King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) - 30Mar2017 & 23Jan2021

This amazing bird was in the Cape Cod channel in MA back in 2017 and I happened to be in Boston for a work trip.  So naturally I drove down and crushed it.  The flock of eiders was racing against the channel which was flowing at a really fast rate and by positioning myself 40 or so yards up the bank and staying very still, the flock approached and came to within spitting distance.

We have had a few King Eiders in NC but they have all been hens and always at a distance.  Here is one from 2021 in Avon, NC.