I located the bird very quickly and observed it from 6:40 to 7 PM. It
was hanging out near the north end of lake (the Joe's Crab Shack end).
For anybody who has never been to Rio, there's plenty of parking and a
boardwalk/path around the entire lake.
Andy Martin
Gaithersburg
Paul O'Brien wrote:
>Karen Stewart called me around 3 PM to say that she and Lydia Schindler had
>followed up a report to the Voice of the Naturalist that there was a
>Black-bellied Whistling-Duck seen yesterday in the large pond at Rio, aka the
>Washingtonian Center. They found the bird, as did I later, hanging out with feral
>Canada Geese and Mallards. The bird is somewhat wary if you approach it, has no
>bands on the legs and is possessed of hind toes on both feet. Captive birds
>often either have bands or have the hind toes clipped. The origin is
>uncertain, but 20 were found at Altamaha WMA in Georgia on 5/28, with the number
>increasing to 38 on 6/4. On 6/1 four were found in Bucks County, PA and were
>still there yesterday. The location is just north of Philadelphia and is a few
>miles from the place where a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was found on 6/4. The
>winds swung around to the south over the weekend and could have facilitated a
>movement of both the Flycatcher and the Whistling-Ducks.
>
>The Washingtonian Center is just west of I270 in Gaithersburg where it is
>joined by I370. The mixed use property is bounded by I270, Sam Eig Highway and
>Fields Road. The pond is located in the midst of the commercial zone along
>Washingtonian Blvd.
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