George Clark, Ed Hack and I found a male Ruddy Duck at Lake Runnemede this morning. The bird is not yet in full breeding plumage, but it's striking nonetheless. It was diving among a flock of ~25 Ring-necked Ducks and a pair of Scaup, the female of which we agreed with little doubt was a Lesser. The male was challenging, as its head didn't have nearly the peaked look of the female's, but seemed more distinctly crowned (i.e., not as low and flat-topped) as we thought a Greater's should be. If anyone else gets down there and sees these birds, we'd like to hear other opinions! An Osprey was the only other bird of real note at Runnemede. On the way back north, I swung by Lake Pinneo, which is now completely ice-free. There were 30 Hoodeds, 40 Commons Mergansers, 3 Ring-necked Ducks, and a single adult Ring-billed Gull. At Deweys Pond (~70% ice-free), 3 Am. Black Ducks, 5 Wood Ducks, 2 Blue-winged Teal, 5 Green-winged Teal, 3 Ring-necked Ducks. Two sapsuckers drumming at home in Norwich this morning. Chris -- Chris Rimmer Vermont Center for Ecostudies P.O. Box 420 Norwich, VT 05055 802-649-8281 ext. 1 www.vtecostudies.org