Surf Scoters Surfing In Imperial Beach: Photos Of The Day

IMPERIAL BEACH, CA — Surf scoters are not year-round residents of Imperial Beach. They winter here and then migrate back to the far north where boreal gives way to tundra and where they nest.

In migration and the wintertime, they are most easily found congregating along ocean coasts, bays and estuaries.

When they first arrived in IB in late October 2023, they showed up in the thousands as shown in this photo below.

Looks-wise, male surf scoters are much more noticeable than females. Males have bright orange bills and a white spot on the back of their necks, while females are brown and have patches of white on their faces but no bright bill.

From allaboutbirds.org: "Adult males are jet black with orange, white, and black bill and white patches at the nape, forecrown, and base of the bill. Females are dark brown with dark gray bills and usually show two patches of white on the face."

The males are also very outnumbered, from what I've observed in Imperial Beach.

Surf scoters are sea ducks with rather large heads. They are in the Anatidae family of the Anseriformes order of birds. They are closely related to Wood Ducks, Spectacled Eiders and King Eiders

And they are getting ready to leave IB soon.

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