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The Daily Bucket, Friday Sequence: Surf Scoter Hen Shows Her Girl Power [1]
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Date: 2025-02-14
A flock of Surf Scoters is a frequent sight in winter near the Edmonds, WA, Ferry Terminal. These diving ducks spend the non-breeding season along the Pacific coast (and along much of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts as well), where they fatten up on aquatic invertebrates to gain strength before flying to their distant breeding grounds in the remote boreal forests of Alaska and northern Canada.
Edmonds is northwest of Seattle, where I live. I go birding regularly at the Fishing Pier, which is just south of the ferry dock, and is a great spot for birdwatching. From there, I usually see at least 20 Surf Scoters massed at a distance. Because they’d typically floated far away, I hadn’t seen them as individuals. Recently, however, a drama starring three players occurred closer to the pier — an exchange that made me curious to learn more about these birds.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns spinning around us. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations and photos, if you have them, in the comments below.
Surf Scoters line up near the ferry dock. At a distance, these black birds with white spots and orange bills look elegant. Look closer and your opinion may change.
The Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) has been known by such affectionate terms as “old skunkhead,” “coot” (a misnomer), “blossom head,” “butterboat-billed coot,” and worse.
Blue marks the Edmonds Fishing Pier. The orange peninsula just to the north is the Edmonds Ferry Terminal.
Its actual name, Surf Scoter, is apt. These birds are expert at diving under waves or surfing them. On the Pacific Coast, Surf Scoters eat mostly mussels and clams, for which they dive as deep as 66 feet, before switching to herring eggs or other seasonally abundant prey during spring migration (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife).
Birds depart coastal molting areas from late August through November and move to wintering areas, and Puget Sound is a primary one. Adults are faithful to wintering sites. Pairs form in fall or early winter, when paired males “spend appreciable time defending a moving area around the female from several competing males.” (Birds of the World).
The drama I witnessed was of this type. It began innocently enough.
1. The mated Surf Scoter drake, right, watches as an interloper approaches.
2. The mated drake mounts an attack to drive the interloper away. (His hen is nearly out of the frame, in the lower righthand corner of the photo.) So far so good.
3. The interloper, however, is unmoved. He won’t easily give up the chance to win a mate. Check him out.
4. The Surf Scoter hen, the object of this attention, appears to make an appeal to her mate as the interloper watches with interest. Join the conversation.
5. A half-hearted attempt follows. “You’re supposed to chase him, not me!” Help this guy out.
6. The hen takes over and shows her mate the technique she has in mind. The interloper seems not to notice. Closer.
7. Her mate, confidence renewed, lowers his head and paddles furiously toward the interloper Closer.. . .
8. . . . but keeps going, leaving his mate close to his rival.Call him back.
9. The hen demonstrates her power: “Look fierce and get close to your target.” Her mate watches. Girl power!
10. “Get as close as it takes!” A little nip?
11. The drake tries again as the hen watches. Closer.
12. Stalemate. The lead actors address the audience: “Will this guy never get the message?”
13. You might think this is victory, but the bird taking off is . . . the mated drake! What can I say?
14. He didn’t fly far, and the interloper just swims closer. What will end this threesome?
15. The pair drifts away, and the interloper gives up, for a peaceful ending. All’s well that ends well.
I thought the hen’s feistiness might be an example of how hens protect their nests but learned that Surf Scoter hens don’t fight intruders; they simply leave. So my sense is that this hen was more experienced than her mate, and she was demonstrating what he’s supposed to do to guard her. Either way, she stayed true to her original choice, and demonstrated loyalty, which is a good sign for a pair bond. I wish them the very best.
🐦⬛
Here’s some very cool historical perspective about Surf Scoters. It’s from 1878, by Dr. E.W. Nelson, describing a visit to Steward Island, Alaska: “As I neared the island in my kayak, I found the water literally black with the males of this species, which were united in an enormous flock, forming a continuous band around the outer end of the island for a distance of about 10 miles in length and from one-half to three-quarters of a mile in width.” The approach of his kayak flushed the birds, and “the water was covered with flapping wings, and the air filled with the roar like that of a cataract. The rapid vibrations produced in the air by tens of thousands of wings could be plainly felt … nor shall I soon forget the grand effect produced by this enormous body of birds as they took wing and swept out to sea in a great black cloud and settled again a mile or so away.” (Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl — Ducks, Geese & Swans, Volume Two, by Arthur Cleveland Bent.)
I feel especially privileged to have witnessed this local drama, because in the 21st Century, Surf Scoters are in decline. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, “Wintering numbers of all scoters on Puget Sound total approximately 50,000, and most (80 percent) are surf scoters. The total scoter population index (three-year average) for Puget Sound has declined over 50 percent since 1994 to 1996, and they may have declined as much as 78 percent since 1978 to 1979. ... Increasing development in the Puget Sound has led to more disturbance, pollution, and degradation of foraging areas used by sea ducks. Reduction of marine forage (primarily herring spawn) may be reducing populations in some areas. Some aquaculture practices can impact foraging areas through exclusion of sea ducks.” This bird is considered highly vulnerable to climate change.
To end this Bucket, here are a couple of photos of other Surf Scoters enjoying their lives:
A Surf Scoter hen enjoys an entrée from the offerings on a pillar under the Edmonds Fishing pier, January 2024. See what's available.
A Surf Scoter drake shows his odd finery.
Long live Surf Scoters; honk if you’ve seen one. And here’s to Girl Power!
Snow’s still on the ground in Seattle, but our stretch of lows in the 20s is over, and tomorrow our typical rainy weather returns. I’ll be hosting this Bucket intermittently because it’s the first day of the Great Backyard Bird Count, and the only dry day of the four here in Seattle.
What’s going on in the real world of nature your way? And Happy Valentine’s Day to all.
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