Sea Duck Feather Archive

The Sea Duck Joint Venture (SDJV) has collected >7000 feather samples from North American sea ducks to serve as an archive for studies investigating population connectivity and dynamics using genetic and stable isotope techniques.

The archive includes:

• Samples from hunter-harvested birds, collected through the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Parts Collection Survey:
  • Primary feathers
  • Separate, small clips of primary feather calamus containing tissue for genetic analysis
• Samples from sea ducks captured during banding/marking projects
  • Secondary feathers
  • Head feathers

Species sampled include Common Eider, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Harlequin Duck, Bufflehead, Long-tailed Duck, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Common Goldeneye, and Barrow’s Goldeneye. Most of the samples were collected between 2005-2019.

Feathers are stored in paper envelopes at room temperature, with desiccant in containers keeping them dry.

Samples are available for researchers at the discretion of SDJV’s Continental Technical Team. If you’re interested in using samples for your research, please contact Kate Martin, US Sea Duck JV Coordinator, at with a short project description.

Feather archive database with metadata (as of Jan 2026): SDJV Feather Collection Master File 07Jan2026 [1 MB XLSX]

SDJV-funded studies that have used the archive include:

• SDJV 171: Identifying the diets and breeding areas of harvested juvenile sea ducks: A continued stable isotope investigation
• SDJV 158: Evaluating stable hydrogen isotopes for identifying breeding areas of harvested sea ducks
• SDJV 150: Using genetics to determine the breeding areas of Common Eiders harvested in the Atlantic Flyway
• SDJV 145: Wing tissue collection for sea ducks for stable isotope and genetic analyses