The Lesser Scaup is chiefly a prairie breeder wintering south to the Gulf states.
It is mainly a bird of passage in Ontario, though a few may be found in summer and winter.
Lesser Scaup show a purple gloss on the head. Greater Scaup show a green gloss.
The Lesser Scaup is usually in a shallow, marshy habitat, not in deep water where the Greater Scaup is often seen in great rafts.
Other birds:
Species list: black-crowned night heron, double-crested cormorant, mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, gadwall, bufflehead, American wigeon, long-tailed duck, lesser scaup, common goldeneye, red-breasted merganser, hooded merganser, American coot, ring-billed gull, herring gull, rock pigeon, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, house sparrow, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, song sparrow. (23 species)
Park scenes:
Today’s group:
NATURE POETRY
Now by great marshes wrapt in mist,
Or past some river’s mouth,
Throughout the long, still autumn day
Wild birds are flying south. – Wilfred Campbell (1858–1918)
Miles Hearn