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Status

Historic numbers and distribution of Steller’s eiders were significantly greater than current times. However, most information prior to the 1970s is anecdotal so it is difficult to accurately quantify the decline in numbers and the contraction of the breeding range. As of 2010, 600 Steller’s eiders or less arrive on the Alaska breeding grounds each year with most near Barrow. The Alaska-breeding population is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and is a State of Alaska species of special concern.

Reproduction and Growth

Steller’s eiders first breed at 2–3 years of age. Pair bonding occurs in the winter, and the eiders move to Arctic nesting grounds as the spring sea ice breaks up. They are solitary breeders that prefer to nest on islands or peninsulas in tundra lakes and ponds near the coast. The female selects a nest site while the male performs distraction flights. The nest is built out of grass then lined with down during egg laying. Females generally lay 5–7 olive-brown eggs. Males typically leave once incubation begins. Females incubate the eggs for 25–28 days until hatching.

Ducklings are precocial and hatch with open eyes and a dark brown layer of down. They can thermoregulate and walk soon after hatching, allowing them to leave the nest within 24 hours. Mothers stay with their young throughout brood rearing. Young birds can fly within 5–7 weeks of hatching.

Feeding Ecology

Steller’s eiders forage by diving or dabbling in shallow water. On the breeding habitats, Steller’s eiders primarily eat insect larvae associated with freshwater wetlands but may also eat aquatic plants. In marine habitats they eat small fish and saltwater invertebrates, including snails, clams, worms, and echinoderms found in the bottom sediment. They forage singly or in large flocks that often dive and surface in unison.

Behavior

Males perform courtship displays for females, with as many as 3–7 males following a single female. Courtship behaviors include a series of head-turns, shakes, and rearing out of the water. Males also perform aggressive displays towards other males, including chin-lifts which display the black chin-patch.

Migration

Steller’s eiders migrate long distances each year, up to 4,800 kilometers, between their breeding and wintering grounds. They migrate side by side in long lines only a few feet above the water. They generally travel along coastlines or follow open leads in the ice. Migration northward to the breeding grounds begins in late-April. They reach their nesting sites in the Arctic tundra in late May to early June. Males leave the breeding areas by early July to travel to molting areas. The females remain on the breeding grounds until the chicks fledge. Then they travel to molting areas or directly to wintering grounds further south.

Range and Habitat

The breeding range of Steller’s eiders is the arctic coastal plain of northern Alaska and Russia. There are three recognized breeding populations of Steller’s eiders worldwide. Two populations breed in Russia. The Russian-Atlantic population breeds in Russia and winters in the Barents and Baltic Seas of northern Europe, never associating with Alaska. The Russian-Pacific population breeds in Russia and winters in the Bering Sea and northern Gulf of Alaska and mixes with the Russian-Pacific population in the Bering Sea and northern Gulf of Alaska during the molt and winter. Alaska’s breeding population occurs in two disjunct regions, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska, where only a few birds may nest, and the Arctic Coastal Plain, primarily near Barrow.

Almost all Steller's eiders nest in northeastern Siberia, with less than 1% of the population breeding in North America. In the winter, most of the world’s Steller’s eiders are found in the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. Others winter as far west as the Commander and Kuril Islands of Russia and as far east as Kodiak Island and Kachemak Bay in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

Source: Alaska department of Fish and Game