Male Eider - Mannetje Eider
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Male Eider - Mannetje Eider
Male Eider - Mannetje Eider
Somateria mollissima.
Somateria mollissima.
Somateria mollissima.
Polystica stelleri
Barrow, Alaska (USA)
Edredone Comune - Common eider (Somateria mollissima)
Edredone Comune - Common eider (Somateria mollissima)
Edredone Comune - Common eider (Somateria mollissima)
Edredone Comune - Common eider (Somateria mollissima)
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
Skerries Co.Dublin 09-04-2021
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Somateria
Species:S. mollissima
Binomial name
Somateria mollissima
[order] Anseriformes | [family] Anatidae | [latin] Somateria mollissima | [UK] Eider | [FR] Eider à duvet | [DE] Eiderente | [ES] Eider | [IT] Edredone | [NL] Eider | [IRL] Éadar
spanwidth min.: 95 cm
spanwidth max.: 105 cm
size min.: 60 cm
size max.: 70 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 25 days
incubation max.: 28 days
fledging min.: 65 days
fledging max.: 75 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 4
eggs max.: 7
Status: Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
Conservation Concern: Amber-listed in Ireland due to the majority of Eiders wintering at less than ten sites.The European population is regarded as Secure.
Identification: Large and heavy-built, with short neck, large head, long wedge-shaped bill. Birds seen in irregular - loose clusters. Males largely white with black belly, sides and stern. Head white with black crown, and pale green on sides of the nape.
Similar Species: Adult male is unmistakable. Females and immature resemble other duck species.
Call: Male with cooing display-call, and a far carrying 'a-ooh-e'.
Diet: They generally feed by diving in waters up to 20 m depth, feeding predominantly on mussels, other molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.
Breeding: Eider nest colonially on offshore islets, along low-lying coast, usually where the threat of mammalian predation is minimal. Eider seldom occur far from the sea throughout the year. They breed around the coast of Scotland and northern England and along the north and northwest coasts of Ireland. Up to 100 pairs have been estimated in Ireland.
Wintering: Occurs on shallow, inshore coastal waters, near estuary mouths mostly along the northwest and northeast coastlines.
Where to See: Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly supports almost 1,000 & 500 birds respectively. Lough Foyle in County Derry, Strangford Lough in County Down, Larne Lough in County Antrim and the Streedagh Estuary in County Sligo and other well-used wintering sites on the east coast, including estuaries and inlets between Dundalk and Skerries in north Dublin.
Physical characteristics
The Common Eider Somateria mollissima is the largest duck in the northern hemisphere. It weighs an average of 1 800 g, but its weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depending on race, sex, and time of year. There are four Common Eider races in North America; subtle differences in body size and bill structure distinguish each race from the other.
The plumage of the Common Eider varies considerably. It passes through several stages while the bird is growing to maturity, and after the bird reaches adulthood at about three years old, the plumage alternates between two colours each year as a result of moulting, or the replacement of old feathers with new. In addition, the male's plumage differs from the female's.
Between the ages of three weeks and three years, male Common Eiders moult their feathers eight times, changing their colour from a juvenile blackish brown to an adult olive-brown and white in winter and a striking black and white, with a small area of light emerald green on the back and sides of the head, during the breeding season. Changes in female plumage are less dramatic: from a juvenile blackish brown, the duck becomes rusty-to-tan. The female's summer colours provide good camouflage in the vegetation and rocks of the offshore islands on which she breeds.
Common Eiders can live 20 years, one of the longest lifespans among sea ducks. However, the expected lifespan for eider populations which are heavily harvested may be much shorter.
Habitat
Of all sea ducks, the Common Eider is the most closely tied to marine habitat. It lives in arctic and subarctic coastal marine areas, where it frequents coastal headlands, offshore islands, skerries, and shoals. The Common Eider rarely leaves the water in the winter, and some races remain as far north as there is open water. The seven races of Common Eiders have different breeding ranges. In North America the southern race Somateria mollissima dresseri breeds from Maine to Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast; the northern race Somateria mollissima borealis breeds from northern Labrador to Ellesmere Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic; the Hudson Bay race Somateria mollissima sedentaria remains all year within Hudson Bay; and the Pacific race Somateria mollissima v-nigra breeds from Coronation Gulf in the MacKenzie District of the Northwest Territories to the south side of the Alaskan peninsula. Three subspecies are found outside North America: one in northwest Europe, one in Iceland and a third in the Faeroe Islands north of Great Britain.
The Common Eider belongs to the sea duck tribe (Mergini), which contains closely related ducks, all of which use marine habitats to some degree. The King Eider Somateria spectabilis, Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri, and Common Eider all belong to the same genus, and hybridization is known to occur between Common and King Eiders. Eider ducks are gregarious, travelling and feeding in flocks numbering from tens to thousands.
Other details
This mainly marine species is breeding on arctic islands, in the north-west and extreme east of Eurasia and in North America. Some populations are sedentary. Others are migratory, wintering mainly in Denmark, northern Germany and the Netherlands, but reaching the Atlantic coasts of France. A few birds are seen in Central Europe and the western Mediterranean. The population of north-western Europe is totalling 1.7 to 2.3 millions of individuals (Scott & Rose). A few birds also reach Greece. They probably belong to a small population inhabiting the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea
