This evening after work, I stopped by Glenmere Lake and located what I believe was a single distant scoter. I was not sure which scoter it could be, but after watching the bird for a while, it did some preening and flapping of the wings which exposed the white secondaries – indicative of a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. In the above video (which I know is horrible), right at about the 5 or 6 second mark, you can catch a glimpse of white on the wing. Here’s a heavily cropped grainy photo of the bird; it was actually much darker out than the photo indicates.
One of the ironies of White-winged Scoter is the fact that the white patch often doesn’t show or is so minimal at a distance it can’t be seen. Good call and great you stuck with the bird to see the patch. Of course if the bird happens to fly, it makes it a whole lot easier.
Thanks John. This bird was cooperative in that respect, fidgeting a lot and flapping. At one point I could see the patch while the bird was at rest too. It was not cooperative in that it was SO far out there. Matt