This male surf scoter has been seen on a regular basis hanging out with lesser
scaup ducks in a salt water pond on Gasparilla Island. Surf scoters are a sea
duck which breeds in boreal forests and the arctic tundra near freshwater
lakes, but spends the winters mainly along the east and west coasts of N
America. They are rarely seen in Charlotte County, FL, so this male is causing
some excitement among the local birders. The bizarre bill is much more colorful
in the male and its strange shape seems designed to assist in eating hard
shelled prey such as mussels, clams and crustaceans. As their name indicates,
surf scoters often dive for food in the zone of crashing waves along the shore.
Bill Dunson
276-233-6364 cell text
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Surf scoter male Gasparilla Isl 2.10.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1326.JPG
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