Hellow Tweets,

Summarized from the Sea Duck Joint Venture:

White-winged Scoters (WWSC) are harvested yearly with an average take among hunters of 30,000 birds. Roughly 80% of that harvest occurs along the Atlantic coast. In Canada, subsistence harvest of WWSC is important for the First Nations of Canada, but the amount of harvest is unknown.

WWSC winter in areas that are shipping lanes for oil tankers. Thus, they are susceptible to oil spills which could decimate entire winter populations. Because WWSC feed primarily on mussels and other shellfish, they are susceptible to toxic poisoning since shellfish concentrate toxins. (I doubt the decline in WWSC in puget sound has anything to do with herring numbers).

Little is known of their breeding biology in the northern Boreal forest, wintering biology, or migration patterns. Biologists are tracking many birds now with satellite telemetry to help answer these questions.

For more information, check out the Sea Duck Joint Venture at www.seaduckjv.org. They have info on all sea ducks. It appears that like other boreal forest nesting waterfowl such as scaup, that declines are ocurring but no one knows the exact reason yet.

>From the telemetry web page:

Population trends for scoters are uncertain but appear to be declining in some regions, while remaining stable or increasing in others. Affiliations between breeding and wintering areas are unknown, and interpretation of existing population survey data is difficult without this information. Identifying the location of breeding grounds, migration routes, wintering areas, and the timing of migration is an essential first step if we are to identify potential causes of population declines such as the effects of habitat alterations, and sources of contaminant exposure.

Jeff Kozma
Yakima