Sunday 13 November 2011

'Sailed eiders', Ythan Estuary, 9 Oct 2011

Eiders are at their most fresh just after the moult and so this is a good time to look for sails. Wear can make sails look tatty, and as the winter progresses it can become increasingly difficult to establish what their true shape is/was. This set of images shows 6 different sailed birds from the Ythan estuary, all photographed on the same day. But to start with, above and below are two unsailed birds.

A non-sailed bird with a dull bill.


This and the birds that follow show a variety of sails shapes, bill colours and head profiles.


















Sailed bird in background, but near bird shows nothing of any significance.


Sailed females are rare here - Ive seen less than 5 in total. These two birds are not sailed.



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