Eider
| Irish Name: | Éadar |
| Scientific name: | Somateria mollissima |
| Bird Family: | Ducks |
red
Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Resident along rocky coasts in the north and north-west of Ireland.
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.
Voice
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.
Monitored by
Locally abundant resident on Northern coasts.
Belfast Lough in County Down and Outer Ards in County Down regularly support 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 are other well-used wintering sites.
