Eider

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Eider, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Endangered
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Near Threatened
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WBD(II*,III*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

The extent of breeding range of the Eider is relatively unchanged since the 1968–72 Breeding Atlas, with gains in occupied 10-km squares Wales, Morecambe Bay and the Isle of Man but some losses in western Scotland and Shetland (Balmer et al. 2013). In Shetland, where the birds are believed to be from the faeroensis subspecies, the has been a strong decline from 17,000 individuals in 1977 to 4,627 in 2012 (Heubeck & Mellor 2013). The population trend elsewhere in the UK is unclear.

UK winter population

-31% decrease (1995/96 to 2020/21)

In winter Eiders are found all around the coastline of Britain with the exception of much of the Solway Firth, Cardigan Bay and the Bristol Channel. The greatest concentrations are along the North Sea coast from Shetland to North Yorkshire, and in the northwest in Argyllshire and the Clyde estuary, northern parts of Ireland and Morecambe Bay.

Since the 1968–72 Breeding Atlas there have been notable breeding distribution gains in northwest Wales, Morecambe Bay, the Isle of Man, and throughout the north coast of Ireland.

Eiders are present throughout the year at suitable coastal locations.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	35 years 6 months 26 days (set in 1994)
Typical Lifespan	14 years with breeding typically at 3 year
Adult Survival	0.916±0.017
Juvenile Survival	0.33 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	290.2±14.9 | Range 267–312mm, N=62
	Males	301.4±9.1 | Range 287–313mm, N=22
	Females	284±13.8 | Range 255.5–298.5mm, N=40

Body Weight

Adults

2.13±0.2 | Range 1.83–2.35kg, N=22

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	H*
Field Codes	2-letter: E. | 5-letter code: EIDER | Euring: 2060

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

The decline of the Shetland population (faeroensis) has been attributed initially to an oil pollution incident in 1978/79 and high levels of unexplained mortality the following winter; the causes of more recent declines are unknown but may include deterrence measures at aquaculture sites and predation by marine mammals including Killer Whales (Heubeck & Mellor 2013). A study in Northumberland identified changes to adult survival as the main driver of population changes, and suggested that this change was caused by food shortages and had led to recent more widespread declines across northern Europe (Coulson 2010). The same study identified very low survival of ducklings and, although this was not identified as the main driver of population change, the author suggested that increasing duckling survival might be the most likely means to reverse the trend for this species.