photo by Greg Hofmann

4/12/2004: A few weeks ago it was a pair Bufflehead, this time it's a Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) that is demonstrating the run-on-water liftoff technique typical of diving birds. The orange, black, and white bills of the males lend them a clown-like aspect up close; for some reason these birds seem to prefer to swim in single file, making them easy to identify at a distance.