The Harlequin Duck was still at its usual place just south of the Key 
Bridge in Baltimore City's Fort Armistead Park this morning, January 12.

Amazingly, it was the first bird I saw, and without even getting out 
of the car, when I reached the park at 9:00 a.m. Just as amazing, the 
bird was nowhere to be seen when I got down to the water's edge, 
having slowly and gingerly negotiated the slippery steps from the 
parking area.  Presumably it had swum around the point with rocks, 
which was where it was headed when I first watched it from the car.

I stayed around for more than 30 minutes, but the Harlequin did not 
show again.  When I returned to the park from the Swan Creek Dredge 
facility just down the road (what a great place, where I had never 
been before!) at 11:00 a.m., the Harlequin was sitting on the water, 
snoozing, with a bunch of other ducks, including Canvasback, Lesser 
Scaup, Bufflehead and Ruddy Duck. All the ducks were just off the 
rocky point of land across the creek entrance from the park.  A very 
nice bonus was a group of 25 American Pipit feeding at the snowy edge 
of the park entrance road as I left.  They were so close I could 
practically touch them out of the car window.

I didn't see another birder anywhere, so it looks like most of the 
rarity chasers have already seen the Harlequin.

Roads in this area were very icy and dangerous when I first arrived 
this morning, but by the time I left they'd been treated and were just slushy.

Swan Creek was not very birdy -- primarily Song and Swamp Sparrows 
and a lone Killdeer -- but just gorgeous in the snow.

Mike Bowen
Montgomery Bird Club

D.H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD  20817
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail:  dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom

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