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The long-tailed duck ( Clangula hyemalis) is the most abundant sea duck species. A decline of 50% was also observed for the five most common sea duck species in North America between the mid-1970s and 1996. The sea duck decline is not limited to European populations. Offshore surveys have shown that sea ducks wintering in the Baltic Sea experienced population declines of 60% between 1992–19–2009. One of the world´s most important wintering sites for sea ducks is the Baltic Sea. Due to the inaccessibility and the vast size of their breeding range, knowledge about their population dynamics from the breeding grounds is limited. The majority of sea duck populations breed in the Arctic, where they nest on the ground close to small freshwater lakes. Sea ducks are waterfowl living in marine environments outside of the breeding season, mostly in shallow coastal waters or offshore banks. Threats that now operate in the wintering areas may thus spread to the higher latitude staging areas and further increase the pressure on long-tailed ducks.
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Climate change will render these habitats more exposed to human impacts in the form of fisheries, marine traffic and oil exploitation in near future. Important spring and autumn staging areas include the Barents Sea and the White Sea. The Baltic Sea represents the most important wintering area for female long-tailed ducks from Kolguev Island. After a rapid spring migration in mid-May, the birds spent 23 ± 3 days at sea in coastal areas between the White Sea and Kolguev Island, before returning to their freshwater breeding habitats in June. There, they used areas known to host long-tailed ducks, but areas differed among individuals. After a rapid autumn migration, 18 of 19 birds spent their winter in the Baltic Sea and one bird in the White Sea, where they stayed for 212 ± 3 days. After breeding and moulting at freshwater lakes, ducks went out to sea around Kolguev Island and to marine waters ranging from the White Sea to Novaya Zemlya Archipelago for 33 ± 10 days. Of the 48 female long-tailed ducks tagged on Kolguev Island (western Russian Arctic), 19 were recaptured to obtain data. Specifically, we aimed to identify the wintering grounds, timing of migration and staging of this population via light-level geolocation. As knowledge about the European long-tailed duck’s life cycle and movement ecology is limited, we investigate its year-round spatiotemporal distribution patterns. The long-tailed duck ( Clangula hyemalis) was categorized as ´Vulnerable` by the IUCN after a study revealed a rapid wintering population decline of 65% between 1992–19–2009 in the Baltic Sea.