Good evening all,

This morning around 8:30AM, I happily relocated Frank Marenghi's
female HARLEQUIN DUCK in the company of three Greater Scaup, a few
American Coot and some Bufflehead.  She appears to prefer the company
of the Scaup best.

In the afternoon, I attempted to photograph the bird, with hopes that
I'd find her closer to the publicly-accessible Horn Point Park at the
end of Chesapeake Avenue.  While I was there, I met up with Skippy the
dog and that famous birder who cares for, feeds and walks him, Bob
Ringler.  Unfortunately, the Harlequin Duck was no where to be found.
With any luck the bird appeared for Bob, but I had to run some errands
so I was unable to stay long.

Much later this evening, I thought I'd try one more time to get some
better images (other than the ID photos I took earlier using the
'iPhone pressed on the spotting scope' technique).  Again, the
Harlequin Duck was no where to be found.  Frank and his girlfriend
Amanda were out looking as well.  They walked South to check out the
shoreline around the Annapolis Maritime Museum (at the end of 2nd St),
while my scan of the Naval Academy sea wall to the North turned up
nothing.  And so I ventured out to a private marina on the Southern
end of Eastport, the Horn Point Marina, which has the only views of
the Eastern tip of the peninsula.

At 5:30 tonight, I relocated the Harlequin (with her scaup friends)
feeding under the piers at the tip of Horn Point.  Frank and Amanda
arrived to have a look at her.  Minutes later she paddled around
towards Annapolis proper, where birders at Horn Point Park (who I
called) soon enjoyed her paddling into view.  As darkness fell, she
was tooling out into the mouth of the Severn River with some
Bufflehead and... you guessed it... her Scaup escorts.

And here now we hit on the hot topic of 'Public Access'. Luckily there
are now TWO Harlequin Ducks to chose from in Anne Arundel. Did I
mention that there are no access issues with Ft. Armistead.  ; )

But if you'd really rather see a female Harlequin, the good news is
that I have gotten 'birder permission' from the kind folks who keep
their boats in and live at the Horn Point Marina (off Eastern Avenue,
between 1st and 2nd) to scope for the bird. From their long, roomy
(PRIVATE) pier, the view is impressive.

A few 'do nots' to contend with here.

-DO NOT PARK IN HORN POINT MARINA.  That said there is plenty of
street parking in Eastport (unless it is the 4th of July or the Blue
Angels are in town).
-Be courteous.  Do not get in the way of the residents, or those who
live or work on the boats.
-Feel free to use my name, and if people ask... do tell them all about
this bird.
-As always, be on your best behavior.   : )

I should mention that the best /closest viewing is from the
publicly-accessible Horn Point Park... so perhaps start your search
there.  But since this bird spent most of the day at the very tip of
the Eastport peninsula, the only way to see that area is from the Horn
Point Marina.

Thanks again to Frank for finding and reporting this great Annapolis bird!

Good luck,

Dan Haas
West Annapolis, MD
nervousbirdsatgmail.com