Barrow's Goldeneyes nest at several of the lakes in the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area in Skamania County, while Harlequin Ducks nest on some of the local swift flowing mountain streams and rivers. I would be surprised to find an adult Harlequin Duck on any of the lakes in the county, and a flightless juvenile would be even more unlikely in that habitat type. Wilson Cady
Columbia River Gorge, WA

---------- Original Message ----------
From: Jennifer DeSelle <jendeselle at yahoo.com>
To: "tweeters at u.washington.edu" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Tweeters] Juvenile black scoters?
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 09:29:45 -0700 (PDT)


I just got back from backpacking in the Indian Heaven Wilderness, Gifford Pinchot Nat'l Forest. We camped on Junction Lake, which is a small, shallow lake at 4,700 feet. Over 2 days we were able to observe 2 juvenile ducks on this lake. I could not identify them in the field. I did not have my camera but took notes. When we got home we began researching, only discover that our ducks look exactly like juvenile Black Scoters, which should not be down here during the summer. They had the dark head, prominent white cheek, and white undersides. We observed them diving and eating insects flying over the water by snapping at them. They did not fly at all but would "test" their wings, bucking up and revealing their white breast/bellies. Could these be Black Scoters? Does anyone have any other ideas? Jennifer DeSelleOlympia, WAjendeselle at yahoo.com