We arrived at the King Eider sighting area just before 2:45PM yesterday afternoon, Friday. I had departed the Willow Island, West Virginia jobsite at 11:30AM, and felt like I was in "Smokey And The Bandit", gassing it up I-77 headed north. I rendezvoused with Denise on the the south side of Akron at 1:45PM, switched vehicles, and continued our odyssey. We first saw the celebrity visitor at long distance, looking northwest from the Perkins Beach parking lot. After a phone call from birding friends, we walked up to meet them at Cliff Drive for a much better view. Initially, the King Eider was in the resting mode, with head tucked most of the time. It had plenty of companions, which included all three scoter species, Buffleheads, Horned Grebes, and Lesser Scaups. Keep in mind, that the female King Eider at a distance, looks kind of like a large, dark, female Mallard. Her bill appears almost black. When she flaps her wings, the underside appears an almost pastel, light blue, in color. If she is with the Buffleheads, the size difference is noticable. Sometime about 3:30PM, all the birds, including the King Eider, became much more active, diving and feeding on an apparent mussel bed below them. The Surf Scoters could actually be seen surfacing with mussels in their bills. At about 4:15PM, we departed, completing another successful adventure. The King Eider was Ohio Life Bird #343 for us, and also 2012 Ohio Bird #280 for us. Good luck to all that pursue this exciting bird today.
Bob and Denise Lane / Mahoning County
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