Around 10:30 am this morning (Nov 19) I observed a female Black Scoter on The Great Miami River opposite Carillon Park. Although overcast skies limited color, the view was excellent. The head had the dark cap with a contrasting pale, (not white) cheek, which contrasted with the all-dark body. The bill was black with slight bump at about the mid-point of the upper side. The bird was noticeably smaller than nearby mallards. The bird was swimming upstream. When I first saw it, it was mid-stream even with the drainage pipe below the Courtyard by Marriott hotel. At the time I left it was checking out the waters near the other (more active) drainage below the UD softball stadium.
North of Washington Street, at the edge of a flock of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, a single Bonaparte's Gull was present.
In Carillon Park, besides the regulars, the single Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, several Golden-crowned Kinglets, 3 Brown Creepers, and many White-throated Sparrows broke the wind-driven silence with their calls.
Brad JacksonFishers IN

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