Hi Everybody: 

After work today (3/25) I checked a few of my favorite haunts. I first went to Riley's Lock which was devoid of waterfowl. I then went to Violette's Lock to get a better look at the ONLY 2 ducks I had seen from my previous spot. They were a pair of Lesser Scaup. No other waterfowl; could be that they moved out or could have been pushed out by boats on the river (no boats seen but several boat trailers parked up at Riley's Lock). I saw approx. 45 Cormorants (majority were perched  on log snags etc. just below the rapids at Violette's. All appeared to be Double-crested.

My last stop was Hughes Hollow (via Hunting Quarter Road where I found one Red-shouldered hawk sittinG on a nest in a sycamore tree). At Hughes Hollow I had a small dose of "Dabbler Delight". I counted:

     2 Mallards (a pair)
     3 N. Shovelers (2 male and 1 female)
     2 Gadwall   (a pair)
     8 Wood Ducks
     4 Blue-winged Teal   (3 male and 1 female)

All of the above were in the large impoundment on the left as you walk out along the dike. In the first impoundment on the right there were 2 Amer. Coots and 18 Ring-necked Ducks. 

Among the numerous Tree Swallows flying around I found one ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW (My FOY).

When I was counting the Ring-necked Ducks I noticed that there was an equal amount of males and females. All of my previous visits in the last month or so there were approx. 5 or 6 males seen for every female.

Jim Green
Gaithersburg, MD

Work in moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS!!!