I'll post this now for anybody that may have a chance to get out this
afternoon. I saw 3 Scoters from Lake Waconia beach this morning. The
consensus right now is 1 female Black, 1 female Surf, and 1 mystery Scoter. I
initially thought it was a male Black with strange plumage, as it was staying
with the female Black the entire time, but upon further inspection in my book,
the bill wasn't at all right. Other opinions were odd plumaged male Black or
an odd plumaged White-winged. Both the female Black and the mystery scoter
showed a white spot on its breast just above the water line. When I left,
all 3 Scoters were pretty close to the beach(no scope needed though it would
help). When I first arrived the Surf Scoter was too far west of the beach and
further from shore for me to even tell that she was a scoter. The female
Black and other scoter were just a little ways east of the beach swimming and
diving parallel close to the shore. The Surf Scoter continued swimming and
diving from a distance until suddenly she had joined the other 2 scoters.
Other birds seen this morning across the county
Trumpeter Swan
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Bonaparate's Gull(Franklin's yesterday)
Ring-billed Gull
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Bluebird
Cedar Waxwing
Lapland Longspur
Am. Tree, Savannah, Song, Fox, White-throated Sparrow
Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Common Grackle
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