The following is posted at the request of Paul Kreiss:

A ruddy duck family: male, female, and three downy young
is now at the Droodle (Druid Hill for non-Bawlmer speakers)
Park reservoir (Baltimore West, Center East in the breeding
bird atlas project).  The ruddy ducks in the reservoir tend
to hang out on the south side, and towards the east end.  The
family was seen close to the eastern-most bed of reeds on the
south side of the reservoir, just west of the round tower
out in the water.  If driving to see them, park on the north
side of the reservoir and walk around the east end.

All were diving; the young sometimes put their tails up,
exposing the white rear.  Males were first seen on the
reservoir on April 23; numbers were as high at 7: mixed males
and females on May 14 during the migration period.  Numbers
stabilized at 2 males by May 25; on June 10, the safe date
for this species, a female showed up. Incubation is 24
days; first flight at 42; the young do not look nearly ready
to fly yet, so the nest was probably started around June 20.
The female was not seen in during three visits in June and
early July, and so was probably on the nest.  The two males
stayed together during this period; today however, one male
was with the young and female, the other was at the north and
west sides of the reservoir.

The summer range for ruddy ducks is west of the Mississippi
and around some of the great lakes; Peterson's 4th ed, which
has the best range maps of the various field guides, has
scattered sightings along the east coast as far down as
Delaware, but his data are 24 years old.  Ruddy ducks are not
listed in Robbins and Blom: Atlas of Breeding Birds of
Maryland, although the handbook for the current breeding bird
atlas says they formerly nested in Dorchester / Wicomico /
Somerset / Worcester counties; so far in the atlas project,
single sexes have been reported for the Church Creek center
east block  in Dorchester, and Pocomoke City center east and
west blocks in Worcester.  Breeding ruddy ducks are therefore
a bit unusual in Maryland.    Unfortunately for the atlas
project, it is unlikely that I will be able to find them in
the other three quarter blocks.


Paul Kreiss
Baltimore, MD