Scoters
Herring Spawn: nutritious fast food in danger?
A recent SeaDoc-funded project has revealed how important herring spawn can be for species like migratory waterfowl. Eric Anderson, Jim Lovvorn and others studying the role of herring spawn in the diet of surf and white-winged scoters found that these birds aggregate to feed on herring spawn whenever it is available.
Using predator distributions, diet, and condition to evaluate seasonal foraging sites: sea ducks and herring spawn
The value of herring spawning events to spring conditioning of scoters in the Puget Sound & Georgia Basin
Surf Scoter Declines
Hunting May be Responsible for Scoter Declines. The Salish Sea is home to some of North America’s most amazing bird life including one of the world’s largest wintering populations of scoters. Unfortunately in Puget Sound scoters have declined by over 50% in the last 25 years representing the largest loss of marine bird biomass in Puget Sound.
Bald Eagle De-Listing
On June 28, 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the U.S. list of threatened and endangered species. After nearly disappearing from most of the United States decades ago, wildlife enthusiasts are celebrating the eagle’s recovery. Now that this keystone predator has been restored to historical levels, it will be important to monitor the eagle’s impact on marine birds.