Female King Eider with Red-breasted Mergansers, Sandy Bay, 15th February 2017 (M.O'Clery).
(Click on images for a closer look)
(Click on images for a closer look)
The female King Eider re-appeared at the original spot close to Castlegregory this morning and looked right at home with the local Red-breasted Mergansers for a time. However, it didn't come close inshore for pretty much the whole day and by sunset was alone again well over a kilometre offshore. If you go to see it, bring your 60x eyepiece for the telescope. Might need a lot of luck to see it close in.
Female King Eider with Red-breasted Merganser, Sandy Bay, 15th February 2017 (M.O'Clery).
Female King Eider with Red-breasted Merganser, Sandy Bay, 15th February 2017 (M.O'Clery).
Female King Eider with Red-breasted Mergansers, Sandy Bay, 15th February 2017 (M.O'Clery).
Up close, female King Eiders are subtly but beautifully marked, and the head pattern and bill shape in particular are very distinctive, but at these sort of ranges and in difficult viewing conditions in poor light, this is a major rarity that could easily be overlooked perhaps as a Mallard, a Common Eider or even, when the neck is outstretched, a female Pintail. Below, the much more cooperative female King Eider at Ballinskelligs in 2011. These are the views we would prefer of course, or even better, perhaps the next one in Kerry will be an adult male.
Female King Eider, Ballinskelligs, 19th December 2011, showing down to 20 metres (Photo: David O'Connor).
