Nothing Common About

This Eider

During the winter months, the meandering coastline of Maine, with its jutting ledges, rockweed-covered boulders, and raw, chilling weather isn’t appealing to some critters. However, for some wildlife these hundreds of miles of frigid coves and inlets provide the perfect winter habitat. One such critter is the common eider.

The common eider is the largest of the ducks, with an overall length often more than two feet. This duck is both beautiful and unusual in appearance, particularly the male. The most distinguishing characteristic is the large, long, sloping forehead.

The male common eider boasts olive-green feathers that extend from each side of the bill and up the forehead to just below the eyes. This olive-green area is defined by a thin line of black feathers that widen at the eyes and create a mask, which extends over and down the back of the head. The male’s neck is white with a tinge of green, while the balance of the body feathers contains large sections of white and black feathers.

The female eider has the same body characteristics as the male; however their feathers are predominately a mottled brown color.

Not only are the feathers of the common eider beautiful, but; they were once also very valuable. For centuries the eider was harvested for its high quality down feathers. The most valuable down was gathered from the extremely soft breast feathers of the female, and used to make pillows and high quality quilts. Fortunately, in the early 1900s, the mass harvesting of the eider was stopped before the population became extinct. Populations have rebuilt and are now thriving along the northern east and west coasts.

Although there have been occasional sightings of eiders in the Great Lakes; the common eider is a coastal bird and prefers rocky inlets and shallow saltwater bays. The coast provides the best habitat for their primary food source, which is shellfish. Mussels and other shellfish are plucked from the rocky coast and amazingly swallowed whole. Once swallowed, the eider’s stomach muscles are designed to crush the shellfish and digest both the shell and its contents.

The eider’s range extends along the Alaskan coast and across the Arctic to Greenland. The birds in this region are migratory and travel down the east and west coasts for the winter.

On the west coast, the birds travel down as far as Washington and Oregon, while on the east coast birds have been seen as far south as Virginia. The largest non-migratory populations are located along, and off, the coast of Maine. Maine has seen a remarkable recovery in the common eider populations and has become a major breeding and nesting habitat. These birds have become permanent residents and generally don’t travel very far from the breeding grounds.

The best time of year to find and photograph eiders is in the winter. Therefore, to prepare for a shoot such as this, appropriate clothing becomes a key factor. Dress in layers, and prepare to be outside and sitting in one place for at least a couple of hours.

With some research and scouting, you may find a road close to the water that offers opportunities for eider photography. Here, you can use a window-mount and shoot from the vehicle. This, of course, requires a longer lens and offers limited shooting possibilities.

I prefer to be mobile and move with the birds, if necessary. I always shoot from a tripod, and if you do the same, lower your tripod legs so you can sit behind it. This creates a lower angle and a better shooting perspective.

Use your longest telephoto lens, but bring a mid-range telephoto as well. I use a 500mm telephoto and bring along an 80-400mm VR (vibration reduction) lens, to be handheld, on another camera body. The big lens will give you the portraits and the mid-range lens can be used for group shots.

Take your meter reading before you go down to the water. The water reflects light and will give your meter a false reading.

If the sun is out, this is a good time to use a polarizing filter (available anywhere photo filters are sold). A polarizing filter, if used at a 90-degree angle to the sun, will eliminate any glare off the water and give a deep saturated color to both the birds and the water. The bad news about using a polarizing filter is that you lose about one-stop of light. So, for example, if your meter reading is 1/500 at f 8, then once you put on the polarizing filter you will be at 1/500 at f 5.6 or 1/250 at f 8, whichever you prefer. Therefore, use the polarizing filter if there is sufficient sun to give up one-stop of light and still maintain the shutter speed or aperture opening that you desire.

The next important ingredient is patience!

Good shooting!