Common Scoter Melanitta nigra
A common bird along the coast of Norfolk but rarely close enough inshore to photograph well. Hence here are some that I didn't photograph well:
 |
%20L.JPG) |
|
Common Scoters, Sheringham (Norfolk, UK), 10th November 2007
|
raft of Common Scoters, off Titchwell (Norfolk, UK), 3rd March 2010 - appearing as a dark line on the sea when viewed from at least 2 miles away, south of Thornham! |
The North American form, Black Scoter is now often regarded as a different species Melanitta americana. It's extremely rare in the UK but the following individual has been wintering off north Wales for several years. It is usually very distant indeed and requires a high magnification telescope to see, let alone photograph. The following photo was taken through a telescope with a 50x eyepiece and cropped extremely heavily, but you can still make out the much more extensive yellow on the bill, and the more bulbous bill structure, compared to the accompanying Common Scoters.
|
|
|
male Black Scoter (second from left) with Common Scoters, Llanfairfechan (Conwy, UK), 10th November 2007
|
|
%20T.JPG)
%20T.JPG)
%20T.jpg)
%20T.JPG)
%20T.JPG)