COMMON EIDER 

 ( Somateria mollisslma ) 



[DA: Ederfugl, DU: Eidereend , EN: Eider— Duck, FI: Haahka , FR: Eider a duvet, 

 GE: Eiderente, IC : AEderfugl, IT: Edredone, NW: AErfugl, PO: Edredon, SP: Eider, 

 SW: Ejder] 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION 



The Common Eider nests very near the coast of Arctic North America from 

 southwestern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands around the western and northern 

 shores of Alaska, the Arctic shores of Canada (with a gap at about 100° W lati- 

 tude), islands in the Canadian Archipelago, the shores of Hudson Bay, and the 

 Ungava Peninsula, south along the Atlantic coast of Canada to Newfoundland, the 

 St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Maritime Provinces, and Maine. 

 In winter this eider is found along the Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands 

 south rarely to Washington, and in eastern North America in the open waters of 

 Hudson and James bays and on the Atlantic coast from Labrador south to Long Is- 

 land. Some birds reach Virginia and North Carolina, and they are casual to 

 Florida. There are scattered records from inland states and provinces (AOU 

 1957, Palmer 1976b). The Common Eider also nests on the coasts of Greenland, 

 Iceland, northern Europe, and Asia. 



The Common Eider is found only uncommonly In the southeastern United 

 States. There are records almost every year in North Carolina (Map 23), but of 

 only one or a few birds each year. Literature surveyed for this report revealed 

 only seven records for South Carolina, 1962-79, of one or two birds on each oc- 

 casion. The seven records for Florida, 1955-73, include one for the Dry Tortu- 

 gas (Petrovic and King 1972), perhaps the most southern record for the species, 

 and one from the Gulf coast (Sprunt 1963), the only definite report from the 

 Gulf. 



SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OIL POLLUTION 



Like other sea ducks that gather in large concentrations in the open ocean, 

 the Common Eider is very susceptible to oil pollution. Oiling incidents have 

 been frequent and large numbers of birds have been involved in some (Table 6). 

 However , the Common Eider is uncommon in waters off the southeastern United 

 States, where sightings have been of one or a few birds at a time, rather than 

 great rafts, and close inshore rather than well out to sea. Although individ- 

 uals would remain highly vulnerable in the southeast , damage to the Common Eider 

 population by oiling in this area would be virtually nil. 



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