Not ideal lighting on some of these shots, but still great to see three relatively uncommon (for Presque Isle State Park) species of sea duck, on three different, recent days in the channel between North Pier and South Pier. (See yesterday’s post for more duck activity at this location.) First up, a beautiful male White-winged Scoter:
The Scoter, of course, has the knobby bill and distinctive white “comma” mark by the eye; @ lower right in picture above, & far left in following picture. The other ducks are mostly Lesser Scaup and Red-breasted Merganser. (The Scoter was in one of the shots yesterday of the landing Lesser Scaup.)
This is a BirdingPI.com “first time ever” for seeing a White-winged Scoter close to shore. More commonly seen flying far in the distance over outer Lake Erie.
Next up, same location, different day, great to see a female Surf Scoter, first floating, then flying. Distinctive field markings: two white patches on the face, one by the bill and one behind the eye, + chunky bill. (Always pays to pay attention for any duck with two white markings on the face, e.g., another possible species is the rarely seen Harlequin Duck (female), which would have a more elegant/curved bill + rear white marking less ‘smudgy.’)
Finally, same location on yet another day, a super cute Long-tailed Duck (immature/non-breeding plumage):
Wishing everyone a nice weekend! Forecast in Erie County, Pennsylvania: cold, snow.
As always, our Team Leader got the perfect shots.
This team member missed out, again!
“Duck scanning,” meaning peering at large groups of ducks for outliers, is a great way (maybe the only way) to sometimes find things like Scoters and other sea ducks at Presque Isle. However, it can be very unpleasant in cold weather, esp. with the windchill at North Pier or South Pier (both open spots w/ lots of wind). Better option, vs. using a camera which requires at least partially uncovered hands, would be bins or spotting scope. Another good way to look for outliers is single ducks floating by themselves.