We’re bracing for the mother of all snowstorms, which is supposed to hit later this morning. The nor’ east wind here already is up to 24 mph as I write, and I’m wondering how the local common eiders, our largest native ducks, will fare today and tomorrow.
These birds, shown feeding here recently, are ever-diminishing attendees of the annual winter convention of common eiders at the Blue Hill Reversing Falls. A decade or so ago, close to a thousand eiders would dine in the cold, turbulent waters there in the winter. They would pluck blue mussels off rocks like grapes and gobble them whole; they’d also dive for other mollusks, starfish, and crabs. The fast-rushing waters at the Falls are virtually never frozen over.
The mussels are gone from most of our coastline now due to environmental factors and the birds’ voracious appetites. The eiders’ other prey also have been dwindling – and, seemingly proportionately, so has the annual convention attendance. We’re lucky to see more 100 eiders in a group (a “paddling”) there in recent winters. (Image taken in Blue Hill, Maine, on February 10, 2026.)