Today while out around Rossbeigh I decided to pay a visit to the mountain stage stretch of road to the West of the strand. The road is positioned (somewhat precariously) above a stretch of dirt cliffs which tower above Dingle bay below. The base of the cliffs has hosted some interesting guests over the past few years in particular a young male Sperm Whale which was them pummeled to pieces by the swell over the course of two to three weeks. But a rather special visitor has also made an appearance off those cliffs in recent weeks.As an Irish first, the Black Scoter (a sea Duck from America) enticed many twitcher's (people who flock to rare bird sightings) from all corners of Ireland to catch a glimpse of this slightly larger black duck to the numerous and native Common Scoter.
I on the other hand did not rush to see this "lifer" due to college commitments and also the fact that I would have great difficulty spotting a single black duck in among a raft of 60 or so other black ducks with only the defining characteristics of this first visitor being is larger size and yellow bulge above its beak, these features over 1-2 km away are exceptionally difficult to pinpoint for a budding seawatcher such as myself!
Truth be told I may easily have spotted the Black Scoter either last weekend, today or even on both occasions without even really knowing it so I may or may not have my first "lifer" under the belt!
However sightings of another sea duck did secure my interest and beckoned me to try and locate it, a Common Eider. Most people would associate Eider with the downy feathers used in pillows etc but there's more to the Norther hemispheres largest duck than just our commercial uses for them.
The males are perhaps the most striking looking bird in Ireland with an overall snow white coloration along the birds back wings and neck, its underside is dark black along with a cap of black on top of its head, the male Eiders beak is creamy yellow to add to the birds appearance.
On the other hand female Eiders are colored in a less dramatic way than their counterparts, they are a combination of light browns, greys and blacks mottled by a light outline of white and finished off with a dark beak to boot.
The Eider feeds in shallow water down to 20m/65ft on crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms on the sea floor.
Eiders are encountered occasionally around the counties coast but are scarce winter visitors this far South in Ireland. I have always wanted to see this duck for myself since being enthralled by images of the males ghostly appearance in bird identification guides a few years ago and thankfully today was the day.
Once I reached the mountain stage I scanned the water for the rafts of Scoters which rest at the surface when they take a break from feeding in the depths with the naked eye and then I set up the scope to easily observe the birds up close and to hopefully find the Eider that was reported to be with the Common Scoters and single Black Scoter.
I briefly scoped the nearest raft to no avail so I turned my sights to the larger one further out. While taking a break from the eye piece I noticed a much purer source of white than the occasional lapping whitecaps near the Scoters and swiveled the scope upon it for further scrutiny.. there it was the Eider and it lived up to its sharp appearance, it was a male and then it was gone, gone below the surf in search of food.
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| The Eider to the left of the main Scoter raft. |
I quickly tightened the tripods relevant adjustment points and retrieved the camera adapter from the car which after removing the scopes eyepiece cover went into place easily, then the camera was attached and I was ready to record this elusive duck.
The waiting game then in sued where I had to consistently keep the cameras LCD screen on to see what was happening while trying to find a white bird on a very limited view of a grayish green canvas. After a few minutes in the cold with slightly numb finger I finally found him again and the clip I captured can be seen below, after just locating him he decided to dive once more which resulted in trying to relocate it again once he was topside once more. One clip which I have now reviewed captures the Eider chasing after a Scoter for no particular reason, the Scoter certainly wasn't too keen on staying around when the Eider was upset!
The video captured is to be honest rubbish quality but it does clearly show this Eider which as over a kilometer to the North of me.
Today was a good day and it was great to finally encounter one of the Sea's Kings at last!
The Eider itself!
