During the last two months I have come to the realization that I am not an expert about birds. I always knew this I guess, but it has become crystal clear that I have a lot to learn. When around more seasoned birders I begin to question my knowledge as a birder. Pretty basic stuff too. I start wondering...am I pronouncing the name of that bird correctly? Then you find yourself doing that thing where you start to say something but kind of trail off when you get to the part you’re unsure of, and you hope they don’t notice this pathetic attempt to hide a silly insecurity. Yeah I do this with the White-winged Scoter. Is it pronounced Sc-o-ter or Sc-oo-ter? I don’t know man!
The White-winged Scoter is a cold weather duck, primarily residing in western Canada during the summer breeding season. The male is a black bird with a comma shaped white patch near the eye. They have a black, red, and orange bill that has a strange looking hump near the base. A white wing patch is barely visible.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the White-winged Scoter will often nest amongst colonies of breeding gulls. The article goes on to say that “although the gulls would happily eat the eggs and chicks of the scoter, the dense vegetation where the scoter nests keeps them safe.” This provides further proof that gulls are pretty sick birds. Thank the lord for dense vegetation.
The coolest thing that I learned about the White-winged Scoter is that it appears to be making a resurgence in the Great Lakes. Wintering populations decreased during the 1970’s. Why are we seeing more Scoters in the Great Lakes now? Zebra mussels. Yep...the same things that cause havoc for boaters, and can slice up a water shoeless foot, are the very reason why White-winged Scoter’s are showing up in greater numbers on the Great Lakes. Scoters feed primarily on mollusks. The abundance of zebra mussels in the lakes means that wintering Scoters have more than enough to eat. Pretty cool cause and effect story.
The reason I chose to highlight the White-winged Scoter this week is because Elissa and I are heading up to Muskegon, Michigan to see if we can see one along with the other two Scoter species. I would also like to see a Long-tailed Duck as well. We were planning on going to Port Huron for these birds, but after reviewing some information on eBird I decided we would have a better chance of getting them in Muskegon. During our trip up north we will be visiting the Muskegon Wastewater Treatment area. Water treatment facilities are common stops for birders. If you can get past the odor, the Muskegon Wastewater facility is regarded as one of the best birding locations in all of Michigan. Hopefully it will help me add to the big list!
Bird Count: 141
Recent Notables: Eastern Towhee, Horned Grebe, Snowy Owl, Common Loon, and Wild Turkey
Information in this post was gleaned from:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. White-winged Scoter (website). Retrieved from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Scoter/lifehistory.
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