White-winged Scoter
| Melanitta fusca | Order: Anseriformes | Family: Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) |
This large sea duck nests in freshwater lakes in the far north and winters mostly in coastal waters. Sightings in the Upper Midwest occur during migration, when it makes regular appearances in the Great Lakes and other large lakes.
The American Ornithological Society (formerly the American Ornithologists’ Union) considered the White-winged Scoter to include three subspecies: the North American form, the Velvet Scoter of Western Eurasia, and Stejneger’s Scoter of Eastern Eurasia, until they split the forms into three separate species. Stejneger’s Scoter appears regularly in westernmost Alaska. It’s tricky to pick out from White-winged Scoters at a distance. In April 2022, David Sibley wrote a great blog post explaining how to distinguish the two.