Steller’s Eider

Identification

Steller's eider is the smallest of the four eider species, with both males and females weighing an average of 860 grams. These compact ducks are distinguished by a relatively large head with a flat crown and angled nape, paired with a long, thick bill and a relatively longer tail than other eiders. Both sexes share an iridescent bluish-purple speculum on the secondary wing feathers, bordered in white along the entire length of the secondaries.

Breeding males are striking, with a black cap, chin, collar, eye-ring, and rump contrasting sharply with a white head and shoulders. Light green patches decorate the area behind the head and in front of the eye, while the cinnamon breast and shoulders are marked with a prominent black spot. Long tertial feathers drape over the folded wing in dark purple-black with white stripes. Females are dark to cinnamon brown with a pale-white eye-ring. In eclipse (non-breeding) plumage, males become primarily dark brown like females, though they retain the distinctive white inner forewing visible in flight.

Range & Habitat

Steller's eiders are migratory Arctic sea ducks with three recognised breeding populations: one in Alaska and two in Arctic Russia. The Russian-Atlantic population breeds west of the Khatanga River in western Siberia and winters in the Barents and Baltic seas, while the Russian-Pacific population breeds east of the Khatanga River, wintering in the southern Bering Sea and northern Pacific Ocean. In Alaska, they nest on the Arctic Coastal Plain and in exceptionally small numbers in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, with less than one percent of the world's population breeding there.

During breeding season, Steller's eiders nest in marshy tundra along the coast, in areas dominated by water sedge and pendant grass, preferring elevated surfaces covered by shallow vegetation such as mosses and grasses. Winter habitat consists of coastal bays and lagoons offering suitable forage, with occasional feeding in deeper sheltered waters. Moulting habitat comprises relatively shallow coastal lagoons with eelgrass, tidal flats for foraging, and beaches and sandbars for resting during the flightless period.

Behaviour & Diet

Despite being sea ducks, Steller's eiders are specialists in foraging near the shore using diverse techniques including brief diving and swimming underwater to depths of up to nine meters, as well as wading and dabbling. Notably, they employ surface feeding techniques more than other sea ducks and prefer relatively small prey. Research has shown these ducks are particularly skilled at catching highly mobile prey; they may specialise in crustaceans even when higher-energy food sources like capelin become available—a preference possibly reflecting their inability to exploit deeper habitats.

Winter diet includes molluscs, echinoderms, polychaete worms, and mussels, while during summer months in the tundra they feed on aquatic insects and plant material such as crowberries and pondweeds. Steller's eiders reach sexual maturity at two years of age and can live up to 21 years and four months. Males engage in leks—elaborate competitive displays—on both wintering and breeding grounds, where groups of males attempt to attract individual females through consistent sequences of head-shaking displays performed in silence.

Best Time & Places to See It

Due to extensive contraction of its breeding range, the Alaska-breeding population of Steller's eider was listed as vulnerable in 1997 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The species is now protected in Estonia, Finland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, and is the subject of an ongoing recovery plan by the European Union and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Some non-breeding populations spend their summers in northern Norway, on the east coast of Russia and adjacent waters, and south-west Alaska, providing additional opportunities for observation outside primary breeding areas.

Photography Tips

The striking plumage of breeding males makes Steller's eiders rewarding photography subjects, particularly their distinctive black and white head patterns and prominent cinnamon breast markings. The iridescent bluish-purple speculum and white-bordered secondaries are best captured in flight, so anticipate take-offs from water. Their relatively small size compared to other eiders and their preference for shallow coastal waters mean they are often viewable from shore, though a spotting scope or telephoto lens will be essential for quality images from a distance.