Melanitta perspicillata (Surf Scoter)

Melanitta perspicillata (Surf Scoter)

Observed in Hyacinthe Bay in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

BC List: S3 (Blue)

For more information see: https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/efauna/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Melanitta perspicillata

Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

From Cornell Lab:

On the Pacific Coast, preliminary studies indicate that survivorship is high at major molting sites, but survivorship can be markedly lower during winter depending on location, age, and body mass. During nonbreeding periods, Surf Scoters aggregate in coastal sites where they are often exposed to a suite of human impacts. The role of these impacts on scoter population processes requires further study, but important impacts likely include: degradation and loss of nearshore feeding habitats (e.g., effects of shoreline armoring, and loss of critical habitats such as seagrass beds); developmental and reproductive consequences of elevated contaminant exposure, including both acute and chronic affects of oil exposure (scoters are one of the species most frequently caught in oil spills); changes in predator communities; disturbance by watercraft; and introductions of invasive prey items. https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/sursco/introduction