BOTW 12/25 - 12/29

weird duck time (rerun)

Winter is upon us, which means it’s weird duck time.

This week's bird is the: Surf Scoter

1. What the heck is a scoter? It's a member of a specific family of diving ducks that counts only six species in the whole world! Three live in North America, and three are found in the "Old World." 

2. The Surf Scoter is a complete migrant, meaning all populations travel to the high Arctic to breed during the summer months. Astute subscribers from the Seattle area might ask - 'then what the heck are these "scoters" doing on Puget Sound year round?'

3. Some individuals do not migrate because they are too young to breed, instead they hang out in Puget Sound and coastal sites to avoid expending the energy. This is a strategy seen in some long-lived bird species.

4. Breeding birds of the Arctic are difficult to study and the Surf Scoter is no exception - many aspects of this season are currently unknown to science. For instance, only a few nests have ever been found and described!
   

5. Like many other waterfowl, Surf Scoters lay their 6+ eggs over the period of weeks, but all of the eggs hatch together. This strategy, called synchronous hatching, is likely beneficial because it allows the young birds to develop together and leave the nest early.
   

Have a wonderful week!