Somateria mollissima
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The common eider (pronounced ) (Somateria mollissima), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large (50–71 cm (20–28 in) in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. It can fly at speeds up to 113 km/h (70 mph).
The eider's nest is built close to the sea and is lined with eiderdown, plucked from the female's breast. This soft and warm lining has long been harvested for filling pillows and quilts, but in more recent years has been largely replaced by down from domestic farm-geese and synthetic alternatives. Although eiderdown pillows or quilts are now a rarity, typically being marketed as luxury goods, eiderdown harvesting continues and is sustainable, as it can be done after the ducklings leave the nest with no harm to the birds.
The common eider was formally named by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other ducks in the genus Anas and coined the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Svalbard | 🇳🇴 Norway | |
| 2 | Vatnajokull National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 4 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | Porto | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 6 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 7 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Stockholm | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Eider sighting in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 329 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 145 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and November–December
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Common Eider in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, the lowest month.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Eider sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Common Eider sightings, Cape Breton Highlands National Park ranks 5th at about 20%. The best odds are in Svalbard (Norway, about 90%), Vatnajokull National Park (Iceland, about 60%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Common Eider that you can see in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are American Black Duck (about 30%), Canada Goose (about 20%) and American White-winged Scoter (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Eider is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (329 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
