Eiders in Hommelvik

Today I took the day off work to go birding. Absolutely fantastic weather with clear blue sky, almost no wind and sunshine, and around 0 to -2 C. After a few hours in woodland I headed back to the coast and stopped off at Hommelvik. The Iceland Gull was still around (see earlier post). There were approx. 195 Common Eiders Somateria mollissima (N=ærfugl) which were split into two groups, the vast majority feeding on crabs and blue mussels around the marina.

On closer inspection, one of the males was of the northern race borealis. Note the yellow bill and sails on the back of one of the males in the two photos below.