About 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle there is a tiny string of windswept mostly treeless islands half way up the coast of Norway. They're called the Vega Islands. They're mostly uninhabited, but every spring they get some very special visitors. Migrating eider ducks, hundreds and sometimes thousands of them, returning from the open sea, to nest. And waiting to greet them are a group of hardy Norwegians known as eider keepers. They protect the ducks from predators. All in exchange for the eider's luxuriously downy feathers ….”eiderdown” -  the lightest and most effective insulation on earth. 

Environmental writer Devon Fredericksen spent three months with an eider keeper and wrote about her experience in her upcoming book, Only the Birds Know: A Love Story Between a People, a Place, and a Remarkable Duck.

Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community atwww.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.

THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and edited by Jim Gates. It is hosted, produced and written byChris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! We’re also on Tiktok! Check us out @chris.morgan.wildlife.

About 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle there is a tiny string of windswept mostly treeless islands half way up the coast of Norway. They're called the Vega Islands. They're mostly uninhabited, but every spring they get some very special visitors. Migrating eider ducks, hundreds and sometimes thousands of them, returning from the open sea, to nest. And waiting to greet them are a group of hardy Norwegians known as eider keepers. They protect the ducks from predators. All in exchange for the eider's luxuriously downy feathers &hellip;.&rdquo;eiderdown&rdquo; -  the lightest and most effective insulation on earth.&nbsp;
Environmental writer<a href="https://www.devonfredericksen.com/"> Devon Fredericksen </a>spent three months with an eider keeper and wrote about her experience in her upcoming book, Only the Birds Know: A Love Story Between a People, a Place, and a Remarkable Duck.
Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at<a href="https://www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife"> www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife</a> and you can donate to KUOW at <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/thewild">kuow.org/donate/thewild</a>. Thank you.
THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with<a href="https://www.chrismorganwildlife.org/"> Chris Morgan Wildlife</a> and<a href="https://www.wildlifemedia.org/"> Wildlife Media</a>. It is produced by<a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/matt-martin"> Matt Martin</a> and<a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek"> Lucy Soucek</a>, and edited by<a href="https://kuow.org/authors/jim-gates"> Jim Gates</a>. It is hosted, produced and written by<a href="https://www.chrismorganwildlife.org/bio"> Chris Morgan</a>. Fact checking by<a href="https://apryledcraig.wordpress.com/"> Apryle Craig</a>. Our theme music is by<a href="https://www.michaeltparker.com/"> Michael Parker</a>.
Follow us on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chrismorganwildlife/?hl=en">@chrismorganwildlife</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thewildpod/?hl=en">@thewildpod</a> for more adventures and behind the scenes action! We&rsquo;re also on Tiktok! Check us out <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@chris.morgan.wildlife">@chris.morgan.wildlife</a>.

The Wild with Chris Morgan is a celebration of the natural world and the people devoted to wild places and incredible species. In each episode, host and ecologist Chris Morgan brings you face to face with some of the most extraordinary creatures and explores how they are finding unique and inspiring ways to adapt and thrive.

 

The Wild with Chris Morgan is a celebration of the natural world and the people devoted to wild places and incredible species. In each episode, host and ecologist Chris Morgan brings you face to face with some of the most extraordinary creatures and explores how they are finding unique and inspiring ways to adapt and thrive.
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The Wild with Chris Morgan

Host Chris Morgan interviews writer Devon Fredericksen about her time among the eider keepers on the Vega Islands in Norway. 