Finally, back to a native bird species! I've seen common eiders at both St James's Park and Regent's Park, but at least they are actually a local bird. I like the shape of them. The look similar to scoters, which we have back in Canada, although I've never seen one in real life myself, just in people's photos. It's something about the beak shape that I'm drawn to. I also really like the stark black and white markings of this bird as well. I find them to be quite striking. I'd also like to see one swimming sometime. Every time I've seen them, they appear to be snoozing. Maybe they're just a lazy species?
Update August 6, 2023: I learned where the eiders are. I think the one that I saw in St James Park and at the London Wetland Centre were brought in for their collections, but eiders live year round in Northern Scotland. There were dozens of them in Aberdeen when we had a few hours there between our ferry arrival from the Shetlands and our flight departure back to London. I think these were mostly youngsters or possibly adults in non-breeding plumage.
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