Sea Duck Information Series - Black Scoter -(Melanitta nigra)

Generally, black scoters breed near shallow tundra lakes in Alaska, or tundra and taiga (boreal forest) lakes in eastern Canada. They winter in near-shore marine and estuarine areas, and to a lesser extent in the Great Lakes.
As with other sea ducks, black scoters are believed to reach sexual maturity when they are two or three years old.The diet of black scoters at sea is predominantly mollusks (e.g., mussels and clams), but also crustaceans (e.g., snails, periwinkles), limpets, barnacles, and vegetation.