Lehigh Valley bird sightings for December 19

Male Black Scoter

The Black Scoter, a coastal duck that breeds in the subarctic, has made a rare appearance in the Lehigh Valley region. One was seen on December 12 at Peace Valley Park in Bucks County.

The Black Scoter is a stocky diving duck. The male is all-black, except for a yellow eyelid and a bulbous orange-yellow knob on the base of the upper bill. The female has a sooty brownish color with indistinct barring. Its dark cap contrasted with pale grayish feathers on the rest of her head. It has only a hint of yellow around the nostrils. An immature bird look similar to the female's but has a white belly.

The Black Scoter dives deep, sometimes to the bottom of a lake, to locate aquatic invertebrates. Their favorite diet is insects and mollusks. They'll eat duck weed, too.

In the summer, the North American version of the Black Scoter breeds on the tundra of Labrador and Newfoundland to the southeast of Hudson Bay. The nest is placed in a hollow near water, lined with grass and down and protected by clumps of grass. Five to seven eggs are laid.

Female Black Scoter

Black Scoters migrate south for the winter, usually staying near the Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes. A subspecies breeds on the Siberian side of the Bering Straits and winters along the Pacific coasts of California and China.

Through common in the subarctic, the birds' population has shown a gradual decline between 1954 and 1994 but data are unreliable for determining current and future trends, according to Ducks Unlimited.

Black Scoters are rarely seen in the Lehigh Valley. When they do appear, it's usually in larger lakes and reservoirs in October through December, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity, a publication of the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. The last time they were seen in numbers was in 1977 when about 500 congregated at Green Lane Reservoir in Montgomery County.

The Black Scoter was among the bird sightings reported to Dave DeReamus, of the Eastern PA Birdline, for the week ended December 19. The Eastern PA Birdline is sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. Other sightings include:

Williams Township, Northampton County
Harris's Sparrow, 1 through at least December 15.

Seemsville, Northampton County
Snow Goose, approximately 10,000 on December 12.

Brodheadsville, Monroe County
(at Weir Lake)
Barnacle Goose, 2 through at least December 17.

Beltzville State Park, Carbon County
Red-necked Grebe, 1 through at least December 15.

Allentown, Lehigh County
Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 on December 13.

Lake Nockamixon, Bucks County
Northern Goshawk, 1 on December 14.

Peace Valley Park, Bucks County
Black Scoter, 1 on December 12.
Red-breasted Merganser, 1 on December 13.
Red-necked Grebe, 1 on December 13.
Iceland Gull, 2 on December 12.
Also seen: Cackling Goose and Red-breasted Nuthatch.

To report bird sightings to Dave DeReamus, send an e-mail to becard@rcn.com with the word "Birdline" in the subject heading.