Common Scoter

• The common scoter is 49 cm in length and has a wingspan of 84 cm
• This is a medium to large, plump-bodied duck, with all dark plumage
• The male common scoter is all black with a small yellow area on top of the bill
• Females are dark brown with paler cheeks
• As recent as 1967 over 140 pairs bred in County Fermanagh
• As with the corncrake, the common scoter no longer breeds in Northern Ireland and is now only a winter visitor
• This decline was caused by predation, pollution and reduced food availability
• Commonest on the County Down coast in winter especially in Dundrum Bay
• Its habits remain something of a mystery as we have no idea where our wintering birds breed
• The common scoter is usually encountered in large ‘rafts’ on the sea, often in sheltered bays
• Feeds on shellfish by diving from the surface of the water in a characteristic manner starting with a small leap
• Common scoter will dive down to 30m to hunt for their shellfish prey
• Dundrum Bay in County Down is the best site to see common scoter
• The first birds arrive at the coast in August
• Flocks from December to February can be in excess of 1,000 birds and sometimes more than 2,000 can be seen
• Smaller numbers can be seen in Belfast Lough, Lough Foyle and off Magilligan