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Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata)


Image by Holy Outlaw
Whidbey Island Ferry Dock
Whidbey Island, WA
October 2010

This was the first time I’d seen surf scoters that I can remember. I thought they were coots at first, but another student on our field trip identified them. In fact, one of their common names is "skunk-headed coot," because of the bright colors on the male’s head. (All About Birds)

They spend winters on shallow marine bays and inlets, where they feed on animals that live on the rocky bottom, or they take mussels off man-made structures, as these fellows were probably doing. Pairs form in the winter. When they return to the breeding ground, the female lays her eggs and the males take off. The chicks are self-feeding from the start, although the mother leads them to good food sources. The mother leaves before the chicks can fly, at which point multiple broods join together to form creches. (BirdWeb)

Surf scoters, like many seabirds, fly very close to the water surface. This actually helps the bird fly. As the wingtips approach the water, the tip vortex (a "little swirling donut of air") actually sticks to the water. (Wings in the Wild)

it was all about me


Image by illusionwaltz
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