20110504

Eider duck (Somateria mollissima)

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Known, of course, for its luxuriously soft down, the eider has two other claims to fame – it is our heaviest resident duck and, despite that (or perhaps because of it), it is also the fastest in flight. This female – somewhat drabber than the ostentatious male – was nesting alongside a popular pathway on Inner Farne in Northumberland's magnificent Farne Islands but seemed totally unperturbed by the pedestrian traffic. Nice to get this close…

Canon 1Ds MkII, 1/60 sec, f/22, 70mm at ISO 200

Posted by at 5:37 pm

2 comments:

  1. Nyctalus4 May 2011 at 23:14

    Hi Tim. Great blog which I have just found by a chance link. Also by strange coincidence, I have just posted on eiders and starlings on my own blog - though your pictures knock spots off mine! I look forward to following your posts and catching up with your earlier material. Cheers, Allan

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  2. Tim James5 May 2011 at 10:39

    Hi Allan. I've looked at your images and, on the contrary, the eider pictures in particular are fabulous artistic work.

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