Photo: Duck and cover in Sanikiluaq

Chased by a trio of ravens, this eider duck tried to hide in a nearby drift of snow near the beach in Sanikiluaq Dec. 11. With some growing to three kilograms in size, eider ducks are double or triple the size of their mallard cousins and though they fly around in winter in search of open water and seafood, wildlife biologists don’t consider their movement an actual migration. Eider ducks are common to the Belcher Islands and their down—used traditionally by Inuit and in modern parkas and duvets—is considered one of the warmest materials, natural or synthetic, known to humankind. (PHOTO BY SARAH MEEKO)