As Phil and I were taking a walk down Coast Guard Beach a couple of weeks ago when the temps were in the lower 70s, we saw something lying on the sand. Hmmm….

As we got closer I could see that it was a Common Eider just relaxing in the sun and not bothered by anyone. We clicked away. After a little while, he got up and sauntered back down to the water.

A Common Eider has a white back and black undersides with a black crown. They have a very distinctive bill, as you can see. I’d only seen them a couple of times last year in the water, so this was a big treat!

Beautiful bird, don’t you think?