Nesting female Eider duck
protective of young (Bex Outram)
Handsome drake Eider
Crèche of youngsters
Wednesday 13th June comments: Fabulous news from the Isle of May NNR. Following the all island count in late May the dust has settled the numbers crunched and we can reveal some good news…
Our Eider population has increased! The number of incubating female Eiders has increased on the Isle of May with 1,183 nesting birds, an increase of 4% since our last count in 2016. It may not sound much it is hugely significant as a number of other colonies are reporting declining populations down the east coast.
This figure represents almost 5% of the British breeding population and is the third highest ever counted on the island. Its great news for the species despite the impacts of the early spring weather and predation.
Tonight you can watch the trials and tribulations of our nesting Eiders on BBC Two Springwatch (starts 8pm) as it will feature two short films about our nesting Eider ducks. It’ll be worth watching…
Isle of May National Nature Reserve 