The morning of 8th January 1985 felt real good as I sat munching a cooked breakfast in a Thurso B&B. I reflected on a very memorable journey during the previous 24 hours, which included hitchhiking from Cheshire to Perth via an overnight stay in a survival bag on the closed services of the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I had enjoyed a dander down the River Tay in Perth to tick the Scottish Mandarins and the discovery that £6.00 would take me on two coach journeys to Thurso in Highland saved me from the perils of hitching any further through the wilds of Inverness and the Highlands in increasingly inclement weather.

My target was a strange pairing. An adult Ross’s Gull in Thurso Harbour and a male Desert Wheatear in Freswick Bay which had been discovered over the Christmas period. Thanks to another pair of twitching birders I secured a lift, and with both birds bagged we headed for John O’Groats at my suggestion to do the tourist thing. There off the rocks I encountered a long-hoped-for bird…the orangey bill tones of a male Northern Eider (ssp borealis). The bird was a first-winter male and I wanted to secure the find and confirm my impressions. Hence I asked my fellow travelers (without prompting) to describe the bill colour of the bird in question…both confirmed orange tones unequivocally. I had no idea if such obvious colours were ‘OK’ for a young male borealis…so duly sent off my description to BBRC…where the usual postcard reply indicated that the Rarities Committee did not even consider this subspecies! (Times have changed and now BBRC will consider claims of any taxon where reliable identification criteria can be established).

Normal flock of Fanad Eiders...the frontal lobes look more faereoeensis like than mollissima?! (Martin Garner).
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A little disappointed, though undeterred, I had to wait nearly 14 years for a further attempt at a borealis Eider. It was a family weekend visit to Portrush in Northern Ireland that gave me the sight of four Eiders (two males and two females), and with one of the males sporting an unequivocal orangey-yellow bill base AND white sails, the guarantor of northerly origin. Intrigued that one of only a handful of Eiders should be the hoped-for vagrant, I asked around to discover that west into Donegal was the Fanad Peninsula, where many more Eiders and other sea duck wintered.

Thanks to Wilton Farrelly, within a week I was watching assembled ducks in the choppy waters of Glashagh and Ballyheirnan Bays. Here I watched over 70 Long-tailed Duck (the largest wintering flock in Ireland), a 1st-winter Surf Scoter and about 50 Eiders, including at least five, and up to seven, with orangey bill tones and white sails on the back.Not only that but one of the males had a bill profile and frontal lobes closer to the North American form dresseri, a race as yet unrecorded in Britain and Ireland.With only one accepted record for Britain and Ireland of a ‘Northern Eider’, and that being a Scottish tide line corpse, surely I had struck Eider gold!

Male Northern Eider..borealis, Fanad, Co.Donegal, June 2004. This bird stood out from around 30 Eiders present due to its bill colour. The sails were never apparent but can be very worn as the bird enters moult. Note the presence of borealis eiders in June probably breeding off the North of Ireland (Martin Garner).
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Although I have not repeated the numbers of winter 98/99, the new vista for Eiders has remained open and myself, Wilton Farrelly and other sojourners have regularly recorded birds with borealis characters on the Fanad Peninsula (along with the likes of Hooded Merganser, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup and Gyr Falcon). Indeed at the end of October 2004 up to 7 birds showing various borealis characters were found off nearby Tory Island.

Northern Eider..borealis, Fanad, Co.Donegal, June 2004. An easy borealis this bird showed prominent white sails  (though not for the camera!) and bright orange bill base (Martin Garner).

Irish and Scottish possibilities
Besides the young male at John O’Groats in January 1985 mentioned earlier, the following Northern Eiders have been reported in Scotland. All refer to adult or near-adult males.

1978 Lothian. A tideline corpse picked up at Mussleburgh on 9th February proved to be a freshly dead adult male of the form S.m. borealis (Andrews & Naylor, 2002). To date this is the only fully accepted record for Britain, with all others still being considered by BBRC.

1989 Shetland. Gloup. Yell, 30th May.

1993 Shetland. Lerwick, Mainland, 29th February.

1999 Shetland. Toft, Yell Sound, 20th December.
These three records all refer to drakes showing features of S.m.borealis (Donald, 1995; Pennington et al, 2004)

In Ireland birds have been reported showing features of ‘Northern Eider’ as follows: Greystones, Co.Wicklow, March 1998; Portrush, Co.Antrim, November 1997; Fanad Head, Co.Donegal - regular sightings here intermittently from November 1997 to October 2004, with 1-7 individuals recorded at any one time. In October 2004 up to 7 males and even apparently identifiable females off Tory Island and up to 7 males off Fanad, both Co.Donegal There is a single report from Wales (Anglesey).

(Note that the Co.Wicklow bird has already been accepted as showing characters of borealis by the IRBC in the forthcoming 2002 Irish Bird Report, and that the IRBC are aware of the presence of borealis-type birds off Co.Donegal and are assessing criteria for processing other records.)

Although likely to remain ‘rare’ there is real potential for more borealis-type Eiders and even other extra-limital forms to be found in Ireland.

Eider races
The classic (yet unfinished) work ‘Handbook of North American Birds’ by Ralph Palmer gives a good idea of the complexities, which face the observer when dealing with the ‘Common Eider’. While a number of subspecies are listed, the lack of good factual information from remote breeding areas, different opinions on which populations should be given what subspecific names and the suggestion of intergradations between almost every form listed by Palmer, makes for a daunting subject. Of interest in the taxonomic field is that of one study by Livezey (1995). He suggests that the Common Eider is actually 4 species; S. v-nigrum (Pacific Eider), S. borealis (Northern Eider), S. dresseri (Canada Eider) and S. mollissima (European Eider)."

In trying to make sense of some of the complexities, it is easiest to view all the birds of the arctic region of the North Atlantic (i.e. Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland and N.E. Canada) to be referred to as borealis (also as in BWP), as within all these populations white sails on the back can be found among adult males, which distinguishes them from the southerly North Atlantic populations of mollissima and faeroeensis. It is important to be aware though that borealis is not uniform across this range, which makes it more difficult to isolate key criteria by which vagrants may be identified, and also that some individuals from the range of borealis may not be identifiable as vagrants.

Northern Eider, Svalbard. This borealis, from the east of the range, shows the typical scapular sails, but the bill colour is muted olive without orangey tones (Dick Newell).

A word about “white sails”
All male Eiders have two stiffer, modified long scapulars. It is the same feathers that produce the permanently erect black sails on a male King Eider. On southern forms mollissima and faeroeensis they never form more than a slight bump above the contour of the white back, but on other forms they can be erected and protrude conspicuously above the contour of the back as ‘white sails’. They can be variously described as triangular, looking rather like a Dolphin’s dorsal fin or the ‘wings’ on one of grannies butterfly cakes! They are not always apparent - we have found them to be most often erected during display and aggressive interaction with other males. It may be that not all males in the populations show them. Most interestingly they are not easily discernable on skins, which is probably why their significance in racial separation has not previously been emphasised. In our view any male Eider seen displaying obvious white sails in Britain or Ireland will be a borealis-type Eider from the arctic (or perhaps something even rarer!).

Male borealis Eider, Tory Island, Co.Donegal in October 2004, showing 'sails' (Paul kelly www.irishbirdimages.com).

A word about Female Sails
Some adult female King Eiders are easy to pick out amoung Common Eider by having small brown sails echoing the black sails of the males. An excellent series of photographs taken by Paul Kelly, off Tory Island co. Donegal in October 2004 shows up to 7 male Eiders with characters of borealis AND at least one female Common Eider with brown sails. It is also apparent that some female dresseri can show brown sails thus this may be a useful feature for identifying some vagrant Eiders in female plumage.

Female Northern Eider showing 'sails'. Female dresseri can also be picked out by this character (Paul kelly www.irishbirdimages.com).

A word about bill colour and frontal lobe shape
This is a complicated subject! What is important to note is that in mollissima the bill colour can vary quite considerably from being very dull olive-grey to bright and yellowy-looking (usually a kind of mustard tone). Similarly the shape of the frontal lobes varies from fine and pointed to broader and more rounded. In addition, observers should be aware that the appearance of the lobes varies according to the angle of observer from the bird: appearing more rounded from in front and above and more pointed in profile and other oblique angles.

Confusingly the shape and colour also varies in borealis with a cline from east to west, with olive-grey in east (birds in Svalbard and some in Iceland) to increasingly bright and orangey in Greenland and N.E. Canada. Similarly frontal lobes vary in borealis populations from fine and pointed to slightly broader and round-ended to some extent (variation most pronounced probably in Icelandic population).
Also leg and foot colour usually mirrors bill colour in that birds with dull olive bills have dull yellowy-olive legs while bird with brightest yellow/ orange bills tend to show the brightest yellow-coloured legs and feet.

Identifying vagrant forms of Eider
Bearing in mind some of the tricky issues mentioned above, here is a short overview on each of the forms including main characteristics, identifying rarer races and where they are most likely to be coming from and why. The criteria only apply to adult males, as female and immature males do not normally display sufficiently clear criteria to identify vagrants. However some immature male and possibly female v-nigra are identifiable, and it is quite possible that females exhibiting brown sails are identifiable as of arctic/ Nearctic origin.

The vast geographic area of the Eider is generally separated into different populations (c.f. BWP) as follows:

• European Eider ssp mollissima and faeroeensis.

• European Eider (ssp. mollissima) breeds along coasts of NW Europe, NW Russia and north to include Novaya Zemlya (though we know of no studies from the latter and together with Franz Joseph Land, further studies are needed).

• Faeroe Eider (ssp. faeroeensis) breeds in the Faeroe Islands. The birds of Shetland and Orkney are included in this form by some authors but not by others (note this race is only distinguishable by biometrics and is not considered a valid taxon by the BOU).

It is important to note that while never showing white sails, the frontal process (lobes) on the bill can vary in both shape and colour with these forms. It is particularly important to note that many birds show quite a mustard-like colour to the bill, which can lead to claims of Northern Eiders with birds that seem to show a pale yellowish-looking bill. Familiarity with the normal range of appearance of both nominate mollissima and faeroeensis is thus a very important starting point when looking for Northern Eiders.

Northern Eider, ssp. borealis
Northern Eider (ssp. borealis) breeds in Arctic regions of the North Atlantic from Baffin Island and N.E.Canada, to Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard (birds from Franz Joseph Land may also be included in borealis but we have no knowledge of their appearance).

Icelandic Eider, ssp islandica
The birds breeding in Iceland are sometimes separated as a distinct subspecies, though they are probably best included in borealis, particularly as some eastern Greenland borealis are known to occasionally summer and breed in Iceland.

Excellent photograph showing, in just three birds, the range of frontal lobe shape and bill colour that can be found amoung borealis Eider wintering in Iceland . Note also the straighter lower edge to the black cap on two individuals and the obvious white sails. Iceland, March 2003 (Killian Mullarney).

Vagrants to Britain and Ireland are most likely to come from Greenland or N.E Canada. This is because these populations are the most migratory. Birds from Iceland are almost entirely resident; despite thousands of individuals ringed, only one has been recovered away from Iceland, and that was a hand-reared bird that straggled to the Faeroes. However large numbers from east Greenland head south to winter in Iceland and similarly birds from west Greenland and NE Canada (mainly Baffin Island area) head south and east (in a similar pattern of breeding to wintering range as undertaken by Kumlien’s Gull).

Birds from Southampton Island in the Canadian Arctic have been satellite-tracked to S.W. Greenland. Evidence of the origins of some Icelandic wintering birds includes the finding of Eskimo arrowheads and stones in Eider gizzards! It is reasonable to assume that some of these Greenland/ Canadian birds continue further south to reach our shores. At least some of the Svalbard population are known to winter south to Iceland so their potential for occurrence further south must be considered.

At the more extreme end of orange bill in borealis, the possibility of the Pacific Eider (v-nigra) from Alaska and NW Canada needs to be considered when such birds are encountered. Iceland, March 2003 (Killian Mullarney).

Many vagrant male borealis have obvious white sails visible when erected (except perhaps when the plumage is heavily worn in mid-summer prior to moult). Many also show pure orangey or yellow-orange bill tones mainly on the basal half of the bill, with the outer half and nail being greyer coloured, though these colours needs to be well seen and familiarity with the mustard-yellows of some mollissima is crucial. A number of birds seen off Donegal show a kind of dirty olive/ orange tone to the bill, perhaps the result of vagrants summering and breeding with local mollissima. Note that the orangey colours are best confirmed on reasonably close birds. A distant flock of Eider may contain a genuine ‘Northern’ bird but orange tones can be hard to discern at longer range. Some males we have noticed have a steeper forehead and squarer overall head shape than typical mollissima and also have a tendency towards a straighter, less curved lower edge to the black cap, again emphasising a squarish head profile.

Male borealis Eider, Tory Island, Co.Donegal in October 2004 (Paul kelly www.irishbirdimages.com).

The variation in bill colour, frontal lobe shape and presence of sails within the range of ‘borealis’, inevitably means that some birds will have to go down as interesting but will not be fully acceptable borealis.

In our view the following criteria need to be applied:

• Must show obvious presence of white sails. As indicated any bird showing obvious white sails, irrespective of bill colour is of ‘Northern’ origin. None of the mollissima in the vast Baltic population are known to show white sails (Lars Jonsson pers. comms.) nor are white sails seen amoung the wintering birds off northern Fenno-Scandinavia (K. Mullarney pers comms). Though in the latter case borealis from Spitzbergen at least (given ringing recoveries of these to Iceland) should be anticipated.

• Preferable (but not essential) that there is some pure orange component to the colour of basal half of the bill, though bearing in mind migrant birds from Svalbard and intergradation with ssp. dresseri (Labrador and SW Greenland per Palmer) and mollissima (e.g. probably off Donegal) some may not. Birds only showing bright yellow or orange without white sails are not in our view fully acceptable but worth documenting full appearance (first to third calendar year male borealis are likely to lack obvious white sails).

American Eider, ssp. dresseri
American Eider (ssp. dresseri) breeds along the coasts of N.E. Canada and USA from Labrador to Maine.
The complication with this form is the apparent intergrading with borealis in Labrador, Canada. Similarly Palmer (1976) references birds in west and southwest Greenland intermediate between borealis and dresseri. We suspect the dresseri-like bird seen by MG in Donegal in 1998 may have originated from one of these areas. Classic or pure dresseri can be identified by large, rounded frontal lobes, which vary in colour from grey to olive to bright orange (the latter particularly in the winter and early spring).

American Eider ...dresseri, Quebec, Canada, March 2003. All the key features can be seen including white sails, broad and rounded frontal lobes and green lower edge to black cap (Yann Kolbeinsson).

The bill profile also appears to be kinked towards the bill tip, and the head pattern shows more extensive green than on mollissima and borealis, which extends along the lower edge of the black cap (below the eye). The black line separating the white face and the frontal lobes, is the thinnest of all races and is more parallel-sided (due to the lateral expansion of the broad frontal lobes), and males normally show white sails. It is very likely that we will get intergrade-type birds suggesting dresseri more commonly than pure dresseri.

A claim for pure dresseri must include the following:

• Obviously broad frontal lobes, which clearly extend closer to the eye than on mollissima.

• Kinked-bill profile.

• Green extending along the lower black cap edge, below the eye.

• White sails (perhaps not vital if shows all other features).

• Thin black loral line, which is parallel-sided or bulging in the middle and not tapering to a fine point as in mollissima / borealis.

N.B. Again any bird showing white sails and apparent borealis/dresseri intergrade characters is worth fully describing and is likely to be acceptable as an Arctic/ Nearctic vagrant race of Eider.

Immature and adult male European Eider...mollissima    Fanad, Co.Donegal, June 2004. This shows those trick immature male European Eiders where the pale feathering adjacent the frontal lobes gives an impression of a bill like dresseri. Close views are needed to discern what is really going on (Martin Garner).
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Hudson Bay Eider, ssp.sedentaria
Hudson Bay Eider (ssp. sedentaria) breeds entirely within Hudson Bay.
This form is normally considered to be resident and is therefore an unlikely candidate in the Western Palearctic. Even if some moved out of Hudson Bay, vagrants would not be separable from the subspecies dresseri.

Pacific Eider, ssp. v-nigra
Pacific Eider (ssp v-nigra) breeds in along the Arctic and Pacific coats of N.E. Siberia and N.W. Canada and Alaska.
This is the largest and most spectacular looking of all the Eiders. On males, from first-winter onwards, the whole of the bill is vivid orange, becoming slightly more yellow in summer. The particularly large, orange bill with very short, fine and pointed frontal lobes, and the most rounded feathering at the bill base of all the Eiders, produces an appearance where the bill always looks too heavy for the head, and it is particularly distinctive and recognisable in males of all ages.

Pacific Eider....v-nigra, Alaska, USA, June 2004. This is one of those individuals apparently with no black V on the chin. Note however the long orangey bill with very short pointed frontal lobes, broad rounded feathering at bill base and deeply curved black cap with greenish lower edge. The white scapular sails are typically very worn at this time of year (Rene Pop).
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The skulls of v-nigra show the head to be longer and the eye to be further from the nostril than in other populations. Other critical distinguishing marks of adult males include the green pattern below the black cap, (as on dresserii; with the black cap having particularly deep curvature to the lower edge and a black ‘V’ mark under the chin (which it is important to note is apparently rarely found in all the other forms of Common Eider), and the most prominent white sails of all forms.

Most interesting is that some writers have noted example of v-nigra occurring in southwest Greenland (see Palmer 1976). It would be quite possible for some v-nigra breeding in the central Canadian Arctic to join eastward migrating borealis from nearby. However this is yet to be proven. As with other forms, intergrading is reported between borealis and v-nigra.

To claim an extra-limital v-nigra, the following should be noted:

• The exact shape and extent of frontal lobes and feathering around the bill-base on what should be a wholly bright orange bill. It is possible to identify an immature male v-nigra from other forms on these features alone, but detailed notes and preferably photographs would be needed.

• Adult males would need to show obvious green below the deeply curved lower edge of the black cap.

• Obvious white sails.

• Normally distinct black ‘V’ on chin (though some individuals don’t show it and is not essential for identification

• Larger size than accompanying Eider.

Underside of chin and throat of V nigra...one of 3 that Bruce MacTavish ate when working in Barrow, Alaska!...(Bruce MacTavish).

Intergrades
As indicated above because of the propensity for all forms to intergrade with nearby cousins, any bird showing characters with variance from the classic example of a race will likely be examples of intergrading. They will be well worth recording and reporting, though not all will be acceptable at a national level as vagrants.

Male borealis Eider, Tory Island, Co.Donegal, October 2004 (Paul Kelly www.irishbirdimages.com)

Summary
The stunning and engaging Eider is more than a playmate to the odd King Eider, but is also worth scrutinising more carefully for the subtle features of vagrant forms, chiefly borealis but also even rarer arctic and Nearctic stragglers. Features such as scapular sails in both sexes, orange bill tones and extra green facial patterning are the clues to the prizes.

References
Andrews, I.J. & Naylor, K.A. 2002. Records of species and subspecies recorded in Scotland on up to 20 occasions. Scottish Birds 23:61-116. SOC, Musselburgh.

BWP / Cramp, S. & Simmons, K.E.L. 1977. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa: the birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 1: 595-604. OUP, Oxford.

Donald, C. 1995. Eider showing features of the race S.m.borealis. In Shetland Bird Report 1994, Shetland Bird Club.

Livezey, B. C. 1995. Phylogeny and evolutionary ecology of modern seaducks (Anatidae: Mergini). Condor 97:233-255.

Palmer, R.J. 1976. Handbook of North American Birds Vol.3 Waterfowl (Part2). Yale.

Pennington, M., Osborn, K., Harvey, P., Riddington, R., Okill, D., Ellis, P. & Heubeck, M. 2004. The Birds of Shetland. Christopher Helm, London.

Try these website for some amazing photos…

• dresseri: http://www.featheredfotos.com/photos.html

• borealis-types off co. Donegal (Paul Kelly)
http://www.irishbirdimages.com/pages/latest.html

Acknowledgments
Special thanks the fellow enthusiast Chris Kehoe and Bernie ‘crazy facts’ Zonfrillo. Also to the following people for all kinds of info, pics and ideas. Martin Collinson, Lynn Gidding, George Gordon, Don Hodgers, Paul Kelly, Bruce McTavish, Richard Millington, Killian Mullarney, Dick Newell, Rene Pop, James Smith

Martin Garner, South Yorkshire.
Wilton Farrelly, Co. Down.

Deep-sea birding
Anthony McGeehan's illustrated article on the extraordinary pelagic off Donegal, in September 2007.

The Great Northern Bullfinch Hunt
Anthony McGeehan discusses the recent influx of Northern Bullfinches into Ireland.

A Bird in the Hand
Paul Kelly & Steve Wing show us a wealth of photos of birds in the hand, including some rarities.

Pelagic Magic
Anthony McGeehan's account of the successful boat trip off Donegal in August 2003.

Lovely Larids
Anthony McGeehan takes a look at some recent Caspian and Yellow-legged Gull records from the north of the country.

Predictions
Predictions for additions to the Irish List.

Eleven years on...
Which predictions were correct.

Additions
Additions to the Irish List, 1990 to present.

Irish Subspecies
Coal Tit
Dipper
Jay

List of the birds of Ireland

Downloads
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