White-winged scoter
Males are all black except for white around the eye and a white speculum (wing feathers).
Issue: this duck had lead-poisoning most probably from consuming an old fishing lead lure sitting on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River.
Treatment: Le Nichoir provided supportive care such as food, warmth and treated the duck with drugs to reduce the lead levels.
Result: the Scoter was released with a large flock of other Scoters in Valois Bay this winter.
Did you know? Scoters are only seen in the Montreal area during the winter as they migrate from the most Northern tips of Canada to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
First published in the Hudson/Saint-Lazare Gazette and are reprinted here with permission.