Black Scoter courtship calls

Among the scoters, Black Scoters are by far the most vocal. They congregate in late winter/early spring along the eastern and western North American seaboards, several males associating with each female (in this recording there are seven males with the female).
The male courtship call is a mournful whistle. Other sounds include a staccato noise heard during the "forward rush" display, when a male paddles rapidly while crouching low in the water (2,20,43,66,111,145s), and wing whistling (27,34,38,118s).
These recordings were made beside a jetty at Cape May Point, NJ in March.

whistle











whistles (time scale reduced)








forward rush sound










wing whistling (the sounds at 5-6kHz)









A second recording of these birds.