White-winged Scoters
Columnist Bruce Glick summarizes happenings in the local birding world. This week Bruce reports on the recent appearance of White-winged Scoters along Lake Erie. Read more about it in the "Gone Birding" column.
Although I have seen these large but unusual ducks at times over the years, the recent appearance of many White-winged Scoters in Ohio and Indiana prompted me to do some reading about them.
Usually I rely only on my books but this time I also looked on-line to see what I could find. I shouldn't have been surprised to find all kinds of references, including an interesting one posted by the Seattle Audubon Society. I still prefer books but times are definitely changing.
I have always thought of all three species of scoters as "sea ducks". There is good reason for that since scoters do spend most of the non-breeding part of the year along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. As is the case for so many water birds, they breed in the far north.
The White-winged Scoter is more likely than the related Black Scoters and Surf Scoters to be found inland. Spring and fall migration and winter are the most likely times to encounter them in Ohio and Indiana, especially along Lake Erie and Lake Michigan, but also on inland lakes and reservoirs.
Last week more than 80 White-winged Scoters were counted along the Lake Michigan shore in Indiana. The same day Jen Brumfield posted that she saw 52 at one location on Lake Erie in the Cleveland area. At the same time, we found at least eight of them here in Goshen, Indiana. They were on open patches of water in the Elkhart River, right in town. Along with them were small numbers of Common, Red-breasted, and Hooded Mergansers, as well as 20 Common Goldeneye. With all ponds and lakes solidly frozen, the faster moving sections of local rivers are the open water to be found.
White-winged Scoters nest on inland lakes and wetlands across western Canada and Alaska. This is entirely different habitat than the oceans where they live most of the year. Bruce Peterjohn writes in Birds of Ohio that White-winged Scoters used to be the most common scoter seen in Ohio but over the last 40 years they have declined in numbers while Surf and Black Scoters have increased. Peterjohn reports the largest winter group of White-wingeds as 25 in February along Lake Erie. This makes the recent appearance of 50-80 a very unusual movement. Since there have been larger numbers seen during spring migration in March, it may be that the recent spike in numbers could be early migrants. One of the Indiana birders who lives near Lake Michigan speculated that the increased ice on the big lakes may have been a factor. It will be interesting to see if there are ongoing sightings over the next few weeks. I can't imagine the birds went on north given the frozen state of almost all bodies of water.
In talking with Robert Hershberger, owner of Time and Optics, I learned that he has been receiving lots of reports of rare and unusual birds in the local Holmes and Wayne areas. Spotted Towhee, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Red-necked Grebe, two Harris's Sparrows, 25+ Greater White-fronted Geese and continued sightings of Snowy Owls top the list. Call the Bobolink Rare Bird Alert for more information about these sightings (330-763-5119).
Good Birding!
Bruce Glick
birderbruce@yahoo.com
330-317-7798
