Miss 400: One Wheeled Scooter

My July/August is worth forgetting, the world as a whole feels like it is spiraling down the drain and now that the election cycle is heating up, I can’t stomach any time on any lamestream news outlet. With that said, my November is turning out to be a marked improvement, at least on the personal endeavors front. Finally getting my legs back under me from the last ultra (link here). I expect a level of aftermath suffering, but holy cow did that one hit me hard. Already mentioned crushing the total annual miles goal on the 1st (link here) and now another milestone has been toppled. Let me introduce you to Miss 400.

Black Scoter found at State Farm HQ South, Bloomington IL, Nov 2023

Isn’t she a beauty? Hit the jump to find out what important position this little lady holds in my birding career.

I probably need to set the stage a bit here. If you recall, back in December 2021 we featured a famous bird from Chicago – specifically Monty, the endangered Piping Plover that had taken up residence on Montrose Beach. Producing offspring multiple years in a row, Monty and his mate Rose were the toast of Chi-Town. I am saddened to report Rose has gone missing and Monty passed away. This is a happy post, so let’s not dwell on that beyond letting you know one of their offspring showed up this year and hopefully will carry the torch forward (fingers crossed!). Monty represented number 300 on my North American Birding Life List.

Black Scoter found at State Farm HQ South, Bloomington IL, Nov 2023

Assuming you already figured it out, but today’s featured feathered friend is now the 400th check on the list. Nearly two years later I made it to the next level. With all the excitement, I had to rush home and get a celebratory post out – it is a true rarity here at Intrigued when you get a post less than three months old, much, much, much less the SAME day (although technically this might release the following day as I can’t figure out the timing on the multiple servers we use for our mothership and the wild side).

Black Scoter found at State Farm HQ South, Bloomington IL, Nov 2023

Guessing you are probably asking saying to yourself “Yada, yada, yada with the background crap, what the hell am I looking at!?!”. I hear ya, this fine specimen is a member of what I call the “One Wheel Scooter” family of Seaducks. Be honest, did you first wonder what a scooter has to with a waterfowl or was it “where is Bri at that he got a SEADUCK?”.

Black Scoter found at State Farm HQ South, Bloomington IL, Nov 2023

Let’s take the easy one first – if you take a wheel (‘o’) out of scooter you get Scoter. In this particular case, it is the “Black” variety. We have three Scoters that like to hang out in North America, this one, the Surf Scoter and the White-Winged variety. The latter has already been featured here on Intrigued (link here). Foreshadowing, the Surf is in the post queue, but I have never had the chance to get a Black before today.

How about we take a look at its range map courtesy of Cornell.

To be honest, that is pretty much the range map for the other two Scoters as well…at least on the North America front. You might find it surprising, but our little lady was photographed about an hour away from us in Bloomington, IL. For those not familiar with our broke state of Illinois (or the States for that matter) I outlined us in red – simply stick a pin right in the middle of that and you will likely hit Bloomington. That also happens to be the headquarters of State Farm Insurance (although they are moving a lot of their people out of state now). These shots were taken at a pond on their campus.

Black Scoter found at State Farm HQ South, Bloomington IL, Nov 2023

Your eyes do not deceive you – that is nowhere close to their range, but year after year, we get one or two that wander down to us. When that happens, we grab the camera and jump in the car. This time Ron met Linda and I down there and we both got this checked off our lists (jury is still out if this is a lifer for him, but it is definitely a +1 for this year). I wish I could have brought you the male as they are stunning to look at. They are jet black (surprise there ha), but they have a large bright orange/yellow knob at the base of their bill. Very easy to pick out of a crowd – the female, not so easy. They do have the very thick flattened out bill that helps. They are often confused with the female Ruddy Duck (link here) which have a similar coloring. The best way to distinguish between the two is to look at how the bill slopes into the head – if smooth, Ruddy. If it hits more directly into the middle of the head then think Scoter.

Black Scoter found at State Farm HQ South, Bloomington IL, Nov 2023

More subtle is the Scoter has more of a white patch on the side of the head that produces the darker cap like look. Ruddies are more of a consistent tan/light brown that continues on through the neck into the body. Scoters are also larger, but I try to avoid giving you characteristics that require a reference in the vicinity.

Black Scoter found at State Farm HQ South, Bloomington IL, Nov 2023

Will close with a few specifics on the Black Scoter. For our friends across the pond, up until 2009, the Common (Eurasian) Scoter and the Black were considered to be the same species. Good news is you get two checks now if you have them both. For courtship purposes, they’ll raise up out of the water and flap their wings followed by a downward thrust of the head. Cornell was unclear if that was just a male trait. You will see a similar raising in some of the shots above, but she would never flap while doing it. Maybe just clowning around for the paparazzi. Lastly, Cornell mentions that they will show up from time to time in lakes/ponds in late autumn due to being driven down by bad weather. It has been pretty nice here as of late, so this one is likely just taking the long route to its wintering grounds along the coasts.

Hope you enjoyed learning about our scooter, I mean Scoter. For the stats people out there, that is 400 on the life list and number 330 on the Average Year list (link here). That’s right, I’ve seen about 80% of my lifetime birds this year alone. If I take the last two Average Years and combine them, the count goes to 363 which is a stunning 91%. Translated…it has been a good last two years on the birding front.

Take it easy everyone, thanks for dropping in.

23 thoughts on “Miss 400: One Wheeled Scooter”

  2. Well done on hitting 400. In the UK that is a big milestone, there was even a ‘400 club’ believe it or not, but then we do have rather less birds than the States although in a much, much smaller area.
    I hit that target many years ago and not added much to it since. A Black Scoter would be nice (or White-winged). They have been recorded here but try picking one out on a choppy sea in winter among hundreds of Commons when the only difference is a very slightly different bill! (the bill swells and colours up in the breeding season). I’d rather not, life’s too short.

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    1. Thanks B.! Based on the description, I am pretty sure I would not be able to tell those two Seaducks apart unless I was holding one in each hand. It is always sobering to check out the winners of our NA Big Year come the end of December. Those have been fluctuating, but normally in the 780 range, almost double my life list in one year. Unfortunately, I do not have the funds (or honestly, even the time) to chase like that. The good news is I have really only birded 14 of our lower 48 continental states so there is plenty of opportunity to add in the coming year(s). We will be adding Arizona this January.

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      1. I know, I know..I need to go back to work because I apparently had a LOT more time then ha. In my defense, WP broke my counter widget on the mothership and we propagate the theme and wildlife related posts down to this wild side. With that not working I haven’t messed much with the sidebar. I did get a workaround now on the other site and got them both updated. Now I just need to get the Average Year 2023 page refreshed – so much to do, so little time. Appreciate you dropping in Steve.

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    1. Thank you very much! It is definitely getting harder to move that needle as the number goes up. Going to have to travel more if I want to hit that next plateau. As always, appreciate you dropping in.

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  5. Congrats on your 400th bird, and on seeing so many repeatedly – 91% re-sightings is HUGE. You’ve really learned where to find “your” birds. I confess I’m green enough at this birding thing to be surprised to learn that there are ducks that enjoy salt water. This Scoter certainly waked me up!

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    1. Thanks Sam! This has been an amazing last couple of years on the birding front – admittedly retirement was a big help in this area. These Scoters are an intriguing lot. They are very unique, as you said, like the salt life and most bizarre, have zero reason to be anywhere near hear, yet we have been able to see at least one of the species the last three years or so. This Black one was a real treat though. One day I hope to be able to bring you the stunning male. Keep your eyes peeled, you never know when one might show up around your. Appreciate the drop in.

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    1. Definitely go after those anti-social ones, that’s where the gold is. Also helps to have another pair of eyes on the water. I happened to spot this one on our second pass along the water, but Ron definitely got us the White-Winged that same day in a nearby quarry pond. That one started out with some Mutes at the very, very far end, but it eventually separated and went solo – thankfully closer to us so we could make out the shape.

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    1. Thank you Cheryl! Definitely a good year and I still have a month or so to go. Glad we were able to introduce you to a new bird – that is our prime goal here at Intrigued (and entertainment of course ha). Appreciate you scootering by.

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    1. Thank you! Next year we are going to hit some new places starting with Arizona in January, so hoping I can get a quick jump on that next 400. Lifers are getting few and far between locally now ha. Appreciate you coming by and joining the conversation.

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    1. Appreciate it Jet! Just a few more miles to reach my stretch goal of 1300 and I’ll probably be shutting down the run training for the year to give myself some badly needed time to rest and heal up. I am definitely excited to see what the next year of birding brings. We plan to hit some new locations (nothing exotic like your adventures ha) and hoping I can bump up that life list even more. As I mentioned, there is absolutely no reason for the Black Scoters (or any in the Scoter family actually) to visit us here in the Midwest, be we are sure glad they do. Take care Jet and appreciate you stopping in!

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    1. Thank you Donna! Was sitting on 399 for a long time and finally got a Midwest visit from a Sea Duck to put me over the top. I saw your post on the Scoters – amazing and jealous you have access to them like that. Take care and appreciate you dropping in!

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