CDC Logo

BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Polysticta stelleri
Steller's Eider

 
Scientific Name: Polysticta stelleri (Pallas, 1769)
English Name: Steller's Eider
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: B-STEI
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Aves Anseriformes Anatidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G3G4 (Sep 2022)
Provincial Status: SNA (Mar 2015)
BC List: Accidental
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 8 - Accidental (2005)
Migratory Bird Convention Act: Y
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Global Reproduction Comments: Eggs are laid in June-July; peak time varies annually with conditions. Ehrlich et al. (1988) report the clutch size to range from 5-10, usually 6-8. However, recent studies give somewhat lower ranges: in 1994-95 mean clutch size was 6.1 on the Lena Delta, Russia; in 1991-95 in the Barrow, Alaska area it was 5.5. On the Lena Delta, 4.9 ducklings hatched per successful nest; nest success there was only 23% in 1993, 0% in 1994 and 1995. At Barrow, nest success ranged from 14.6% in 1993 (n=13) to 71.3% in 1991 (n=6) (Solovieva in prep., Quakenbush et al. 1995, both as cited in Pihl 1999). In both study areas, breeding was attempted only in years of high lemming density (see Ecology section). Incubation, by female, lasts about 3 weeks. Males depart once incubation has begun.
Global Ecology Comments: NONBREEDING: may form flocks of 10,000s. An annual survival rate of 71-76% for non-breeding females has been estimated for Alaskan population (Flint et al. in prep., cited in Pihl 1999).

BREEDING: In both the Lena Delta and the Barrow, Alaska, area, often places nest within breeding territories of Pomarine Jaegers (Stercorarius pomarinus) or Snowy Owls (Nyctea scandiaca); these species are thought to protect eider nests from predation by Arctic Foxes. In the 1990s on the Lena Delta and around Barrow, nesting took place only during years of high lemming population, when Pomarine Jaegers and/or Snowy Owls nested in the breeding area. Eiders may also benefit during lemming highs because foxes may concentrate on abundant lemmings as prey during those years (Pihl 1999, Quakenbush et al. 1995, Quakenbush 1998).
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		N /
N /
Y /
na /
Global Migration Comments: SPRING: Forms large flocks in migration staging areas (Johnson and Herter 1989). Large numbers concentrate in Bristol Bay, Alaska, before migration; in 1992 an estimated 138,000 gathered (Larned et al. 1994). Breeding adults move north through the Bering Strait mid-May through early June (Kessel 1989). Most individuals banded at Izembek NWR, Alaska, nest along the northern coastal region of Russia as far west as the Khaka River (Alison 1994). Leave the Baltic region in April (Lithuania) and May (Estonia); leave northeastern Finland (Varangerfjord) in May (Pihl 1999, Henriksen and Lund 1994). In east Asia, migration begins in March and peaks in Kamchatka in mid-May (Pihl 1999). Subadults may remain on the wintering grounds, or may spend the summer along the adults' migration route (M. Petersen, pers. comm. in USFWS 2000, Henriksen and Lund 1994). Arrives on Alaskan breeding grounds late May-early June.

MOLTING: Males migrate to molting areas in early summer; in Alaska large aggregations occur at Izembek and Nelson lagoons, Herendeen Bay, and Port Moller along north side of Alaska Peninsula, mid-July to mid-August; these aggregations include birds both from Alaska breeding populations and from the more numerous breeding populations in Russia (Johnson and Herter 1989, USFWS 2000). Molting aggregations occur at other sites along the northwestern Alaska coast, off the islands in the Bering Sea, and in Bristol Bay (USFWS 2000). Other populations molt in the Russian Far East, e.g. along the Chukotksi Peninsula and Karaginski Island (Pihl 1999); their related breeding sites are undetermined (USFWS 2000). The main molting areas in Europe have probably yet to be found (Pihl 1999).

FALL: Fall migration is protracted; individuals move south through the Bering Strait from late July through October (Kessel 1989); precise migration routes are not well known (USFWS 2000). In Europe, arrive in Norway in October, and numbers build through the winter (Henriksen and Lund 1994); arrive in the Baltic in November and December, with numbers peaking in January or February (Pihl 1999). For details on the winter distribution in Europe, see Nygard et al. (1995).
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: NONBREEDING: shallow marine waters around bays, reefs, lagoons, and inlets (Palmer 1976, Flint et al. 1984, Armstrong 1990) or far offshore (Alison 1994). Often rests on beaches and sandbars, and on somewhat flat, seaweed-covered rocks exposed by low tide (Soothill and Whitehead 1978).

BREEDING: Nests on grassy edges of tundra lakes and ponds, or within drained lake basins; occasionally on barren rocky tundra; on dry mossy site or in depression between grassy hummocks (Soothill and Whitehead 1978). Preferred habitat on Lena Delta, Russia, and in Barrow, Alaska, region is moss-lichen polygonal tundra (Pihl 1999, Quakenbush et al. 1995). Usually nests some distance inland, away from salt water (Soothill and Whitehead 1978).
Food Habits: Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Almost 90% of diet is invertebrates--eats mainly crustaceans, mollusks, polychaete worms and aquatic insect larvae; also pondweeds (including seeds), eel grass, and some other plant material (Terres 1980, Soothill and Whitehead 1978). On both Siberian and Alaskan breeding grounds, feeds extensively on aquatic Diptera (midges, Chironomidae; and crane flies, Tipulidae) larvae (Pihl 1999, Quakenbush et al. 1995). Dives and dabbles in shallow-water habitats (occasionally up to 10 meters deep) (Pihl 1999). During molt at Nelson Lagoon, always fed at low tide, regardless of time of day (Petersen 1980).
Global Phenology:
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 43/ / 842
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Three breeding populations are recognized: two in Russia and one in Alaska. The Russian-Pacific population occurs along the Arctic coast of Siberia from the Chukotski Peninsula west to the Kheta/Khatanga River (Bering Sea wintering population) and the Russian-Atlantic population occurs along the Arctic coast of Siberia west of the Khatanga River (European wintering population) (Pihl 1999, Fredrickson 2020). In Alaska, the species breeds on the Arctic Coastal Plain and on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (USFWS 2002, Fredrickson 2020).

Birds from the Alaska breeding population and the far more abundant eastern Siberia population molt and winter mainly along the Alaska Peninsula. Thousands also spend late summer off the coast of St. Lawrence Island, especially along the north coast; they are fairly common in shallows east of Gambell and at the Pribilof Islands, especially St. Paul Island (Alison 1994). Eastern Siberian breeders also molt in Kamchatka and winter in the southern Bering Sea and Northern Pacific Ocean, primarily on the Commander and Kurile Islands; and in small numbers off Japan (Pihl 1999, USFWS 2002).

Western Siberian breeders molt and winter in the Barents and Baltic Seas (Pihl 1999). Surveys in 2009 found that 85 percent were wintering in Russian waters, up from 30-50% in the mid-1990s; the difference probably a result of climate change (Aarvak et al. 2013, Fredrickson 2020).
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: HAMMERSON, G., REVISED BY S. CANNINGS
Last Updated: Sep 07, 1994
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
Alison, R. 1994. Eiders: sea ducks of the far north. Wildbird, February 1994, pp. 32-39.
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
BirdLife International. 2018. Polysticta stelleri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22680415A132527232. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018- 2.RLTS.T22680415A132527232.en
Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I.McT. Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 1. Nonpasserines: Introduction, Loons through Waterfowl. Royal B.C. Mus. in association with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. 514pp.
Carter, M., G. Fenwick, C. Hunter, D. Pashley, D. Petit, J. Price, and J. Trapp. 1996. Watchlist 1996: For the future. Field Notes 50(3):238-240.
Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
Henriksen, G., and E. Lund. 1994. Migration times, local movements, biometric parametres and the size and composition of the population of Steller's Eider, Polysticta stelleri in Varangerfjord in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Fauna Norv., Ser. C, Cinlus 17:95-106.
Iles, D.T., R.F. Rockwell, P. Matulonis, G.J. Robertson, K.E. Abraham, J.C. Davies, and D.N. Koons. 2013. Predators, alternative prey and climate influence annual breeding success of a long-lived sea duck. Journal of Animal Ecology 82: 683-693.
Johnson, S. R. and D. R. Herter. 1989. The Birds of the Beaufort Sea. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. 372 pp.
Kessel, B. 1989. Birds of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska: their biogeography, seasonality, and natural history. Univ. of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, AK. 330 pp.
Kortright, F.H. 1967. The ducks, geese, and swans of North America. The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, PA, and Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, D.C. 476 pp.
Larned, W. W, W. I. Butler, and G. R. Balogh. 1994. Steller's Eider migration surveys, 1992-1993. Progress Report, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Anchorage, Alaska. 52pp.
Nygård, T., B. Frantzen, and S. Svazas. 1995. Steller's Eider, Polysticta stelleri wintering in Europe: numbers, distribution and origin. Wildfowl 46:140-155.
Petersen, M. 1980. Observations of wing-feather molt and summer feeding ecology of Steller's Eider at Nelson Lagoon, Alaska. Wildfowl 31: 99-106.
Pihl, S. (compiler). 1999. European species action plan for Steller's Eider (Polysticta stelleri). Final draft, September 1999. Prepared by BirdLife International on behalf of the European Commission. 37pp. Available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/nature/directive/birda ctionplan/polystic tastelleri.htm. Accessed 23 November 2000.
Quakenbush, L. 1998. Breeding biology of Steller's Eiders nesting near Barrow, Alaska, 1991-1998. Abstract of seminar given at Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, December 9, 1998. Available at: http://blackburn.ims.uaf.edu:8000/musgrave/seminars/quakenb ush/quakenbush.htm l. Accessed 23 November 2000.
Quakenbush, L. T., R. S. Suydam, K. T. Fluetsch, C. L. Donaldson. 1995. Breeding biology of Steller's Eiders nesting near Barrow, Alaska, 1991-1994. Ecological Services, Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Technical Report NAES-TR-95-03. 53 pp.
Quakenbush, L., R. Suydam, T. Obritschkewitsch, and M. Deering. 2004. Breeding biology of Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) near Barrow, Alaska, 1991?99. Arctic 57: 166-182.
Soothill, E., and P. Whitehead. 1978. Wildfowl of the world. Peerage Books, London.
Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1997. Threatened status for the Alaska breeding population of the Steller's Eider. Federal Register 63:31748-31757.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Polysticta stelleri. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Oct 19, 2026).