The URL for the duck site wasn't quite right -- seems to be case-sensitive.
The correct link is:

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/BRKDucks.html

Ken Board

On 11/20/06, Bob Ringler <> wrote:
>
> Evelyn,
>    Your dark duck may be a Duclair Duck, a common breed of Mallard that is
> darker than the Swedish Blue which looks similar. It is frequently found
> where domestic Mallards hang out. There were two today on Centennial Lake.
> For more than you ever wanted to know about Mallard breeds check out:
> www.feathersite.com/poultry/ducks/brkducks.html
> --
> Bob Ringler
> Eldersburg MD
> 
>
> ---- Evelyn Ralston <> wrote:
> > My friend Jennifer Kawar and I were at Hains Point DC, today 10-11:30
> > am. The Brant was on the grass beyond the sculpture, together with
> > several gulls.
> >
> > A number of ducks and gulls came to the edge of the water, on the
> > Washington channel, to be fed by a woman and her young daughter. The
> > ducks were Mallards, males and females, except (?) for one very dark
> > duck, with a white patch on the breast, which we could not identify.
> > A melanistic Mallard? I have posted a photo of the Brant and photos
> > of this duck at http://www.pbase.com/erforthebirds
> > (click on the brant thumbnail to open the gallery). I look forward to
> > help with its identification.
> >
> > In the high grasses and small trees between the restrooms and the
> > golf course there were numerous birds including house finches, a
> > junco, a fox sparrow, a mockingbird, a red-bellied woodpecker. A bald
> > eagle stopped briefly on one of the large trees.
> >
> >
> > Evelyn Ralston
> > Bethesda, Md
> > 
>