Ask a bayman about "SCAUPS" and he wouldn't know what you meant. These Ducks are Broadbills or Bluebills to nearly all sportsmen. The Scaup and Lesser Scaup are by far the most numerous of all Ducks along the eastern shore and congregate in immense flocks in salt water bays where they feed on eelgrass, small crustaceans and mollusks. They are extremely sociable and hardy. I have seen thousands on new ice when the thermometer was close to zero, preening and apparently indifferent to the temperature.
More are killed by striking lighthouses during storms than are any other species of Duck. Altho crepescular they seem to lose their bearings easily in fog and I have helped gather their bodies from the ground after a stormy night.
North America. Breeds in western part of its range.