During the last days one male King Eider, Somateria spectabilis, continues to stay at Kalkhorst at the shores of the Baltic Sea. The german sea resort is approx. 15km distance east of Travemünde, Lübeck. This male King Eider in beautiful breeding plumage is obviously only one of the few records for 2013 so far south for the Western Palearctic and has been observed from the beach of Kalkhorst.
In contrast these birds are very common in the north of the Western Palearctic. On Varanger/ Norway bird-lens.com was able to shot this nice pictures right from a floating hide in the middle of the harbor. Not King Eiders alone, but also Steller’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri) and Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) and many gulls in 5 different species. A selection of the best shots you can find here in the gallery!
The Bird on the Baltic Sea could be seen yesterday from about 700 meters from shore and stayed there the whole day. Best access point is from the beach crossing. Just look north to the open sea. The male King Eider swims usually solitary and somewhat apart from the others sea ducks (Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Common Scoter, Common Goldeneye) present. For the twitchers who do not care the distance to travel: Have a look on the weather forecast for next days, the visibility may be low.
In 2013 there was only one more observation this far south near Terschelling, Netherlands. From January 16th 2012 there is one more sighting of a female King Eider the shores of the Northern Sea ( Neuwerk) of Germany and in December 2011 one immature male King Eider has been seen from Cuxhaven, Germany. A quite unusual sighting date back from May 13th 2011 from Vlieland, The Netherlands. In his „Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas“, Band 3/2 „Anseriformes “ Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim mentioned in the year 1969 that for the area of Middle Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Poland, etc.) there were only 4 sightings for the Northern Sea, 7 for the coasts of the Baltic Sea and 2 fron inland sites up to this time. In the meantime there are annual observations. Certainly due to the fact that observation intensity is much higher today and skills/ knowledge to spot a King Eider in a raft of other ducks are better, too.
To cope with the growing demand for top shots of the rarer species of the Palearctic Bird-Lens is keen to enrich the range of pictures of birds you can find in the western palearctic. This image is only a first impression, what you will find in the gallery in the “Pictures Shop” very soon. Just give a message, if Bird-Lens could serve you with an image needed before the new pictures are online.
Other successful shootings you can see under: www.bird-lens.com.