Just a bit of detail about the 1W Male Surf Scotor that my brother and I found at Wiseman's Bridge on Monday.
Frankly, we went at almost totally the "wrong" time: the very bottom of a Spring tide. But it was only intended to be a quick look at a site that I had never visited before, whilst on our way to Carmarthen. However, what we lost on range (there was >300m of exposed beach, and the birds were another 200+ metres out) we gained in terms of conditions: sun from the West and near-flat calm. So perfect for long-range duck watching.
The Surf Scotor was relatively close (i.e. only c.300m off shore) and, unlike the Broad Haven bird that we had been to see first thing in the morning, in with a small flock of Commons. It was immediately obvious by the large very pale grey patch on the back of the neck, and then by the very large mis-shapen bill, which was just beginning to acquire some colour (essentially dirty yellow, and pale grey at the base). The bill was far more obvious in terms of both size and shape than that on the Broad Haven female (which I confess to having been slightly disappointed by in this regard!): think Shoveler rather than Eider. The bill also contributed to the bird having what I now understand to be quite a classic Surf Scotor appearance of a over-sized head/bill, and so quite a squat appearance at rest, especially compared to the Commons around it, which were very active, and so appeared long-necked.
The Broad Haven bird was diving a lot in the morning, and hence gave us the opportunity to compare its action (shown very well in Brian S's photo sequence) and lack of white wing bars. We had met Chris Taylor and new Skokholm Wardens Rich and Giselle at Broad Haven (confirming quite how friendly Pembrokeshire "twitches' can be), and they were incredibly helpful at running through the key ID details for that bird. By contrast the Wiseman's Bridge bird was just floating in the flock, although it must have dived, because we lost it whilst changing scopes!
My big lesson from this bird is that, perhaps in our county more than many, it really helps to have the combination of experience (to get the ID right) and confidence: because I had seen a Surf Scotor earlier on in the day and gone through the ID at length, I was far more confident when I found one for myself 8 hours later.
Other birds seen amongst the Scotors included a female Scaup with a large white patch at the base of the bill, Red-throated Divers, and a Red-brested Merganser.
