Waterfowl and waterbirdsDucks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Greater Scaup

Aythya marila

The greater scaup, just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup and tufted duck. It spends the summer months breeding in Iceland, east across Scandinavia, northern Russia and Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada. During the winter, it migrates south to the coasts of Europe, eastern Asia, and North America.

Where it's been seen

Hotspots with reports in the last 30 days.

No hotspot reports in the last 30 days

Updated 10:50 AM

Loading recent sightings…

Through the year

Winter visitor · usually May–Jun and Oct–Apr

Greater Scaup: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026

Show as table

Greater Scaup: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026
Week	Checklists reporting it
Jan 1–7	0.9%
Jan 8–14	0.7%
Jan 15–21	0.8%
Jan 22–end	0.6%
Feb 1–7	0.4%
Feb 8–14	0.5%
Feb 15–21	0.4%
Feb 22–end	0.3%
Mar 1–7	0.4%
Mar 8–14	0.3%
Mar 15–21	0.4%
Mar 22–end	0.1%
Apr 1–7	0.1%
Apr 8–14	0.1%
Apr 15–21	<0.1%
Apr 22–end	0%
May 1–7	0%
May 8–14	<0.1%
May 15–21	<0.1%
May 22–end	0.3%
Jun 1–7	<0.1%
Jun 8–14	0.3%
Jun 15–21	<0.1%
Jun 22–end	0%
Jul 1–7	0%
Jul 8–14	0%
Jul 15–21	0%
Jul 22–end	0%
Aug 1–7	0%
Aug 8–14	0%
Aug 15–21	0%
Aug 22–end	0%
Sep 1–7	0%
Sep 8–14	0%
Sep 15–21	0%
Sep 22–end	0%
Oct 1–7	0%
Oct 8–14	0%
Oct 15–21	0.5%
Oct 22–end (now)	<0.1%
Nov 1–7	0.4%
Nov 8–14	0.9%
Nov 15–21	1%
Nov 22–end	1%
Dec 1–7	0.6%
Dec 8–14	0.7%
Dec 15–21	0.6%
Dec 22–end	0.6%

This week: Rare · <0.1% of checklists
Peak: late Nov · 1% of checklists
Earliest eBird record here: Dec 26, 1983
Checklists reporting it: 825 across 38 years
eBird high count: 6 (Dec 30, 2007)
First of 2026: Jan 1
All year, here vs Texas: 0.3% of checklists here, 0.2% statewide
Texas counties with records: 146 of 254 since 2016

Best hotspots for it

Share of complete checklists at each hotspot that reported it (2016–2026). Hotspots with fewer than 15 checklists are left out, and the order discounts small samples, so a hotspot with few checklists can sit below one with a lower share.

1Metropolis Drive Retention Pond, Austin4% of 25
2Walter E. Long Lake (HOTE-036)3% of 274
3Hornsby Bend (HOTE 037)2% of 3,769
4Town Lake Park (HOTE 042), Austin1% of 72
5Lake Travis--Bob Wentz Windy Point Pk1% of 779
6Mueller Lake Park0.8% of 127
7Southeast Greenway, Mueller0.7% of 899
8Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Metro Park0.5% of 755

From the eBird Basic Dataset (Sep-2026), complete checklists only.

Loading history…