White-winged Scoter

[Ed O'Connor]

These big ducks don't usually come in close to shore, but with all the ice now, open water is restricted to a few areas on the Leslie Street Spit. This was by the red bridge, where quite a few ducks and swans had congregated, including a pair of Canvasback.

White-winged Scoter by Edward O'Connor, on Flickr

[Shortsighted]

Your Scoter comes across like a heavily armoured man-of-war.
It looks intimidating. Haven't seen any WWS for a few years.
They came fairly close to shore both at Sam Smith and at Ashbridges,
especially with respect to the females. I was positioned on an ice sheet next to boulders
right beside terra firma at Ashbridges, and on the gravel at the tip of the spit at CSS.
The WWS were diving for mussels in both locations.

[Shortsighted]

Ed, I've attached photos of the Scoters at Ashbridges and CSS for your perusal.

[Ed O'Connor]

That's an amazing shot with the mussels. No wonder scoters get so big.

[Ally]

How do they eat the mussels? as a whole or pick out the meat?

[Shortsighted]

I would imagine that the whole mussel is digested.
The shell is calcium carbonate so it serves as a good
source of calcium and great for an upset stomach.
The sharp edges of the shell might be a problem but
with plenty of water to wash it down ... maybe not.
Don't try this at home.