Eider ducks


Eider ducks live in the most inhospitable of landscapes. The naked chicks have to survive the bitterly cold polar storms that rage around them. But of all young chicks, eider duck chicks are raised in the cosiest of surroundings. They snuggle down in the nest, lined with down from the mother's breast. This breast down intermeshes and binds together so that it isn't carried away by the wind, it weighs next to nothing and is composed of the tiniest fibres....the fibres surround the cold air, heat it and in so doing, create an entirely unique sleeping climate. Anyone who has held eiderdown in the palm of their hand will know about its mysterious aura, about the wonderful sensation it produces on the skin. The eiderdown harvest is very small and depends largely on the breeding behaviour of the eider ducks. The down is harvested by hand and is only ever collected from abandoned nests.