Surf Scoter

One of the more common winter ducks in Kitsap waters is the Surf Scoter. A sea duck that prefers to stay in open water, Surf Scoter flocks can number anywhere from a few to a few thousand individuals. Here are some fascinating facts about the Surf Scoter:

• Male is unmistakable with its prominent clownlike bill, portions of which are black, white, red, and orange. A white nape, forehead, and eyes contrast vividly against its black body.

• Female is dark brown with a couple of white facial smudges. Juveniles resemble females.

• Breeds alongside freshwater lakes and wetlands across northern Canada and central Alaska at the confluence of the boreal forest and tundra.

• Winters along the inner and outer coastlines of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and portions of the Gulf Coast. Tends to stay near land, often in protected waterways such as bays and inlets.

• Consumes freshwater invertebrates and aquatic plants during the breeding season. In winter, forages on the seafloor for small mollusks, snails, crabs, and worms.

• Capable of diving to depths of 25 meters but usually forages in water no more than 10 meters deep.

• Uses its wings to “fly” underwater, often beginning a dive as a wave breaks near the shore.

• Pair bonds are formed in winter.

• Nests on the ground under vegetation near water. Female shapes a bowl and adds plant material and her own downy feathers to cushion the clutch of 6-9 eggs.

• Female incubates the eggs for about a month.

• Hatchlings leave the nest almost immediately and are able to feed themselves, while staying close to the female who abandons them before they can fly.

• Multiple broods of juveniles may group together in a “creche”.

• A “molt migrant,” meaning that adults lose their flight feathers and become flightless for almost a month, from late July to mid-late August. During this process, they stay in food-rich areas before continuing on to wintering areas farther south. Puget Sound is a known molting area.

• Immature birds may skip the spring migration and spend the summer months in non-breeding waters.

• When taking flight, it has to run along the water’s surface in order to get airborne.

• Wings make a distinctive whistling sound in flight, which can be heard over a distance.