Common merganser

Share Top Five January 28, 2019

The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (Mergus merganser) is a large duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America,More info:wiki

Below are photos and Images you may like:

#10 Common Merganser,More info:audubon

Wooded lakes, rivers; in winter, rarely coastal bays. Mainly around fresh water at all seasons. Summer: on shallow but clear rivers and lakes in forested country; avoids dense marshes and muddy waters. Winter: on lakes, large rivers; occasionally on bays along coast.

This fish-eating duck is the typical merganser of freshwater lakes. Its flocks are usually small, but these may combine into big concentrations sometimes at large reservoirs. Common Mergansers living along rivers may spend hours resting on rocks or on shore. The British call this bird the “Goosander.” In some parts of Europe, with artificial nesting sites provided, the species has become a common nesting bird along city waterfronts; this has not yet happened in North America.

#9 Ohio Birds and Biodiversity,More info:jimmccormac.blogspot

Bob Lane sent along some wonderful photos of a hen Common Merganser attending her large brood of chicks. Looks eleven of the little fuzzballs in all. The little ones stay closely huddled with the hen at this point, even hopping aboard her back for rides when possible. He observed the brood at Conneaut, Ohio, last Tuesday, June 2. They most likely nested along Conneaut Creek, where John Pogacnik and others have reported breeding Common Mergansers for a number of years.

This cavity-nesting duck nests along high quality streams buffered by healthy riparian forests. There is no question that this species is on the rise as a nester in Ohio, and adjacent states. Recovery of areas that were once largely denuded of forests is the likely reason for the duck’s increase – they are probably recolonizing former breeding areas. West Virginia’s breeding Common Merganser population has skyrocketed – I wrote about there RIGHT HERE – and Pennsylvania’s population has also spiked enormously.

#8 Common Merganser,More info:audubon

#7 COMMON MERGANSER,More info:idahobirds

#6 A Goosander (or Common Merganser) pair,More info:hbw

#5 Common Mergansers Migrating,More info:naturallycuriouswithmaryholland

Common Mergansers are hardy, fish-eating, cavity-nesting ducks that can be found in New England year round, as they winter as far north as open water allows. However, the birds we see in the winter on large bodies of water most likely are not the same birds that breed here. All North American populations of Common Mergansers migrate, generally short to intermediate distances. Populations near the coast move only short distances, while more interior birds migrate farther. Heavier birds and adult males seem to tolerate colder winter temperatures and remain farther north than immature birds. They can often be seen on large lakes and rivers, as well as the coast, where they form small groups that may gather into large numbers at favored sites.

Migrating Common Mergansers tend to leave late in the fall (this week marks the peak of their fall migration), making them often the last waterfowl migrants to head south. Common Mergansers typically migrate over land at night, and along seacoasts or major river systems by day. In the spring, adult males return north first as soon as open water is available, followed by females a few weeks later. (Photo: 2 juvenile Common Mergansers) Thanks to canoe-steadying Sadie Richards for making it possible for me to take this photograph.

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