Saturday 2 November 2013

Eider Duck

I continue with my Saturday's posts and today I am showing you the  
Common Eider - Somateria mollissima. 

It is both the largest of the four eider species and the largest duck found in Europe and in North America (except for the Muscovy Duck which only reaches North America in a wild state in southern most Texas).  It measures 20 to 28 ins in length, weighs 1.8 to 6.7 lb and spans 31–43 ins across the wings. It is characterised by its bulky shape and large, wedge-shaped bill.


The male is unmistakable, with its black and white plumage and green nape.


This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs, with mussels being a favoured food. The eider will eat mussels by swallowing them whole; the shells are then crushed in their gizzard and excreted. When eating a crab, the Eider will remove all of its claws and legs, and then eat the body in a similar fashion.


The female is a brown bird, but can still be readily distinguished from all ducks, except other eider species, on the basis of size and head shape. This duck's call is "ah-ooo". The species is often readily approachable.







Drakes of the European, eastern North American and Asia/western North American races can be distinguished by minor differences in plumage and bill colour. Some authorities place the subspecies v-nigra as a separate species.



This male Eider above is in Eclipse plumage.
In Canada's Hudson Bay, important eider die-offs were observed in the 1990s by local populations due to quickly changing ice flow patterns. The Canadian Wildlife Service has spent several years gathering up-to-date information on their populations, and preliminary results seem to show a population recovery.  The Common Eider is the object of a 2011 feature length documentary, People of a Feather, which studies the historical relationship between the Sanikiluaq community and eiders, as well as various aspects of their ecology. The director/cinematographer/biologist Joel Heath spent seven years on the project and writing biological articles on the Common Eider.


These Eider are in breeding plumage.  Some breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. 


 In Canada's Hudson Bay, important eider die-offs were observed in the 1990s by local populations due to quickly changing ice flow patterns. The Canadian Wildlife Service has spent several years gathering up-to-date information on their populations, and preliminary results seem to show a population recovery.  The Common Eider is the object of a 2011 feature length documentary, People of a Feather, which studies the historical relationship between the Sanikiluaq community and eiders, as well as various aspects of their ecology. The director/cinematographer/biologist Joel Heath spent seven years on the project and writing biological articles on the Common Eider.



The Common Eider is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.


The eider's nest is built close to the sea and is lined with the celebrated eiderdown, plucked from the female's breast. This soft and warm lining has long been harvested for filling pillows and quilts, but in more recent years has been largely replaced by down from domestic farm-geese and synthetic alternatives. Although eiderdown pillows or quilts are now a rarity, eiderdown harvesting continues and is sustainable, as it can be done after the ducklings leave the nest with no harm to the birds.

The duck spend most of the year at sea returning in February for the breeding season.


Eiders are colonial breeders. They nest on coastal islands in colonies ranging in size of less than 100 to upwards of 10,000-15,000 individuals.  

Female eiders frequently exhibit a high degree of natal philopatry, where they return to breed on the same island where they were hatched. This can lead to a high degree of relatedness between individuals nesting on the same island, as well as the development of kin-based female social structures.  This relatedness has likely played a role in the evolution of co-operative breeding behaviours amongstEeiders. Examples of these behaviours include laying eggs in the nests of related individuals  and crèching, where female eiders team up.


The Latin name for the Common Eider seen along our coast is ‘Somateria mollissima’.  ‘Mollissima’ refers to their favourite food of mussels.


They can fly at speeds up to 70 mph.



A particularly famous colony of eiders lives on the Farne Islands in Northumberland, England. These birds were the subject of one of the first ever bird protection laws, established by Saint Cuthbert in the year 676. About 1,000 pairs still nest there every year. Because St. Cuthbert is the patron saint of Northumberland, it was natural that the eider should be chosen as the county's emblem bird; the birds are still often called Cuddy's ducks in the area, "Cuddy" being the familiar form of "Cuthbert".


Above is a stained glass window in St Cuthbert’s Church in Amble depicting the scene of St Cuthbert with his beloved eider.

This video is mainly of Eiders that Eileen and I saw when we walked round Ballymacormick Point 

Now for the video.  Be warned, it is shaky so some may need sea sickness tablets (Tex).  I have tried to stabilise it as best I can.

 You can access the video at

http://youtu.be/64Iyhs7BXYY

If this is a black space below, click it and the video will appear.


I hope everyone was OK after the video and I hope you all enjoyed the seeing and learning about the beautiful Eider duck.

Tomorrow, Eileen and I take a walk around Ballymacormick Pint where this video was filmed and I will show you what birds we found.
Thanks for visiting  today.

38 comments:

  1. they are such an unusual duck and you show many examples of Margaret; lovely to see them

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  2. HI Carole Yes unusual and beautiful. Glad you liked it and thanks for your comment.

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  3. The males are very striking! The females are a bit on the drab side but with a serene and regal look to them. Very interesting post, Margaret.

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    1. HI Linda Like all female ducks they need to be a duller colour so that they can blend into their surroundings especially when they are on the nest. By the way, wile they are on the nest, they never move, you could walk right by them without seeing them. Glad you found the post interesting and thanks for comment.

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  4. Definitely nothing like this in Australia. A very unusual Duck and maybe one of my favourites thanks to your introduction! Love the video and your call impression too! :)

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    1. HI Christian No, I only put Australian birds on my blog on Wednesday. (Thats a clue) You are very kind to say my impression of the duck was good. We believe it was Bill Oddie UK) who accurately described it as a version of Frankie Howerd’s ‘Ooo eer missus’ in ‘Up Pompei’. Glad you liked the video and the duck

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    2. I know it's not an Australian bird, I was just commenting on its exotic beauty! I love your Wednesday Aussie Bird series, I always learn something new about my locals! Now I'm off to Youtube to look up that song :)

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  5. Great photographs and an interesting read. Thank you.

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  6. HI Adrian Glad you found the images good and the information interesting.

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  7. Fascinating read. Love discovering new information about animals. I think it's quite interesting that they nest so close to the sea.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  8. HI Mersad I am glad you found this post interesting. This Eider is a truly sea duck and when the young are hatched the female accompanies them down to the water and sometimes they are accompanied by kin members for greater protection. They then have more chance of survival if they go into a creche. The greater the group the less they are predated. Many thanks for your comment.

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  9. Beautiful pictures of the eiders, Margaret.
    Greetings Irma

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    1. HI Irma Glad you enjoyed the images and thanks for comment

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  10. with your warning, i didn't even attempt the video. sorry!

    these are such unique ducks! odd but so strikingly handsome, too! and their colorations!

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    1. HI Tex Yes I didn't want you to be sick, but I am glad you enjoyed the post so thanks for your comment.

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  11. This is an amazing bird with his size and markings! i would really like to see one, but there are probably not any around here. In the ninth and tenth pictures, he looks just a wee bit like a puffin.

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    1. HI Ginny Glad you enjoyed this beautiful bird and thanks for comment.

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  12. Thank you - I do love ducks. The water in your first two images is very beautiful too. Great capture.

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    1. Hi EC I am glad you enjoyed this duck and the water in the first 2 images. Thanks for comment.

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  13. Marvelous post! I love the eider duck and also the one of Saint Cuthburt and his favorite eider duck.

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    1. HI Denise Glad you liked this post and the bit about St Cuthburt. Thanks for comment.

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  14. The Eider are cool looking ducks! I love the stained glass, it is beautiful! Wonderful post, Margaret!

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  15. HI Eileen Glad you liked both the duck and the stain glass window. Thanks for comment.

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  16. Wonderful info Margaret. The male's beak and neck almost look too big for the rest of the body. I do like the feather pattern and color of the female. That's a lovely shade of green on the male.
    I like that they are a big happy family. Those little balls of fuzzy feathers are so cute.

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    1. Hi Carletta. Very glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for all your comments.

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  17. wow what a gorgeous creature, so unusual, even though the Mrs isn't as colourful, she too is gorgeous. The stained glass is beautiful. Wonderful post, I've missed my visits but now that I have a new motherboard all is a go again.

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    1. Hi Lynn. Great To hav enough back but now I am having problem with my computer so am trying to type on my mini ipad! Anyhow many thanks for comments and glad you enjoyed the duck.

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  18. Brilliant images, and the things you said, superb.

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    1. Hi Bob. Glad you liked the duck and info and thanks. For comments.

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  19. Very interesting post with some beautiful photos - loved the video at the end and the stained glass window is stunning :)

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    1. Hi RR. Glad you liked the duck, stain glass window and the info. Thanks for comments.

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  20. These are really beautiful and interesting ducks. They're gorgeous in their breeding plumage. Enjoyed learning more about them. :)

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  21. A super post Margaret with lots of great images. I think the Common Eider is quite amazing, I have only ever seen them in the Gairloch in Scotland.

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    1. Hi Roy. Glad you hav esteem this lovely duck and enjoyed the post. Thanks for comments.

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  22. Hi Gail. Glad you are enjoying and learning about this duck and thanks for comment.

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  23. A lovely post Margaret they are beautiful birds to see...

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  24. Great photos and historical information!

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  25. Thanks for the interesting research. The drake is certainly a strikingly handsome fellow.

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