Of all the ducks cataloged in my first field guide, the one
I was most fascinated by was the Surf Scoter. This sea duck has the most
improbably colored and amazingly oversized bill, contributing to its many
nicknames, including Goggle-nose, Horse-head Coot, Plaster-bill,
Snuff-taker, Blossom-billed Coot, Bottle-nosed Diver, and Mussel Bill. Its most
common nickname is the “skunk-headed coot,” though really, the conspicuous
white area on the back of the head seems far less interesting than the humongous
black, white, orange, red, and yellow bill on adult males. The bulbous bill
seems to hold prey well, but can hardly be essential for survival because it’s
much smaller on young birds and adult females. Both sexes and all ages join
together in winter in large feeding flocks, all dining on the same prey.
Females may use the males’ funky bills as a signal of good health and nutrition
to help them choose the fittest potential mates.
Whatever the true function of the male’s bill, it sure is
cool to see close up. Most of the Surf Scoters I’ve seen over the years have
been off in the distance, and my best views have all been through a spotting
scope until just this week. Russ had a meeting in Long Beach, California, and I
tagged along to see what birds I could find. We’re staying onboard the Queen
Mary, which is permanently docked in Long Beach. I spotted Surf Scoters from
our room’s portholes, and they’ve been
surprisingly easy to watch at fairly close range everywhere along the water. A lot
of litter floats in the water, auto and boat traffic are noisy, and dozens of
feral cats lurk along the water, so there isn’t as much bird activity as I’d
like, but the Surf Scoters seem to take it all in stride, despite the fact that
they breed all the way up in the Canadian and Alaskan wilderness. Many first
year birds don’t return to the far north for a year, remaining along the
southern California and Baja California coast in the West, or along the
mid-Atlantic in the East, so they apparently figure out how to deal with
disturbance. At least for the most part. But Surf Scoters have declined in
numbers rather dramatically. Their population is thought to have decreased from
50–70 percent in the past 40 years. In 2007, a huge oil spill in San Francisco
Bay oiled and killed thousands of birds. About 40 percent of the 1,000 retrieved
live birds and 25% of the 1,365 retrieved dead birds were Surf Scoters. Since
most of them were healthy adults, scientists were concerned that these losses
could contribute more to the species’ decline.
Right here in Southern California, it’s easy to forget about
Surf Scoters declining because they’re everywhere. And on a day when I’ve
gotten nicer photos than I ever dreamed possible, I want to think only about
how much richer the world is for having this splendid duck on it.