This species breeds on small bodies of fresh water in boreal forests or tundra, wintering at sea in shallow waters of bays, estuaries and river mouths. It feeds chiefly on molluscs, but also eats crustaceans, worms, echinoderms and, mainly in summer; insects and their larvae and plant material, feeding mostly by diving. Its breeding season begins in May or June, when it breeds in single pairs or loose groups in shallow depressions poorly lined with grass and some feathers (del Hoyo et al. 1996) .

The Surf Scoter can be found in North America, breeding inland from western Alaska (USA) through central Canada to Labrador, and wintering from the Aleutian Islands down to Baja California (Mexico) on the Pacific coast, and along the Atlantic coast of the USA as far south as South Carolina (del Hoyo et al. 1996) .