Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)

Abundance: Very Uncommon during late fall/early winter; Rare during late spring; at least 49 records from 11 Regional counties, 6 in Kentucky and 5 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during late fall (27 records)/early winter (16 records) and late spring (6 records); photographs (see links below).

Regional High Count: 22 (5 December 2005; Fishing Creek Recreation Area [9] and Waitsboro Recreation Area [13], Pulaski County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton photo [Fishing Creek scoters only]; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006b).

Information on Records: 

26 October 1975 (1) Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (William J. Jones, Bill Varney; Williams 1976a).

23 October 1988 (1—female or immature) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman photo; Stedman 1993), photo.

29 November 1992 (1—female or immature) Walker Pond, Monterey, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman; Stedman 1993).

7 May 1996 (1) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Tommy A. Edwards).

21–22 November 1996 (4) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman et al. unpubl. data).

16 November 1997 (1—female or immature) Monterey Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Knight 1998a).

27 November 1997 (1—immature) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Fekel 1998a).

1 December 1997 (1—female or immature) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 1998b).

23 October 1998 (6) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman; Fekel 1999a).

20 November 1998 (1) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

5 January 2000 (1) Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Busroe 2000b).

25/26 April 2000 (3/1)  Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer, Brainard Palmer-Ball/David Chaffin, Lester Doyle; Busroe 2000c).

6 May 2000 (1—second-year male) near Alum Ford, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, McCreary County, Kentucky (Daniel L. Combs, Stephen J. Stedman; Stedman and Stedman 2002).

7 May 2000 (1—immature male) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 2000c).

23 November 2000 (2) Harvest Farm Lake, Warren County, Tennessee (C. Douglas Malone, Crystal Malone unpubl. data).

3/4 December 2000 (5—3 adult male, 1 immature male, 1 female/1 female) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo, on earlier date; Busroe 2001b [notes just 1 bird each day]).

4 December 2000 (1) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2001b).

7 December 2001 (1—female or immature) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2002b).

8 December 2001 (2) Fishing Creek Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

9 December 2001 (2) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton), possibly the same 2 scoters as in the preceding record.

11 December 2001 (13—6 adult males, 2 immature males, 5 females or immatures) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2002b).

1 November 2002 (4—females or immatures) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2003a).

1/17 November 2002 (2/2) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Busroe 2003a).

5–16 November 2002 (1—female or immature) Celina sewage lagoons, Clay County, Tennessee (Terry M. Campbell photo, Stephen J. Stedman, Winston A. Walden; Casteel 2003a), photo.

27 November 2002  (2—females or immatures) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 2003a).

7 November 2003 (9) Goose Island, Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2004a).

9 November 2003 (3) Fishing Creek Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2004a).

5 November 2004 (2) Mystic View, Lake Cumberland, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

12 December 2004 (1—female or immature) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2005b).

12 December 2004 (1—male) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2005b).

5 December 2005 (9/13) Fishing Creek Recreation Area/Waitsboro Recreation Area, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo [Fishing Creek scoters only]; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006b).

6 December 2005 (2—females or immatures) Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006b).

23 May 2006 (1—second-year male) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2006c).

12 November 2006 (2) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2007a).

15 November 2006 (6—including 3 adult males and 1 adult female) Skaggs Creek, Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2007a).

27 December 2006 (1—female or immature) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman).

25 October 2007 (1) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

23 November 2007 (1) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

14 December 2007 (3—one male and 2 females or immatures) Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton), a CBC record.

30 November 2008 (4—males) Wolf Creek Dam/Rowena Rd., Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

12 December 2008 (1—female or immature) Clifty Pond, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).

17 October 2009 (1) Wolf Creek Dam, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

16 November 2009 (1—adult male) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

23 November 2009 (1—adult female) between Dry and Walnut creeks, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).

5 December 2009 (2—females or immatures) Lake Breckenridge, Cumberland County, Tennessee (DJ Stanley photo, Joseph E. Mast).

16/17/23 November/15/18 December 2010 (1—adult male/3—females or immatures/1—female or immature/1—age & sex unspecified/1—age & sex unspecified) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer et al.).

14 October 2011 (8—females or immatures) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer, Stephen J. Stedman).

14 April 2012 (6—age/sex unspecified) end of Holmes-Mt. Carmel Rd., Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

23 November 2013 (4) Lake Tansi, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Fall:  14 October 2011 (Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer, Stephen J. Stedman)–5 January 2000 (Pulaski County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton; Busroe 2000b).

    Spring: 14 April 2012 (Adair County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton)–23 May  2006 (Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2006c).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Medium- to large-sized lakes.

Remarks: With 48 sightings, the Surf Scoter is by far the most frequently encountered scoter in the Region, easily eclipsing both White-winged (15 sightings) and Black (19) scoters in total number of records accumulated Regionally.  Note the absence of records from early January to late April, as well as the small number of sightings during spring migration.

    Presence often the result of, or at least correlated with, inclement weather systems.  Only one Regional instance of presence at a site for a period of more than 1 or 2 days, that being a 12-day stay in Clay County, Tennessee; the Surf Scoters present during the latter half of November 2010 and the first half of December 2010 on Barren River Reservoir may have included an individual that exceeded this record but no way to confirm its continuing presence is available. Often associates with scaup and other diving ducks in migratory flocks.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited