White-Winged Scooter

Description: The white-winged scoter is named for its white speculum, which stands out on its almost all-black body. The rounded head has facial feathers extending almost all the way to the nostrils on the bill. The drake is black with a white speculum, and has a small white crescent-shaped patch around the eyes, a chunky orange-yellow bill with a black knob at the base, and dark orange legs and feet. Hens are lighter in color with smaller speculums, tannish patches on their cheeks, dark gray bills without knobs, and dull yellow legs and feet. Drakes are substantially larger than hens. Average size: 19-23 inches. Average weight: 2-4 pounds.

Science: White-winged scoters breed across western Canada and the Alaskan interior. They nest primarily on lakes around lightly wooded areas. They migrate slowly in very large groups beginning in late September and winter along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja, the Atlantic coast of the United States, the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes. They spend the winter on the open ocean, in large coastal bays, and on lakes. They eat mussels, crabs, crayfish, and barnacles, diving as deep as ninety feet for food. White-winged scoters are normally silent. The most numerous of the scoters, their population is stable.

Hunting: White-winged scoters are hunted in traditional sea duck fashion. Hunting techniques involve stringing long lines of decoys to draw birds closer to the boat or blind. The eating quality is poor: the meat is very dark and strong-tasting.