King Eiders are dream birds. The males are truly fantastic birds with their almost obscene bill. During my recent trip to Western Greenland King Eiders were the most commonly observed bird species. Huge flocks (>10.000) were seen on multiple occasions with daily totals reaching more than 25.000 birds on two survey days (just on my side of the plane). Small cracks in the ice could harbor thousands of birds. Unfortunately King Eiders were mostly seen in deeper waters with Common Eiders being more common in coastal areas. The only place I stayed during my almost four week long stay with open water was Maniitsoq. One male was seen in and near the harbor along with Common Eiders and one day it came close enough for me to take some reasonable pictures.
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq, a fantastic bird. |
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq. This bird was mainly seen feeding alone only rarely associating with Common Eiders. |
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq |
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq |
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq |
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq |
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq. If seen well adult male King Eiders are easily picked out in flocks of Common Eiders |
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| 3/4 Maniitsoq. Smaller size, darker general appearance, big white ovals on the upper wings and much smaller head/shorter neck. Hopefully this sight will be possible in Aarhus Bay one day! |
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