Common Eiders making a run for it - Nome, AK
The Common Eiders and 2 Emperor Geese were on the same beach when I took this photo and all were very skittish. You couldn't even look at a Common Eider before it bolted into the ocean. They are heavily hunted up there so they view us humans as threats. I noticed this with all the eiders, ducks and swans in Nome. They were very unlike the waterfowl at home that we can walk right up to.
*Disclaimer - I am not at all against subsistence hunting of the Inupiaq. I fully support their cultural and hunting rights which are necessary for survival. I am just making a factual comment of what I observed.
Common Eiders making a run for it - Nome, AK
The Common Eiders and 2 Emperor Geese were on the same beach when I took this photo and all were very skittish. You couldn't even look at a Common Eider before it bolted into the ocean. They are heavily hunted up there so they view us humans as threats. I noticed this with all the eiders, ducks and swans in Nome. They were very unlike the waterfowl at home that we can walk right up to.
*Disclaimer - I am not at all against subsistence hunting of the Inupiaq. I fully support their cultural and hunting rights which are necessary for survival. I am just making a factual comment of what I observed.