Common Eider

Photo: Anne Schlösser · CC BY-NC

Common eider ducks dive through the surface of the Saksun lagoon to depths of several metres in pursuit of mussels and other bivalves, and divers regularly share the water column with these remarkably agile birds. Eiders use their wings to manoeuvre underwater and can stay submerged for over a minute, and in the clear tidal channels their underwater flight is remarkably graceful for such a stocky bird. The Faroe Islands hold some of the densest eider nesting colonies in the North Atlantic, making year-round underwater encounters highly predictable at Saksun.