Scotering up the coast

Black Scoter Melanitta americana

Black Scoter Melanitta americana

Black Scoter Melanitta americana

Black Scoter Melanitta americana

(Note: noisy video, and plays clearer the second time)

Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus

Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus

Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus

Riverside trees and scrub cleared

  Success on my third attempt to find Black Scoter, a small raft of which loiters at a rocky patch up the coast. I watched their synchronized diving antics for quite some time before I noticed a trio of Harlequin Ducks drift through the background (love that Latin name). Been about a decade since I saw one of the handsome ducks off Seongsan, on Jeju. Thanks to Kim Youngwhan for the original intel on the scoters.

  On a down note, the patch of "lovely natural scrub-lined (river)banks" that I gushed about last month has been slashed - 80% of the trees cut down, and most of the scrub. Last month, Siberian Accentors, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Rustic and Yellow-throated Buntings were spotted there. Today? Nothing.