Date: 11/20/24 10:48 am From: Allen Gathman <agathman...> Subject: Scoter trifecta at Brenda Kay Sand Pit, Scott Co
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This morning I had planned to get a Christmas tree at Yule Log Cabin down by Scott City, and as long as I would be down that way, I figured I’d chase the Black Scoters that Tim Kavan recently found. So I drove down to the Brenda Kay Sand Pit. This sand quarry, near Sand Prairie Conservation Area, has quite a deep lake where interesting migrant waterfowl often show up.
I pulled off the county road and started scanning the rafts of ducks, and pretty soon I spotted one large black one in amongst a lot of Ruddy Ducks. It had its head tucked under its wing, and I had to wait a while for it to look around. It raised its head, and I was expecting a black head with an orange knob at the base of the bill – but instead, I saw a thin white eyering, pointed in back, and a bill with an orange tip. The fleck of white on the rear of its folded wing sealed the deal – this was a scoter, but a White-winged Scoter. I kept scanning for a while, but no Black Scoters were visible, so I finished my list and went to get a tree.
On the way, I texted (by voice, don’t worry) my local birding text group about my find. Tim Kavan was at Sand Prairie, and said he’d come up and have a look. By the time my tree was strapped to the top of the car, he had texted that he had all three species of scoters! I told him I was on my way, and tree and all, headed back to the quarry. There was Tim, and he pointed out the Black Scoters – three males, six females, and with them one female Surf Scoter. He’d seen the White-winged Scoter, but it had flown off to the other side of the lake. So Tim wound up with all three scoter species on one checklist, while I had to settle for the three on two lists from the same spot on the same day – either way a pretty good find.
Just a caution if anyone is planning to chase them; the quarry owners have had a lot of trouble with trespassers recently. If you stop on the side of the road, someone will come check on you. They don’t have a problem with birders, as long as we stay outside their fence. There’s a berm around the lake that makes it hard to see from many spots, but there are places where gaps give a decent view. If you have a pickup truck and can stand in the bed, it’ll help.
-Allen Gathman
Pocahontas, MO
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