[Length 21 in. Wingspan 33 in.]

This female Spectacled Eider (which was a pet duck named Pookie!) was photographed at Barrow, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1989)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 27 in.]

Steller's Eiders breed along the coasts of eastern and northern Siberia in Asia and western and northern Alaska in North America. While the males of all four species of Eider ducks have some kind of black-and-white pattern on the body, only the male Steller's Eider has a black eye and black spot on the side of the breast. Females are a drab brown so they "blend in" on the nest while they incubate their eggs. Steller's Eiders winter along the southern coast of Alaska and out onto the Aleutian Island chain. This pair was photographed at Barrow, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Ektachrome 400 film pushed to 800. (Date: June 1989)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 27 in.]

This drake Steller's Eider in flight was photographed at the Northwest Point seawatch at the village of Gambell on St. Lawrence island, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1989)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 27 in.]

This female Steller's Eider in flight was photographed at the Northwest Point seawatch at the village of Gambell on St. Lawrence island, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1989)