Surf Scoter or "skunk-duck"; Melanitta perspicillata. Found these guys hovering around the Imperial Beach pier during a very low tide. They were diving for seaweed off the bottom. I first saw these ducks up in the Prince William Sound in Alaska. Ironically, after spending all that money to go up to Alaska to see the wildlife, I find that the birds, at least, spend their Winters in San Diego. Go figure.
