It belongs to the family of quite large and heavy ducks. Its weight can exceed 2 kilograms, and its wingspan – a meter. I took the photos of the common eider in Scotland. In Poland this species is seen almost exclusively on the coast. Especially the males’ plumage coloring attracts attention, and watching this bird you can hardly tell the location of its eye. It blends in with the black color of its head. Common eiders are also known for their down, which is used to make sleeping bags and jackets for mountaineers, as it is an excellent insulation material.
Last minute news - 12/2013
I did not expect to expand the eider’s gallery with new pictures in such short time and moreover with photos taken in Poland. Opening images of beautifully colored male were taken in Scotland. The new pictures show young eiders, and were taken on Hel (around the cape). The flock of a dozen birds, probably accustomed to people, keeping a certain distance from the shore posed most evidently. Reducing the distance would certainly intensify the effect of the images, but unfortunately the coast there is a restricted zone. Some difficulty also were quite high waves that caused capturing sweeping water in the frame instead of eider. During the two days I visited a few places looking for birds – eiders were only in this one place. And this is a unique representative of ducks and allies (Anatidae), not only because of the plumage . Eider is the largest plunging duck in the world. Inhabits only rocky coast of northern Europe and America , and East Asia. In Poland, it can be seen only in winter, then flies off to their breeding grounds.
Last minute news 06/2014 Iceland
It is estimated that the common eider population in Iceland in winter is about 850 thousand birds. In Iceland it’s not difficult to encounter common eiders indeed. The photos which I’ve uploaded recently were taken in June, when couples of eiders swam together with their young, combining in large, often multi-family flocks. In this scenery the most interesting, or the funniest, to be more precise, is the sound made by male eiders. I easily recorded it, together with the background sounds of their chicks swimming next to them. Males sound as if they expressed their astonishment, tilting their heads back as they produce the sound. Listen for yourselves, it comes out quite funny. Totally by chance many new images were created, which have changed the previous gallery of this species.
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