding in the widewater above the rapids. I would
speculate that perhaps a Common Merganser laid an egg in a Wood Duck or Mallard
nest. I think I remember reading that this can happen, but have not found a
reference. Incubation takes 28 days. There were Common Mergs around a month ago.
Common Mergansers nest either on the ground or in trees.

The area where I saw the chick can be viewed by walking upriver 100 meters
from the lock, and taking any of several paths down the bank. Walking downriver
0.5-1.0 miles provides much better vantage points where you can see all the
way across the river. There are dozens of rocky islets. The channel the chick
was swimming in is one that is popular with kayaks and canoes, so perhaps
somebody boating will see it.

Dave Czaplak