Eider - passage

Somateria mollissima

Eiders have also been recorded in transit in every month of the year, either flying past prominent headlands like Dinas Head and Strumble Head (1 to 19 at a time), past the islands of Ramsey, Grassholm, Skomer and Skokholm (1 to 15 at a time), or settled temporarily on the sea.

 The latter category has included 30 at the Green Bridge of Wales on 26th April 1984, 38 in Caldey Roads on 25th March 1998, 17 off Solva on 17th April 2001 and 40 off Porthgain on 29th December 2003.

The origin and destination of these birds is unknown but Pembrokeshire lies between the main Eider concentrations in Wales at Aberdysynni, Merrionydd, mean of 72 in 12 recent years, and the Bury Inlet, West Glamorgan, mean of 97 in the same period, so could conceivably involve interchange between these populations.