Aythya marila
Greater Scaups are large diving ducks. The males rounded, black heads with a green glossy iridescence, yellow eyes, and blue-gray bills. They have black tails, necks, breasts, barred gray flanks and white sides and bellies, their wings are black tinged with brown and they have a broad, white band over their secondaries and most primaries.
Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.
February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.
Last autumn I was able to get up close to a drake Greater Scaup at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I'm hoping that I see more of them this year.
This Greater Scaup drake is making the transition into his breeding plumage an was in among American Coots, a resting female scaup, Pied-Billed Grebes and a single Canvasback.
Another wonderful change that I have been seeing is that a variety of duck species have been arriving at the Great Salt Lake