Spectacled Eiders Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 December Birds

Summary: Spectacled eiders are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 December birds whom the National Audubon Society appreciates as Arctic and near Arctic wildlife.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

"A large flock of spectacled eiders Somateria fischeri wintering in nearly continuous pack ice in the central Bering Sea," frontispiece image by William Larned, USFWS, in Paul L. Flint, James B. Grand, Margaret R. Petersen and Robert F. Rockwell, "Effects of Lead Exposure, Environmental Conditions, and Metapopulation Processes on Population Dynamics of Spectacled Eiders," North American Fauna, no. 81, issue 1 (June 2016): 1-41: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Spectacled eiders are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 December birds whom the National Audubon Society appreciates as Arctic and near Arctic area wildlife who abide in Russia and the Alaskan United States.

The Anseriformes (from Latin ānser, “goose” and -fōrmis, “-shaped”) order member annually breeds between May and September in coastal northeastern-most Russia and coastal northernmost, westernmost Alaska. The Anatidae (from Latin anas, “duck” and Greek -ειδής, “-like” via Latin -idæ) family member constructs the breeding-season nest close to tundra pools in coastal marshes. Somateria fischeri (from Greek σῶμα, “body” and ἔριον, “wool”), for German explorer Gustav Fischer (March 3, 1848-Nov. 11, 1886), dwells on drier islets, ridges or tussocks.

Spectacled eiders, examined taxonomically by German-Russian naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt (May 25, 1802-June 15, 1879) in Russia in 1847, establish their nests within waterside herbage.

Range map of Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri); orange=breeding, blue=non-breeding; adapted from Margaret R. Petersen, J. Barry Grand and Christian P. Dau, "Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri," version 2.0, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World: Simon Pierre Barrette (Cephas), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Breeding females figure their nests as hollowed-out, surface-layer depressions around and over which area herbage falls and whose outer linings feature waterside moss and plant debris.

Spectacled eider nests get inner linings that guard small feathers and soft down, the latter of which garners brown-white tufts whose centers progressively get inconspicuously paler. They hold three to nine, five to seven blue-green to green or to olive-buff, elliptical to sub-elliptical, semi-glossy, smooth, 2.56-inch- (65-millimeter-) long, 1.77-inch- (45-millimeter-) wide eggs. Spectacled eider mothers-to-be institute on their own, 24-day-long egg incubations, from which precocial (precocious, from Latin praecox, “early-ripened”) nestlings inhabit their birth nests for 53 days.

Spectacled eiders journey as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 December birds from predominantly Russian breeding habitats to the ice-free, open, southern waters of the Bering Sea.

spectacled eider nest; USFWS July 9, 2001, still image: Public Domain, via USFWS National Digital Library

Only spectacled eider mothers know their nestlings, with black or blue-gray bills, feet and legs; black spectacle-marked orbital area; black-brown downy upper-sides; and downy gray undersides.

Spectacled eider nestlings, as 50- to 53-day-olds, leave their nests for their first flights, which lack gliding and soaring and which look linear, with fast wingbeats. Maximally 15-year lifespans muster female and male, juvenile and mature spectacled eiders into mating-season colonies for single-brooded yearly clutches and into large diving, flying, non-mating-season flocks. Freshwater and terrestrial crustaceans, insects and vegetation between May and September and such mollusks as razor shells (Ensis magnus) between October and April nourish spectacled eiders.

Spectacled eiders as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 December birds and as Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea year-round occupants offer, unlike all other eiders, feather-edged nostrils.

May 1, 1984, USFWS image of three young spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Female spectacled eiders, always petiter than their males, present dark eyes with blue-gray bills; brown-white eye patches; dark foreheads; black-streaked, brown-barred bodies; and bright yellow feet.

Physical maturity qualifies spectacled eider males as black-bellied, breasted, rumped and, with white forewings, black-winged; moss green-foreheaded and naped; orange-billed; white-feathered (brown-gray in winter); and yellow-footed. They reveal physically mature 20.5- to 22.5-inch- (52- to 57-centimeter-) long, 2- to 4-pound (0.9- to 1.8-kilogram) bodies with 30- to 36-inch (76- to 91-centimeter) wingspans. Spectacled eider males as nestlings, juveniles and adults stay silent apart the faint ho-HOOO sounds that signal their starting display sessions during the annual mating seasons.

Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 December birds typify spectacled eiders, whom vocal transmissions typically never tempt, apart female clucking, fast buckBUCK-buckBUCK and guttural, rolled gow-gow-gow calls.

male (left) and female (right) spectacled eider ducks (Somateria fischeri) in Barrow (Utqiagvik; Inupiaq: Utqiaġvik, as of Dec. 1, 2016), North Slope Borough, northwestern coastal Alaska, Arctic Circle; Friday, June 17, 2016, 07:53: ALAN SCHMIERER, Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

"A large flock of spectacled eiders Somateria fischeri wintering in nearly continuous pack ice in the central Bering Sea," frontispiece image by William Larned, USFWS, in Paul L. Flint, James B. Grand, Margaret R. Petersen and Robert F. Rockwell, "Effects of Lead Exposure, Environmental Conditions, and Metapopulation Processes on Population Dynamics of Spectacled Eiders," North American Fauna, no. 81, issue 1 (June 2016): 1-41: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Large_flock_of_spectacled_eiders_central_bering_sea.jpg; via Meridian Allen Press @ https://meridian.allenpress.com/naf/article/81/1/1/140427/Effects-of-Lead-Exposure-Environmental-Conditions; via Silverchair @ https://fwspubs.org/doi/pdf/10.3996/nafa.81.0001

Range map of Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri); orange=breeding, blue=non-breeding; adapted from Margaret R. Petersen, J. Barry Grand and Christian P. Dau, "Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri," version 2.0, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World @ https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/speeid/cur/introduction: Simon Pierre Barrette (Cephas), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Somateria_fischeri_map.svg

spectacled eider nest; USFWS July 9, 2001, still image: Public Domain, via USFWS National Digital Library @ https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/3023/; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Speceidernest1B.jpg

May 1, 1984, USFWS image of three young spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Three_Spectacled_Eiders_Close-up.jpg

male (left) and female (right) spectacled eider ducks (Somateria fischeri) in Barrow (Utqiagvik; Inupiaq: Utqiaġvik, as of Dec. 1, 2016), North Slope Borough, northwestern coastal Alaska, Arctic Circle; Friday, June 17, 2016, 07:53: ALAN SCHMIERER, Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:048_-_SPECTACLED_EIDER_(6-17-2016)_barrow,_alaska_-05_(27890171860).jpg; ALAN SCHMIERER (sloalan), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/sloalan/27890171860/

For further information:

Baicich, Paul J.; and Colin J. O. Harrison. 2005. "Spectacled Eider." Page 84. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ; and Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England: Princeton University Press.

Howell, Catherine Herbert (Writer); and Mary B. Dickinson (Editor). 1999. "Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri." Pages 88-89. Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Third Edition. Washington DC: National Geographic Society.

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 November 2023. "Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 Adds Mount Katmai to Wild November." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/audubon-arctic-wall-calendar-2022-adds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 October 2023. "Caribou Abound as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 October Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/caribou-abound-as-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 October 2023. "Red-Necked Phalaropes, Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 October Birds." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/red-necked-phalaropes-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 September 2023. "Brown Bears Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 September Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/brown-bears-are-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 September 2023. "Polar Bears Act as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 September Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/polar-bears-act-as-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 August 2023. "Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 Augurs King Eiders as August Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/audubon-arctic-wall-calendar-2022.html#google_vignette

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 August 2023. "Savannah Sparrows Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 August Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/savannah-sparrows-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 July 2023. "Kenai Peninsula Awes, As Wild July, Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/07/kenai-peninsula-awes-as-wild-july.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 June 2023. "Buff-Breasted Sandpipers, Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 June Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/06/buff-breasted-sandpipers-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 June 2023. "Rock Ptarmigans Act as June Birds on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/06/rock-ptarmigans-act-as-june-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 May 2023. "Moose Appear as May Animals on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/05/moose-appear-as-may-animals-on-audubon.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 April 2023. "Brooks Range Acts as Wild April on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/brooks-range-acts-as-wild-april-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 April 2023. "Arctic Terns Are April Birds on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/arctic-terns-are-april-birds-on-audubon.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 March 2023. "Western Sandpipers Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/western-sandpipers-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 March 2023. "Baffin Island Wolves Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 Wild March." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/baffin-island-wolves-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2023. "Musk Ox, Muskox Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar February 2022 Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/musk-ox-muskox-are-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 February 2023. "Red-Throated Loons Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 February Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/red-throated-loons-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 January 2023. "Mallard Ducks Aced Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 as January Birds." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/mallard-ducks-aced-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2023. "Red Foxes Are January Wildlife on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/red-foxes-are-january-wildlife-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 November 2022. "Eared Grebes Are November Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/eared-grebes-are-november-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 October 2022. "Barred Owls Are October Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/barred-owls-are-october-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 September 2022. "Brown Pelicans Are September Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/brown-pelicans-are-september-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 August 2022. "Allen’s Hummingbirds Are August Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/allens-hummingbirds-are-august-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 July 2022. "Reddish Egrets Are July Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/07/reddish-egrets-are-july-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 June 2022. "American Oystercatchers Are June Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/american-oystercatchers-are-june-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 May 2022. "Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks Are May Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/05/rose-breasted-grosbeaks-are-may-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 April 2022. "Crested Caracaras Appear as April Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/04/crested-caracaras-appear-as-april-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 March 2022. "Cerulean Warblers Are March Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/03/cerulean-warblers-are-march-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 February 2022. "Northern Bobwhites Are February Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/northern-bobwhites-are-february-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2022. "Florida Scrub-Jays Are January Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/florida-scrub-jays-are-january-birds-on.html

Robbins, Chandler S.; Bertel Bruun; and Herbert S. Zim. 2001. "Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri." Pages 58-59. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Revised by Jonathan P. Latimer, Karen Stray Nolting and James Coe. Golden Field Guide. New York NY: St. Martin's Press.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1977. 30 August 1977. "Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri)." Page 496. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Reprinted eleven times. Thirteenth Printing, May, 1987. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; and Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada Limited.

Van Arsdale, Michael. 1999. "Somateria fischeri spectacled eider." (On-line) Animal Diversity Web. Ann Arbor MI: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
Available @ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Somateria_fischeri/