WhenToBird

Somateria mollissima · Anatidae

When Do Common Eiders Arrive in Maine?

Adult male Common Eider
Photo: Christoph Moning, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Common Eider is in Maine all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (mid January) and on 9.1% in its quietest week (mid June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekJan 15-21mid January
Quietest weekJun 15-21mid June

Best: mid January. Here all year. Peak: on about 19% of Maine checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 18% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 20% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 19% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 16% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 15% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 13% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 12% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 10% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 9.9% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.6% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 10% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.8% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.6% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 10% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.0% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 12% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 10% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.2% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.5% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.7% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 10% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 13% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 14% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 14% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 14% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 17% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 18% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 18% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 16% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 16% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 15% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 15% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 16% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 16% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 17% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 18% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 17% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 16% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 18% of 14285 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Maine that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Maine

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. York CountyBest the second week of September · 1999 checklists that week, 101,844 in all35%
  2. Knox CountyBest the second week of July · 911 checklists that week, 34,453 in all31%
  3. Lincoln CountyBest late September · 2193 checklists that week, 59,429 in all29%
  4. Sagadahoc CountyBest mid December · 335 checklists that week, 21,736 in all27%
  5. Cumberland CountyBest mid January · 2625 checklists that week, 169,501 in all25%
  6. Hancock CountyBest mid October · 1847 checklists that week, 118,358 in all24%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bald HeadYork County, best mid February · 26 checklists that week, 606 in all100%
  2. Mackworth Island State ParkCumberland County, best mid April · 23 checklists that week, 1,053 in all100%
  3. Dyer CoveCumberland County, best the second week of April · 25 checklists that week, 2,660 in all100%
  4. Town LandingCumberland County, best the second week of April · 51 checklists that week, 2,553 in all99%
  5. Lighthouse CoveLincoln County, best late December · 36 checklists that week, 1,298 in all99%
  6. South PointYork County, best the second week of June · 29 checklists that week, 1,022 in all99%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Maine, the Common Eider is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (17% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (510) to judge1 am: too few checklists (517) to judge2 am: too few checklists (581) to judge3 am: too few checklists (3242) to judge4 am: too few checklists (7221) to judge5 am: 9.9% of 19895 checklists6 am: 12% of 54578 checklists7 am: 10% of 92775 checklists8 am: 11% of 86962 checklists9 am: 13% of 78989 checklists10 am: 15% of 70954 checklists11 am: 16% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 16% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 17% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 17% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 15% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 14% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 12% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 9.9% of 18309 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14287) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5336) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2253) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1518) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (720) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January18%20%19%19%
February15%16%14%15%
March13%12%10%9.9%
April9.6%10%9.8%9.6%
May10%9.0%11%12%
June10%9.2%9.5%8.7%
July10%12%12%13%
August14%15%14%14%
September16%17%18%18%
October16%16%15%15%
November15%16%16%17%
December18%17%16%18%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Common Eiders arrive in Maine?
The Common Eider is in Maine all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (mid January) and on 9.1% in its quietest week (mid June).
When do Common Eiders leave Maine?
The Common Eider does not leave Maine: it is reported all year, from 9.1% of checklists in mid June to 19% in mid January.
When is the best time to see a Common Eider in Maine?
The Common Eider is reported most often in mid January, on about 19% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Common Eiders seen most often?
By county, York County, Knox County, and Lincoln County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Eider (counties with at least 200 checklists).