STATUS, NUMBER AND MONITORING OF THE COMMON EIDER (SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA) POPULATION IN THE BARENTS AND WHITE SEAS

Breeding, moulting and wintering ranges of the common eider (Somateria mollissima) were mapped and described in the southern part of the Barents Sea region, including the White Sea population in the western White Sea and the Murmansk population in the northwestern White Sea and the southeastern Barents Sea. The current number was determined for both populations: it was the highest in the 2000s for the entire period of ornithological survey in the region since the 1950s. The only reliable method for determining the total population number was shown to be aerial survey from a helicopter. The best season for studying the White Sea population is March - early April (wintering); the most favourable period for investigating the Murmansk population is August (postbreeding/moulting). The population status of common eiders in the northern and eastern parts of the Barents Sea has not been defined yet. On the Franz-Josef Land, common eider is distributed sporadically, and its number was assessed using expert estimates. The current number of eider on the Novaya Zemlya is unknown. The helicopter-based aerial survey in late summer during postbreeding season is the only relevant method to obtain reliable estimates for the population of common eiders inhabiting the Franz-Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya.