Ring Necked Duck at Quiet Waters.

I did the usual sunrise at Sandy Point, which was good enough, but cold and windy.

A quick stop at Jonas Green Park produced nothing, so I went to Quiet Waters, which had a nice variety of birds, including an FOS and first ever Ring Neck in that location.

Thomas Point was completely barren of water fowl, except for a few distant Tundra Swans.

Sandy Point 140

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

Bay Bridge 119

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (HD).

Hooded Merganser 148

Hooded Merganser 146 Ring Necked Duck 3 Hooded Merganser 145

Ring Necked Duck 1

It’s good to see Hooded Mergansers coming back to the area.

Belted Kingfisher 128

Belted Kingfisher 127

Belted Kingfisher 126

This Belted Kingfisher continues to tease me.

Bald Eagle 443

It’s tough to get a good Bald Eagle shot at Quiet Waters.

Mallard 184

Mallards are almost always present in my favorite cove.

Ring Necked Duck 2

Cornell: “The male Ring-necked Duck is a sharply marked bird of gleaming black, gray, and white. Females are rich brown with a delicate face pattern. At distance, look for this species’ distinctive, peaked head to help you identify it. Even though this species dives for its food, you can find it in shallow wetlands such as beaver swamps, ponds, and bays. Of all the diving duck species, the Ring-necked Duck is most likely to drop into small ponds during migration.”