Melanitta perspicillata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) is a large sea duck native to North America. Adult males are almost entirely black with characteristic white patches on the forehead and the nape and adult females are slightly smaller and browner. Surf scoters breed in Northern Canada and Alaska and winter along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America. They are diving ducks and mainly feed on benthic invertebrates, mussels representing an important part of their diet.
In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the surf scoter in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The great black duck from Hudson's Bay". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from the Hudson Bay area of Canada by James Isham. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the surf scoter with the ducks and geese in the genus Anas. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Anas perspicillata and cited Edwards' work. The surf scoter is now one of six species placed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Katmai National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 12 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 15 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 16 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 17 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 18 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 21 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Biodome | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Surf Scoter sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 2,020 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Surf Scoter in Vancouver on a given day, against under 5% in April to September, the lowest months. Those are among Vancouver's wettest months, with about 160 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in July.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Surf Scoter sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 20 cities where we can rate Surf Scoter sightings, Vancouver ranks 6th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Seattle (United States, about 10%), San Diego (United States, about 10%) and San Francisco (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Surf Scoter is recorded against all the birds logged in Vancouver (2,020 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
