Michele Mendi

A diving seaduck breeding on inland waters in Scandinavia and Estonia, northern Russia and across central Siberia from the Yenissei to Kazakhstan, with isolated populations in the Caucasian region (Turkey until 2010, Armenia, Georgia). Winters along coasts of Western Europe, including the Mediterranean coasts, and in the Black and Caspian Seas. Winters also on inland lakes in the Alps, the Balkans. Monotypic, formerly considered conspecific with close relatives from East Siberia M. stejnegeri and North America M. deglandi.

Season of assessment

B

Population trendDecreasing
Population size
(min-max, best estimate)		36800-80300,57100
Red List categoryVU
Franks, S., Fiedler, W., Arizaga, J., Jiguet, F., Nikolov, B., van der Jeugd, Ambrosini, R, Aizpurua, O., Bairlein, F., Clark, J., Fattorini, N, Hammond, M., Higgins, D, Levering, H., Skellorn, W., Spina, F, Thorup, K. Walker, J., Woodward, I. and Baillie, S.R. (1) (2022) Online Atlas of the movements of European bird populations. https://migrationatlas.org EURING/CMS (1) Principal investigator
Map

Overall Connectivity for Velvet Scoter

In June and July, records are on the breeding grounds in the East (Estonia) and North (Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea). Nordic birds move to the southwest to wintering grounds surrounding Denmark and down to French Atlantic coast. Eastern birds, here mostly breeding in Estonia, provided winter records in the Kattegat area off Denmark, and in the adjacent North Sea. GPS tracking of birds wintering in off the Baltic states identified their breeding grounds in northern Siberia, in the Pechora Sea and east to the Yenisei and the Khatanga rivers (Žydelis et al. 2022). Low ringing effort for this species, especially in the far eastern and southern breeding populations. Populations breeding in the Caucasian area probably move to S and N of Black Sea.

Recoveries by Condition for Velvet Scoter

There is a large majority of live ring recovery, as the species is largely wintering at sea and not hunted in most countries. Shot recoveries still represent over 10% in recent time. So most information comes from live recoveries obtained during June-July in the North, and before 2000.

Annual Movements for Velvet Scoter

Tracking data illustrate some late winter movements in the Baltic Sea, with a short northeast shift between February and April. It is however difficult to time and describe precisely the movements along the year from ringing data because of the paucity of winter recoveries, but the general progress of migration is described above, and major connectivities too. The phenology of the autumn migration has changed, with a delay since the 1970s (Lehikoinen and Jaatinen 2012). More efforts are needed to document the migration strategy of Siberian and Caucasian populations, especially given the bad conservation status of the species.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Velvet Scoter

Atlantic wintering sites are still occupied in March, but in April Nordic birds have moved to seas around Denmark, before moving to their breeding grounds in May. Estonian breeders are mainly resighted in June and have left by September, providing few winter recoveries mostly at coasts between southern Sweden and eastern Denmark. Siberian breeders tracked with GPS left the Baltic states around mid-May, arriving on the breeding grounds in early June, to leave in July and move to moulting areas in the Pechora sea, where they can stay until October, though some birds were back in the Baltic by early October (Žydelis et al. 2022).

Frédéric Jiguet

References

Statistics Map
N records N individuals N recoveries
Mapped data*
Total available data
*Mapped data include only distant (>= 50 km) recoveries
References Map
Lehikoinen, A., Jaatinen, K.2012 . Delayed autumn migration in northern European waterfowl. Journal of Ornithology 153 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0777-z) : 563–570
Žydelis, R., Dagys, M., Morkūnas, J., Raudonikis, L.2022 . Satellite telemetry of Velvet Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks and Red-throated Divers in Lithuania. LIFE-Nature project "DENOFLIT". www.movebank.org

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