The eider guardians

In mid-April, year after year, the bird keepers arrive at Lånan. Frozen, empty houses are awaiting them after a long winter. It is always exciting to see how the bird houses have fared after the winter storms out by the sea. Usually, all is intact.

Watching the island come alive when all migratory birds return, is always exciting. Among small islands, we find eider duck couples cooing at each other, mating and searching for a suitable place for their nest.

Preparations

Piles of hand-picked, dried seaweed goes into making nests for all the eider ducks. Some years, seaweed may be scarce, and the bird keepers must search farther out at sea. It is important that the plants used are not damaged from oil spills, as only the best is good enough for the eider duck.

The seaweed is laid out on the rocks to dry, and with good conditions, the process can be speedy. It is however, a race against time to get everything ready before May 1st, when the first eider duck makes her arrival. Preparing several hundred nesting places around the island can be a tedious process. The eider duck is very particular, and everything must be done properly in order to receive decent down.

‘E-banen’ is a house where several ducks hatch together. Another alternative is the ‘stone house’, housing one family. A ‘stone house’ is usually put together from rocks found along the beach. Most importantly, the roof must provide sufficient protection from water, to keep eggs and down safe and dry. The nests are large and circular, consisting mainly of sea-weed. In the middle is found small pieces of sea-weed, used by the female to cover her eggs when leaving the nest. Bird houses must be cleaned on a regular basis, to get rid of old seaweed and dirt.

Eider duck in front of e-track and rock-house.

Arrival of the eider duck

The first eider duck usually arrives around may 1st. Prior to arrival, large flocks of ducks gather out at sea. The female must get sufficient nutrition before heading towards land to hatch, as she will not have solid food until the eggs are hatched.

The male accompanies his mate on the journey towards dry land, and sees that she finds a good place to hatch. Many couples come back to the same nest year after year. When the female is well installed in a proper nest, her mate joins the flock of males out at sea. While waiting to return to land to be reunited with female and ducklings towards autumn, the males shed all their feathers.

Up on dry land, many dangers loom. While waiting for the eggs to hatch, the eider duck is vulnerable to attacks from both mink and otter. Crows, ravens and seagulls target the eggs, trying to break them and drink the contents.

The bird keepers play a crucial role in watching over the habitat, patrolling the island on a daily basis. If they come across eggs that are broken and emptied out, they will replace them with wooden eggs. This will usually prevent the eider duck from fleeing her nest. Stand-alone ‘stone houses’ are the most vulnerable to attacks. Mink is considered the greatest threat, and in the event of a mink-attack, none of the ducks dare return to their nests before the bird keeper and dog have chased it away.

In the period between the arrival of the eider duck and the hatching of the eggs, it is important to uphold peace and quiet at Lånan. People walking around the island should exercise cautiousness. As the days go by, the bird houses become more and more lively. These are exciting times, as the same question keeps lingering day in and out: -Are the eggs still intact? The eider duck doesn’t mind humans, and prefers to hatch close to their homes.

Eggs hatching

During the days, bird keepers go out to the islands, looking for seagull eggs. They take an egg with them, if there is more than one in the nest. A fantastic colony of birds is found on these islands. Also the eagle enjoys life out here, where food is plenty. For some, this becomes a battle of life and death.

The eider duck and ducklings leaving the nest.

Come the end of May, and the first eider duck heads for the water with her ducklings, a brood usually consisting of three to six. Although it is rare, ducklings can get left behind in the nest. This calls for the bird keepers to find a potential step mother for the lost duckling.

After a hazardous journey from nest to sea, the eider duck and her ducklings face new dangers. The small ones are an easy prey for the big seagulls diving from the sky, swallowing them whole. The majority of ducklings do however, make it into adulthood, much thanks to the close-knit community of females looking out for each other’s ducklings.

From nest to duvet

This is also the beginning of a hectic season for the bird keepers. Down must be picked, cleansed from egg shells, and laid out to dry. Then it must undergo thorough preparations before it can become the world’s best duvets. One nest produces around 16 grams of pure down.

While the bird keepers live good lives with regular fulltime jobs, the experiences with the eider give them what they have been longing for throughout the whole winter: Watching Lånan slip into spring. After the eider leave their houses, they must be repaired. The birds don’t like changes on their homes, so any repair must be done discreetly, with utmost care.

Traditions

Several hundred years of tradition lies behind the process of making duvets. Humans are looking after the eider duck, and get eggs and down in return. The bird keepers have fought a long, hard battle in order for the tradition to be upheld throughout generations. In that regard, we are hoping for support from the government, in order for the bird keepers to continue their work in the years to come.

Most of the people involved in this work, take around two months leave from their regular jobs to watch over the eider duck. Their dedication demonstrates how much the eider duck still means to the people on these islands.

It is very important that coming generations also get to benefit from the results of this fruitful collaboration between birds and humans.