White-winged Scoters have been seen locally

Female White-winger Scoter 

Two White-winged Scoters were among the species reported in this week's listing of Lehigh Valley bird sightings.

The dark-colored ducks, distinguished by white patches on their wings and around their eyes, were seen on February 23 and February 24 from the Portland footbridge in Portland, Northampton County.

The species is not often seen in this region, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity, the definitive guidebook published by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. 

Male White-winged Scoters are entirely black, with an inverted comma-shaped white patch surrounding his eye. Females are dark brownish and the eye patch is less distinct.

In North America, White-winged Scoters breeds from the southern coast of Hudson Bay to to Alaska. They live around large freshwater or brackish lakes and ponds, nesting in dense vegetation to protect their eggs and chicks. 

The ducks winter in coastal estuaries and bays along the east and west coasts of the United States and southern Canada, often migrating long distances over land without stopping. The reason: They can't find their usual food on land. Their diet consists mostly of mollusks, supplemented by crustaceans, aquatic insects, small fish, sea lettuce and pond weeds.

They reach their prey by diving, using their feet to propel themselves toward the bottom and their wings for navigation and thrust. They swallow smaller food underwater but bring larger mollusks to the surface for eating.

White-winged Scoters are widespread and numerous, according to the National Audubon Society. The spread of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes has created a bounty for the ducks during their migration.