Mergansers

Mergansers are very attractive ducks especially when you see 100 of them at
once. I have been intrigued by Mergansers for many years. I have had many
varied encounters with them that have been among the highlights of my
birdwatching experiences. As I look back and research these great ducks, I am
discovering that I have been seeing 3 different kinds of mergansers. All have very
distinct topnots and the males are different but each very striking in appearance.
But all three have similar females with brown ‘crowns’. I think this similarity
combined with the difficulty of ever getting very close to them has caused me to
confuse the three kinds of mergansers. This post will clear up this matter!

Since I have been living on Henderson Bay I have been treated to many
spectacular Red Breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator, parades. I have seen 30
to as many as 100 mergansers floating by a number of times. My sources report
that these mergansers migrate in groups but not in rafts. A raft must really be a
big group of birds.

Since I have been living on Henderson Bay I have been treated to many
spectacular Red Breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator, parades. I have seen 30
to as many as 100 mergansers floating by a number of times. My sources report
that these mergansers migrate in groups but not in rafts. A raft must really be a
big group of birds.

I have seen the Merganser parades on March 17 (’95), March 20 (’94), March 30
(’92), April 4 (’96), April 11 (’04), April 21 (’02), and April (’05). I also see them in
the Fall: Sept 23 (’00), Sept 27 (’03), Sept (’04), Oct 2 (’98) , Oct 3 (’99), Oct 5
(’02) Oct 22 (’95). They are, of course, migrating south in the Fall and on their
way back up north in the spring. But I have not seen them in between these
dates so they pass through quickly during March and April and Sept and October.

I have seen a few mergansers at a time 5 times over the years always in
January. I reported these in my notes as Hooded Mergansers but research says
Hooded Mergansers are fresh water ducks so I guess they were also Red
Breasted Mergansers or else they were attracked to the creek that flows into my
bay nearby.

I think my first memorable encounters came years ago while kyaking in the
summers up north around Vancouver Island and Desolation Sound. We would
frequently see a large group of ducks ahead and as we approached they would
all attempt to fly away. They apparently are not strong flyers because they would
all flutter as if walking on the water for a long distance before becoming
airbourne. They also kind of screeched while doing this. They would land a short
distance away and repeat the act as we approached again. So, I have many
memories of kyaking with mergansers running on the water ahead of me. These
are the same Red Breasted Mergansers that I see here migrating through in the
Fall and Spring. They spent the summers up north. I have also seen them in
small groups many times in the winter in the lagoon behind my Whidbey cabin.