perhaps to Chesapeake Bay, with numbers and observations dwindling rapidly 

 southward — was apparently appropriate for this species through the early part 

 of the century. More recent observations, however, indicate large concentra- 

 tions of Black. Scoters off South Carolina and Georgia, but not off either North 

 Carolina or Florida. Unfortunately, the records are not sufficiently consis- 

 tent to reveal whether these concentrations occur every year, in a cyclic fash- 

 ion, or just sporadically. Stott and Olson (1972) postulated that changed dis- 

 tributional patterns of all three scoters might have resulted from changes in 

 hunting pressure off the northern coast , but if the more southerly occurrences 

 are cyclic or sporadic the lack of intense observation in the past may merely 

 obscure the fact that this is actually a historic pattern. At any rate, the 

 pattern is unusual enough to warrant examination in some detail. 



This species generally remains well offshore, where it might easily escape 

 detection by observers on the coast. Many records from the southeast are of 

 birds in late spring or summer, possibly crippled birds that cannot migrate back 

 to their breeding grounds and that drift shoreward after flocks depart. 



North Carolina Pearson et al. (1919) considered the Black Scoter "a common 

 winter species in Pamlico and Core sounds..." but more numerous on the ocean; no 

 specific records were given. Later, Pearson et al. (1942) reported the species 

 as "occasional", noting observations dating from 1871, 1919, 1924, and 1934. 

 These records may have been selected to show seasonal or numerical status, and 

 the degree to which they represent total observations is unclear. Wray and 

 Davis (1959) reported at least nine additional observations, but failed to sug- 

 gest any change from the "occasional" status reported earlier. The only recent 

 reports (Teulings 1976d, 1977b; LeGrand 1977b) are of birds that lingered into 

 the summer or that appeared inland, and the literature for the last two decades 

 is silent on the overall status of the species. 



South Carolina There were only two records of the Black Scoter in this 

 state until 1929, represented by specimens taken in 1884 and 1903. Eight birds 

 were seen in January 1929. "Since then, records have multiplied, and the spe- 

 cies is now listed as a regular winter visitor. It is, indeed, the most common 

 of the scoters frequenting the South Carolina coast" (Sprunt and Chamberlain 

 1949). Although there are few published records since 1949, Burton (1970) said 

 that "This species is by far the earliest of the sea-ducks to arrive in numbers 

 off the South Carolina coast...". The species is seldom mentioned as occurring 

 in South Carolina waters during the 1970' s in any of the seasonal reports in 

 American Birds except on Christmas Bird Counts, when it is generally reported 

 in small numbers (Map 25) . 



Georgia Greene et al. (1945) reported a single occurrence of the Black 

 Scoter in Georgia, dating from 1903 (the same year as an early South Carolina 

 record). Tomkins (1955) reported three additional occurrences, of single 

 birds, in and about 1955; these records are overlooked by Burleigh (1958), who 

 mentioned only the 1903 specimen. There must have been a very sudden change in 

 the next decade — Stott and Olson (1972) cited observations by 0. Dewberry of 

 "10,000-30,000 [Black] scoters using the open coast during the winters of 



1968-70 ". Coolidge (1974) reported two flocks of 108 and 55 Black Scoters 



in October 1974, and commented that before 1960 the species "...was considered 

 a rare winter visitor to our state. Since that time it has been seen so fre- 



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