Female Greater Scaup, Rekajavik town centre, Iceland, June 2008
Pictures taken with a DLSR and a 400mm telephoto lens
Scaup is
a species that has always made a day out in the field worthwhile; back
in Northumberland there were places this
species was a common winter visitor. In Øygarden it is seen
mostly during the late autumn but can turn up in both winter and
spring. The breeding population on the Hardangervidda is
declining - seemingly due to drowning in fishing nets and disturbance -
the use of which is increasing as more and more Norwegians build cabins
into the mountains.
Above
and below: Scaup at Heggøy, Øygarden, Norway, 05 December
2008
Above
and below: Migrating Scaup, German
Sector of the North Sea, November 2011
A Scaup whose identity has been questioned, Tjeldstø,
Øygarden, August 2011
I see no reason why this bird should not be a Scaup (although the back
is rather dark and the time of year is off)
Picture taken with DSLR and 400mm lens (hand held)
Above and below: Scaup,
Vurrusjøen, Engerdal,
Hedmark, October 2015
The status of this species in Engerdal is unclear but it is obviously
reasonably regular.
These autumn aythya can be
something of a head scratcher and to be honest are not always
straightforward to separate from each other - especially in poor light
conditions
