Frank Mantlik's excellent post on the Black Scoter situation, augmented by Steve Broker's CBC data, needs no augmentation but I'll add my full endorsement. As long as I've been involved with bird records in CT I've considered Black Scoter one of the more "over-reported" species. I use that term, rather than mis-identified, because actual Black Scoters are usually ID'd correctly, but other species are often mis-ID's as Blacks. Frank is spot on in citing immature male Surf Scoter as the prime culprit. I'd add distance, poor viewing conditions and, unfortunately, desire to add an often difficult species to a list. Steve notes distribution in the Sound, which is very uneven. It's worth noting that during migration Black Scoters often drop onto inland lakes in good-sized flocks. These birds are usually visibly "nervous", bunch close together and seldom stay very long. The other scoter species sometimes appear on lakes, but not in my experience in sizable flocks the way Blacks do. Greg Hanisek Waterbury