An adut drake Black Scoter has been present at Goswick in Northumberland since Thursday 29th December 2016. Probably the same bird which has been returning annually to the same general area since 2011. There have been thirteen UK records of this trans-Atlantic vagrant previously.
From Druridge Bay Country Park/East Chevington it's not far to Goswick. Myself & Dave arrived mid-afternoon. Another couple of birders had just arrived at the golf club car park, so we all headed north beyond the dunes & set up our 'scopes, scanning for flocks of Scoter.
After only a few minutes one of the other birders exclaimed, "I think I've got it! Yes, that's it!". Although there were large flocks further out, the Black Scoter was in a small flock of maybe a dozen or so birds, reasonably close. The flock was very active, repeatedly all diving together, then easily disappearing behind waves, but when good views were obtained the bright sunlight from behind us lit up the extensive yellow on the bill of the Black Scoter like a beacon.
Goswick is within sight of Bamburgh, where i saw my first Surf Scoter in 1973. It's probably about that long ago I had two new birds in one day!
