Dear Tweeters,
Today (19th March 2020) a lone drake Lesser Scaup was foraging near a flock of Pintails and Green-winged Teal, at the southeast corner of March Point in Skagit County, just north of the railway line. This little spot used to be called "Whitmarsh."
This scaup caught my attention immediately, because it was foraging close to shore. Greater Scaup flocks at March Point most often forage off shore. Not only that, Greater Scaup are about ten times more likely at March Point than are Lesser Scaup, at least according to my records. 
Although he was a loner, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the Lesser Scaup.
After watching and photographing this nice-looking drake for about five minutes, I saw the pintail and teal suddenly panic and take wing. The scaup continued swimming around, all by itself. An adult Bald Eagle flew in. It made a pass at the scaup, and barely missed him. Only by diving at the last moment did the scaup escape. I was surprised that the scaup did not take wing with the dabblers when there was such a danger approaching.
Just a few minutes later, while I was watching some other birds, suddenly the Bald Eagle came back, and pounced upon the hapless Lesser Scaup, which had still been swimming around alone, not far offshore, the dabblers having flown off to safer waters. A few hundred meters away, a flock of about ten Greater Scaup was foraging out by the dredge-spoil islets. Perhaps the Lesser Scaup would have had a better chance at survival if it had joined its congeners.
The eagle took the scaup toward the nearby nest. Soon, another adult Bald Eagle and a juvenile were flying around the nest, calling. I did not see which of the birds ended up eating the scaup.
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch
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