Vienna Reservoir is not a reservoir but a small retention pond bordered on all sides by busy roads and urban sprawl. The pond doesn't look like much, but it has attracted a host of unique birds hard to find elsewhere nearby. To bird this location, simply follow the flat paved path that circumnavigates it. Vienna Reservoir is surrounded on the edges by dense brushy vegetation that attracts both Yellow- and Black-crowned Night-Herons which like to roost in the brush during the day and feed at night. These two turn up at the pond at different times; Black-crowned usually in early spring and winter, and Yellow-crowned most commonly in late summer but also sometimes spring. They are most likely in post- and pre-nesting dispersal, respectively. The brushy edges also attract several pairs of nesting Green Herons. The north end of the pond is shallow and has small mudflats which have attracted waders and shorebirds. Snowy Egret, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, and Wilson's Snipe have all been recorded. Most notably, a pair of juvenile White Ibises spent about a month at the pond in 2020. The south end is wider and deeper and attracts waterfowl in season. A flock of about 10 Hooded Mergansers always winters here, sometimes joined by Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, Wood Duck, and Pied Billed Grebe.
Accessibility: Parking is difficult here. The best way is to park at Marshall Road Elementary School and walk across Nutley Street.
eBird Hotspot: Vienna Reservoir
—Amiel Hopkins, April 2021