Velvet Scoter

The Velvet Scoter is a large sea duck with a distinctive appearance. Males are predominantly velvety black with a white wing patch and a small white eye crescent. They have a bulbous orange bill with a black base and tip.

Females are brown with two light patches on the face. Both sexes have red legs and feet, though these are often submerged. Juveniles resemble females but with duller plumage.

Generally considered a silent bird the drake will issue a ‘vak – vak’ sound, mainly during the breeding season whilst the female can be heard in flight using a, ‘kraaah – kraaah – kra’ call.

Often breeding in remote tundra or boreal forests, close to fresh water, in Scandinavia and Estonia with much smaller groups also breeding in isolated areas of central Siberia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. They winter in the coastal waters of the North Sea, The Baltic, the sea coasts of Western Europe south as far as the Mediterranean and the Black and Caspian Seas and rarely go ashore.

Velvet scoters are sociable birds often spotted flying parallel to the coast in long lines of large flocks or drifting, forming rafts on the sea, engaged in synchronous diving for food, in company with the much smaller and uniformly black, common scoters. In flight they fly fast and low with a strong wingbeat. As with many ducks who have distinguishing speculums, the bright white patch on the upper and lower wing area are an ideal aid to positive identification.

Diving down from the water’s surface in both fresh and salt water the velvet scoter survives on a diet of crustaceans, molluscs and small fish including crabs, marine worms, shellfish and shrimps.

Nests are normally built in ground hollows close to water and are lined with fine foliage or down. Between May to July one clutch of 6 – 8 cream coloured eggs are laid annually and incubated by the female alone for up to twenty nine days. Fledging occurs between fifty and fifty five days after hatching.

Velvet Scoters are highly social, often forming large flocks on the water. They are excellent divers, plunging to depths of up to 30 meters to forage for food.

During courtship, males perform elaborate head-throwing displays accompanied by soft whistling calls.

Life expectancy for the velvet scoter averages between ten to twelve years.

The Velvet Scoter is classified as Vulnerable due to population declines across its range. Threats include oil spills, coastal development, and entanglement in fishing nets.

Conservation efforts focus on protecting key wintering and breeding habitats, and reducing marine pollution.

The adult male (drake) is predominantly very dark to black all over apart from startling white secondary flight feathers, seen as a thin white line when the wings are folded and featuring prominently as a broad white wing patch which is obvious in flight. There is also a small white eye patch immediately below the eye. During the summer months the male’s black body assumes a slightly lighter brown tone. The bill is mainly yellow, particularly on the sides but the upper ridge of the bill otherwise known as the culmen, is black and swollen. The cutting edges of the bill are also black. The eyes are a pale greyish blue. Legs and feet of males and females are red in colour with dark grey webs. The adult female (duck) has a dark brown body with a light grey patch below the eye and also on the cheek. The neck is thick and the eyes are brown. The bill is dark and tapers to a long tip. Like the adult male the female has a white speculum (area of secondary flight feathers) clearly noticeable during flight. Juveniles are similar to the female but with larger whitish facial patches and lighter colouration across the breast.