Greetings, 
 
I noted on the Virginia listserv two reports of Common Mergansers on the  
Potomac River seen from Riverbend Park in Fairfax County.  Mike Bowen saw  two 
hens and a drake there 6 May, and Phil Kenny and Andy Rabin mentioned seeing  
some there on 7 May.  This is just upstream from Great Falls.
 
In 2004, Dave Czaplak saw a flightless young Common Merganser a couple  miles 
upstream of this from Violette's Lock 30 May.  Christie Huffman  followed 
this report up 8 Jun with a sighting of a hen with six young from  Riverbend.  
This was believed to be the fifth time this species was  confrimed breeding in 
the Maryland/Virginia region.  Anyone that  frequents this stretch of the 
Potomac might be able to luck into  seeing one of these ducks fly into a cavity on 
either shore, or one of the  islands.  They'll use either a cavity in a tree, 
or where a limb has  snapped off leaving a cavity, and even a big enough nest 
box.  Something to  keep an eye on over there.  If anyone does find a nest, 
there's quite a few  people that would be interested in documenting it either in 
various journals or  the atlas effort in Maryland, so please do pass the 
sighting along to one of  those folks. 
 
Cheers, 
 
Todd
 
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Todd Michael  Day
Jeffersonton, Virginia,  USA

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