Satellite tracking of Common Eiders
Right now you can follow 23 Common Eiders on their migration between Eastern Canada and West Greenland. You can follow the movement and migrations of the birds on these maps:
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Common Eiders from East Bay, Canada (marked August 2003)
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Common Eiders from Disko Island, Greenland (marked Sep. 2003)
In July 2003 researchers from NERI and Canadian Wildlife Service captured 16 Common Eiders in East Bay in North East Canada and equipped each of the birds with a satellite transmitter. In September the NERI researchers were heading for West Greenland, where further 7 Common Eiders were captured at Disko Island and likewise equipped with satellite transmitters.
The transmitters tells where the birds are located, thereby giving the biologists important information on the habitat use and migration of the eiders.
The map shows the migration routes and position of the eiders. You can choose to see the routes and positions of all the eiders at the same time or to see only one specific bird at a time. You can also display the movements of the birds for the full period or for a specific time interval. Finally, you can choose to display the most precise positions only (precision high (3-1)). If you choose to display all the information (precision middle / low), you must be aware that some of the low quality positions are inaccurate (several kilometres off target). The map is automatically updated when new positions on the birds arrive from the satellite.
National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Arctic Environment and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources have also equipped Common Eiders with satellite transmitters in the summer 2002, where 21 eiders from breeding colonies in Upernavik were equipped with satellite transmitters. You can see where the birds flew on this map:
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Common Eider, Upernavik
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| Female common eider. Photo: Anders Mosbech, NERI |
Male common eider. Photo: Anders Mosbech, NERI |
Background
Every winter about 460.000 Common Eiders stay in the sea along the coast of Southwest Greenland, which means that the area is an important wintering area for the Common Eider. In summer these eiders either fly to Canada (80-90%) or northward to West Greenland. Only a few thousand birds remain and breed in Southwest Greenland
During the past 3 years the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources has studied the population of Common Eiders that breeds in West Greenland. In a report from GINR from 2001 it is estimated that the total number of breeding pairs in West Greenland is now only 12.000-15.000. It has been estimated based on trade bookkeeping that 150 years ago down from around 110.000 nests was collected in West Greenland. Also a comparison of the new estimate with surveys of eiders colonies about 40 years ago reveals that the numbers of Common Eider has declined dramaticly during the last 40 years. Biologists estimate that the population has decreased by about 80% in the municipalities of Ilulissat, Uummannaq and Upernavik compared til historical records.
The main causes for this heavy reduction appears to be excessive non sustainable exploitation of the population. Especially hunting during winter and spring and to some extent illegal egg collection and hunting during the breeding season.
The populations of Common Eider in the arctic area is under continuous increasing pressure and many populations has decreased like the population in West Greeland. Therefore Greenland and the other arctic countries have developed a joint international management strategy and action plan (pdf-document, 156 kB) aiming at following and improving the status of the populations.
Objectives
National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Arctic Environment and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources have joined on a common project on the Common Eider.
There are 4 specific objectives with this project:
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to improve existing knowledge about migration routes of the eiders.
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to improve existing knowledge about the moulting areas of the eiders.
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to link breeding grounds and wintering areas.
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to gain knowledge about local movements in the wintering areas.
Collaboration and financing
This is a joint project between the National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Arctic Environment, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the Royal Veterinary University and Canadian Wildlife Service. The present project has received financial support from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency as part of the environmental support program Dancea - Danish Cooperation for Environment in the Arctic, and from North American Sea Duck Joint Venture, Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and Greenland Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum.
Contacts
NERI: Anders Mosbech, Arktisk Miljø, amo@dmu.dk
GINR: Flemming Ravn Merkel, merkel@natur.gl
Additional information about Common Eider: