One of my favorite things to do when birdwatching in southeastern North Carolina is to hit the beach to see what birds are swimming in the Atlantic.
I got lucky recently when I spotted this small raft of Black Scoters hunting just offshore.
Normally these ducks are gone by April (headed to Canada & Alaska to breed) so I was pleasantly surprised to see them!

Black Scoters are best found swimming in the shallow ocean areas hunting for a meal of mollusks, crabs, and clams. They typically hunt as a group diving to the bottom of the sea floor to catch a snack.
As seen in these photos, these guys are powerful divers!

On the surface of the water with their wings closed, they seem to leap above the water and neatly slice into the water, disappearing in the blink of an eye.  Sometimes they propel themselves with their feet and then use their half-extended wings to help shoot themselves straight to the bottom.

Come October, these handsome ducks will return to the Tarheel state in greater numbers.
They’ll spend the winter here and can be best watched swimming in the ocean by viewing on a pier or via a boat.
Aren’t they cool looking birds?
I love Scoters!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds