Greater Scaup

A foray out to the northern tip of Amager today produced a flock of 550+ Greater Scaup, easily the largest flock of these birds I have seen. They were resting just offshore and I spent a good hour going through the flock examining the glorious plumage of the adult males and checking for anything unusual in amongst them. It was odd having to find the odd Tufted Duck in a huge flock of Scaup - in the UK it is usually the other way around!

A couple of times the flock was seemingly spooked by something and took to the air in a whirr of wings and splashes but, after a couple of circuits, always returned to the same area. The majority (at least 350) were females with a mixture of adult and immature males making up the remainder. A joy to see.

Photos: part of the flock of 550+; Scaup taking off; Scaup in flight; Scaup landing; portrait of male and female asleep; and portrait of an adult male.