Immense flocks of the young of this species winter on San Diego Bay, California. Here the adult birds are of rather rare occurrence for they are able to withstand the rigors of an arctic winter and stay far to the northward where they are a common resident. In the vicinity of San Diego there was about one adult to every seventy-five or one hundred juvenile birds. The former may be easily distinguished by their very striking velvety black plumage, the white markings on the nape and forehead standing out in bold contrast. These white markings remind one of the white bull’s eye on a target. Because of this striking color characteristic the Surf Scoter is frequently called the Target Head, by the California hunters.
They are wary birds and it is often necessary to make a long detour in order to reach a spot near to a flock, without attracting their attention, as they ride the crest of the waves in a heavy surf. The younger birds will remain in the surf so close to the shore that frequently they are cast high and dry upon the beach. When this happens it is very amusing to watch them awkwardly scramble back and enter the water again. The older birds are usually much more shy, remaining far out on the water where they congregate in pairs, though sometimes there may be six or eight together.
As the tides enter San Diego Bay they carry in the loose seaweeds in which are entangled numerous dead starfish and other forms of marine life. These form the principal food not only of the Scoters but also of all the water fowls, such as other species of ducks, the cormorant, the pelican and the beautiful California gull.
The note of the Surf Scoter is to me the most pleasing of all the ducks. It is a soft, mellow whistle ending in a cluck! cluck!
Mr. Nelson states that the Surf Scoter appears in the vicinity of St. Michaels, Alaska, about the middle of May and nests commonly in the marshes of the delta of the Yukon river. It also nests in large numbers on the Atlantic coast from Labrador northward.
Dr. Coues, speaking of these birds as he observed them in Labrador, says, “They are tough birds and remarkably tenacious of life and require a heavy charge to kill them. They are known as Bottle-nosed Coots, a name given in allusion to the very peculiar shape and color of the bill.”
Its nest, usually placed on grassy knolls, in fresh-water marshes near the sea, is made of dried weeds and grasses and lined with the down of the bird. It is evident that the female performs all the duties of incubating the eggs and carrying for the young, for during the nesting period large flocks are observable that consist entirely of males, constantly feeding in their accustomed haunts.
This ocean duck feeds “on small mollusks and fishes, for which it dives almost constantly, both in the sandy bays and amidst the tumbling surf, sometimes fishing at the depth of several fathoms and floating buoyantly among the surf of the raging billows, where it seems as unconcerned as if it were on the most tranquil waters.”
Frank M. Woodruff.