Divers Dabbling
The Scaup are the greatest divers among ducks. They can go down 20 feet and stay down for a whole minute. Then why are these Scaup — and there were a dozen or more doing the same thing — dabbling with butt up in the air, as if they were no-can-dive Mallards? The answer: low tide. The bottom with its patches of seaweed and other ducky things to eat wasn’t down 20 feet. It wasn’t down 20 inches. So in the name of conservation of effort, these expert divers borrowed a page from the dabbler playbook. I mean, why bother traveling when the table is set so near?
More about Greater Scaup: Wikipedia Cornell Audubon In Chavez Park
