LOUISIANA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE

REPORT FORM

1. English and Scientific names: White-winged Scoter, Melanitta fusca

2. Number of individuals, sexes, ages, general plumage (e.g., 2 in alternate plumage): Conservative count of 2, although I had one several hundred yards out while I was observing these birds—could it have traversed that much distance and back in a few minutes? Also, looking at photos, some suggest that perhaps three birds are present based on head markings; that may be a case of lighting and angle. I never observed more than 2 simultaneously.

3. Locality: Parish: Cameron

Specific Locality: About ¼ mile W of beach terminus of Erbelding Road, Johnsons Bayou

4. Date(s) when observed: 2/15/14

5. Time(s) of day when observed: early morning, from about 8:05 to perhaps 8:30.

6. Reporting observer and address: Paul Conover, Lafayette LA 70506

7. Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird(s):

8. Other observers who independently identified the bird(s):

9. Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light): Not bad, morning light before heat waves.

10. Optical equipment (type, power, condition): Zeiss 10s, Nikon Fieldscope 20-60X, various cameras.

11. Distance to bird(s): on different days, different distances. Hard to say. Maybe 50 yards out at first, then drifted out a little.

12. Duration of observation: altogether viewing time perhaps 10 minutes, lots of wave watching.

13. Habitat: Gulf beach shore

14. Behavior of bird / circumstances of observation (flying, feeding, resting; include and stress habits used in identification; relate events surrounding observation): Sleeping then diving

15. Description: Large dark brown ducks with pronounced white patches in the folded secondaries. Appeared much larger and with more relative mass than nearby (but not directly adjacent) Lesser Scaup. Bill long and large, appeared all dark, with a hump in mid-culmen, thus somewhat Roman-nosed. In most angles birds appeared all dark, but at least one had paler brownish sides. One had distinct whitish face patches somewhat like female Surf Scoter, but with a broadening whitish quadrilateral behind eye, and triangular loral patch. The other bird, the paler of the two from what I could see, had more muted versions of these patches, more diffuse, less defined. White wing patches appeared very prominently as a large white diamond on birds when sleeping, and as a long white slash on the rear half of the birds when they were swimming. Underwings at least on primaries appeared pale, grayish or whitish, when the birds partially spread their wings to dive. Those dives began with a raided head, then with craned neck and with bird slightly opening wings, plunging forward and downward, and giving a strong kick that sent the bird beneath the waves and a small burp of water splashing up in the opposite direction.

I was busy trying to document bobbing birds with a cell phone camera and a spotting scope, on an Atlas survey to boot, so I didn’t get much time or opportunity to study them as much as I would have liked. The fact that the birds were either asleep or busy diving during the observation also trimmed my observation.

16. Voice:

17. Similar species: Smaller ducks with white wing patches like Gadwall eliminated by overall color, bill shape and size. Scoter shape and size leaves only Surf Scoter, which was eliminated by the white secondary patches.

18. Photographs or tape recordings obtained? Adequate video, from which stills were made.

19. Previous experience with this species: Becoming more acquainted over the past several years as these birds have recently experience an uptick in numbers here.

21. This description is written from: memory, photos, recorded notes.

22. Are you positive of your identification if not, explain: Yes

23. Date: 2/18/2014