There were a number of female eiders with chicks at Leebitton this morning. I know that some eiders share responsibility in looking after chicks but this female only seemed to have the one while the others had up to six around them so I suspect this female has lost a number of chicks to predation. It's common to see the number of chicks reduce on a daily basis to otters or large gulls. While eiders have been suffering from avian flu some of their predators will have as well so more chicks may survive this year.
