Dressers Eider, Co. Donegal

Many thanks to Aidan Kelly for the photograph below of the Dressers Eider currently with the Eider flock (up to 200 birds) at the Isle of Doagh, Inishowen, Co. Donegal. This bird has not been seen for over a year and there must be a strong possibility that it has or will end up at some time, on Lough Foyle. The ID features (except the white sails which it seems to have lost in moult) are clearly seen in the photos below including the lobe shaped bill, the narrow black line between the bill and the facial feathering and the green extending underneath the black cap. The bird also has a distinctive headshape and when looked at from a distance is best found by the 'smaller' black cap than the other Eider males.

Dressers Eider (foreground), Donegal - Aidan Kelly