Less Common Ducks: Surf Scoter

The majority of ducks that I have seen at this spot on the Bay are Buffleheads and Greater Scaups. Scaup numbers have been in general decline since the 1970's and Greater Scaups make up only about ten percent of the populations of Lesser/Greater Scaup population so, although they are the ducks I commonly see, they may not be all that common in other places. Birds tend to return to the same places they migrated to in previous years.

I always keep my eye out (left eye, mostly) for ducks that stand out because they don't look like everything else. So, when I saw this very black looking duck with a very orange looking bill headed in my direction, it got my attention. You can see how those two features stand out even from a long distance.  Remember, this is taken with a 400 mm telephoto, so the picture is already about equivalent to looking through a pair of decent binoculars.

It turned out to be a Surf Scoter, one of three scoter species that often travel in mixed flocks. The bill is highly ornate, especially on the male, making the species easy to identify.  They specialize in eating shellfish and their bill is shaped to make this easy. I like the look of the water in these two photos. The water was reflecting a dock in the background, but it looks like someone poured out paint on the surface and took a stick and swirled it around.

This image shows most of the identifying features: the white eye, the white patches on the forehead and nape of the neck, and the round, black patch on the side of the bill.  The black on the top of the bill is actually feathers that extend down that far. They also have lamellae along the sides of their bill that allow water to escape while trapping food debris.  Think of the balleen on whales which allows the water to escape while the krill is captured.

Here is a flock of Surf Scoters I saw last year that flew by at a distance.  Even at this distance you can see some of the identifying markers. That was the only time I saw them last year.

Scoters are a diving duck. Some diving ducks use only their feet while diving. When you watch a Bufflehead or Scaup dive, they keep their wings closed, indicating that they are among the ducks that only use their feet to propel their dive. While I was watching and waiting for the Scoter to move closer, I caught it in a dive where you can clearly see the wings are open as it dives. They are among the diving ducks that use both their feet and their wings for underwater propulsion. It stayed underwater so long, I thought it had drowned down there. Some birds, like the cormorant, can hold their breath an incredibly long time.