We took a walk on Coast Guard Beach the other day, hoping to see some Piping Plovers, but there were none to be found. But, we did see this little flock of blackish-colored birds out in the water. Hmmmm… I wonder what they were.

We zoomed in and took some photographs and then put them on our iPhone Sleuth app and learned they were Surf Scoters.

“The Surf Scoter 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.” Pretty soon, they’ll be heading back up to Canada and Alaska!