Now here’s something you don’t see in Dead Horse Bay everyday. 
This is a drake Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), a not uncommon sea duck, yet I’ve never seen one in any part of Jamaica Bay before. I’ve also never seen one alone, so I wondered if it was ill or hurt; but he seemed to preen and fly perfectly fine. This was my best-ever view of one of these diving ducks. The female is browner and lacks the swollen orange-yellow knob on the bill.
Scoter Revealed
3 responses to “Scoter Revealed”
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Best view I’ve had of one – thank you – they’re always bobbing around in the waves far off shore when I’ve seen them.
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Yes, in cold biting winter winds off the water! I’ve also seen good numbers of them flushed by a big ferry, but also pretty distant; they get out the way ASAP.
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[…] Scoters can be found in Lower New York Bay in the winter months. Here’s one I found in nearby Dead Horse Bay a few years […]
Backyard and Beyond 
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