Bird Board
Common Eider Question
What's it feeding on? Eider feed almost exclusively on mollusks, with some crustaceans and echinoderms mixed in. Their preferred prey in their natural range are mussels, but we don't have a whole lot of them down here. I've seen posts saying it's been seen feeding in the shallow muck area, so I wonder what it's catching there? Clams? Crabs? If anyone is looking at this bird, try to see what it may be feeding on. I'm always concerned when we get a northern bird that's out of it's range that it may not find adequate food and die. That was the fate of the King Eider seen in the Panhandle a couple years ago. This one seems to be doing OK so far, so hopefully it's found an adequate food source. If it doesn't, it could always fly north again!
Comments
When I saw the eider it was actively diving and I managed to get a few shots of it eating something - I believe it's a crab.
That's part of its diet. Good! I read they remove the claws and legs before eating the crabs. They swallow mollusks whole and the shells get crushed in the gizzard. Amazing.
Leave a Comment