The Surf Scoter is a striking sea duck of cold open water, and the drake is unmistakable at close range — jet black with bold white patches on the forehead and nape and a swollen, boldly patterned bill of orange, white, and black that has earned the species the nickname "skunk-headed coot." The female is dark brown with pale patches on the face and a less colorful but still heavy bill. As its name suggests, it is at home in rough water, diving through waves and swells to feed on the bottom.
Surf Scoters breed on northern lakes and tundra and winter along the coasts and on the Great Lakes, and in Michigan they occur as migrants and winter visitors on the Great Lakes and large inland lakes, usually offshore and often mixed with other scoters and diving ducks. They dive to feed on mollusks and other invertebrates, and flocks sometimes dive in near-unison, disappearing beneath the surface together. Sorting the three scoter species from a distant, bobbing offshore raft is one of the rewarding puzzles of Michigan's cold-season waterfowl.
Dives to feed on mollusks — especially clams and mussels — along with crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates, taken from the bottom of deep, often turbulent water. It swallows hard-shelled prey whole and crushes it internally, and flocks sometimes dive together in coordinated bouts.
The old nickname refers to the drake's black head marked with bold white patches on the forehead and nape, together with its heavy, colorful bill — a pattern reminiscent of a skunk. It is not actually a coot.
The Surf Scoter lacks a white wing patch and has bold white head patches and a swollen orange-and-white bill (in drakes). The White-winged Scoter shows a white patch in the wing and a white comma below the eye.
In migration and winter on the Great Lakes and large lakes, usually offshore on deep, open water, often with other scoters. It breeds on northern lakes and tundra and is absent in summer.
Immatures are brown with two whitish face patches and a plain dark bill, without the adult male's white head patches and gaudy orange-and-white bill. Young males gradually darken through their first year.
A raft. They mix readily with the other two scoter species during Great Lakes migration, so a passing line is often worth checking for all three.
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