Geography/Habitat:

The Surf Scoter, (Melanitta perspicillata), was first described by Linnaeus in 1758 in the Hudson Bay area of Canada. It breeds in the far North of North America from Alaska and through Northern Canada to Nova Scotia. In Winter it is typically found on the Northern West and East coasts of Canada and the US as far South as Northern California and Northern Florida. It is also a regular if uncommon and sporadic visitor to the Gulf Coast. Numbers are higher on the West Coast.

The Surf Scoters preferred breeding habitat is ponds and lakes usually in coniferous forests and winters in coastal areas especially on rocky coastlines.

Surf scoters often nest alone or in small loose colonies with 6 to 9 eggs being laid in a simple scrape sparsely lined with grass and twigs. The eggs are incubated by the female and hatch in around 28 days. The chicks reach maturity in the 3^rd year. The chicks are brown above and gray below

The preferred food supply is mainly mollusks but will eat small fish insects and aquatic vegetation. In Spring migration Herring eggs are a preferred food. Food is caught primarily below the waterline and surf scoters are accomplished divers.



Identification

The adult male is all black but for a white patch on the back of the neck and forehead. It has a distinctive white iris and a distinctive large yellow white and black bill. The female is similar but much duller with a grayish bill with a vertical white patch behind it and another at the rear of the head by the auricular feathers. The young are similar to the female but have a whitish belly. In flight the totally black wings are notable.

Surf Scoters are typically silent but do squeak and whistle in breeding season. Note the wings sometimes whistle in flight.

Interesting Facts

·      Due to its colored beak the slang name is “skunk headed coot”.

·      Feeding is often a group activity and they usually all dive in unison. This is due to gulls trying to steal their food and the group diving and surfacing limits this piratic activity

·      A group of ducks is known as a brace, a flush, a paddling or a raft.