Yesterday morning I took a walk with ML up to the park. It was cold and blustery. I had my binocs with me to monitor any bird activity. The birds were quiet as we walked along the road into the park. As we approached the lake, though, I spotted a pair of ducks in the water, right above the dam. We got up closer and ID’d them as a male and female Hooded Merganser. Such striking birds! They swam steadily against the current, away from the dam, and then suddenly the female took wing, the male immediately following. Later as we walked back along the road, we looked down into the river and saw a solitary male merganser. Bonus duck! Below is a shot of a male Hooded Merganser from the Flickr page of TT_MAC, a Canadian couple who also have some other cool nature photos on their page.
s. d. stewart 
Spite Sprite
/ March 1, 2009crazy looking duck. I saved a Muscovy duck one time…man those things are ugly. Nice to know there are crazy looking ducks out there that aren’t as terrifying looking.
KaliDurga
/ March 1, 2009Gorgeous. I’d love to know which park you were at. I’ve never seen anything quite that exotic in this area.
KaliDurga
/ March 2, 2009Oh, how awesome. I googled it and the trails sound terrific. Thank you. It’s great to have another place closer than Soldier’s Delight or Gunpowder Falls to squeeze in a hike when I’m up around B’more. The various areas of Patapsco are always good, too, but sometimes a bit… overly popular. How crowded does R.E.Lee get on weekends?
KaliDurga
/ March 4, 2009I haven’t been to Gunpowder over that way. I usually head up 83 to the section in Hereford County, so I’ll have to check out the Bel Air area one of these days.