Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra)

Abundance: Rare (13 records in 5 counties, 4 in Kentucky and 1 in Tennessee).

Status: Transient during fall/early winter (13 records); sight records.

Regional High Count: 7 (see second record below).

Information on Records: 

5 November 1984 (4--age/sex unspecified) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr. [notes]; Peterjohn 1985 [cites incorrect site]).

31 October 1993 (7 females or immatures) Casey Creek, Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr.; Monroe, Stamm, and Stinson 1994a).

14 November 1997 (1 female or immature) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 1998a).

6 November 2002 (1 female or immature) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2003a).

9 November 2003 (1--age/sex unspecified) Fishing Creek Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2004a).

28 October 2005 (1 female or immature) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2006a).

18 November 2005 (3 females or immatures) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data).

6 December 2005 (5--1 male and 4 females or immatures) Wolf Creek Dam, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006b).

12 November 2006 (1--age/sex unspecified) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2007a).

12 November 2006 (1--female) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2007a).

19 November 2007 (3--females or immatures) Mason's Island, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (T. Aaron Hulsey unpubl. data).

24 November/14 December 2007 (3--age/sex unspecified) Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton unpubl. data).

29 October 2008 (1--female) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer unpubl. data).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Fall:  28 October 2005 (1 female or immature; DeKalb County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2006a)-14 December 2007 (3--age and sex unspecified; Russell County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton unpubl. data).

    Spring: No records.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Usually associated with large, open lakes.

Remarks: Note the similar dates of the Regional sightings, indicative of the period during which future sightings are most likely to occur.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited