serrated bill – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Red-breasted Mergansers in Utah

By Mia McPherson|2016-12-07T12:05:23-06:00November 26th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-breasted Mergansers, Utah|Tags: Mergus serrator, Red-breasted Merganser, serrated bill, snowy, waterfowl, wing flap, winter|

Near the auto tour route though I saw what appeared to be 250 to 300 Red-breasted Mergansers on the Bear River. I think it was the largest raft of Red-breasted Mergansers I have ever seen.

First winter male Common Merganser

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-13T10:28:50-05:00January 27th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Pied-billed Grebes, Utah|Tags: aggressive, biting, Common Merganser, diving ducks, drake, first winter, grebe, grebes, ice, immature, male, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, plopped, Podilymbus podiceps, preening, rested, serrated bill, shore, stretching, water, wing flap, wing flapping, winter, young|

Yesterday morning I spotted a lone Common Merganser at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area nearly hidden in some phragmites and when we came around the corner the bird seemed to have disappeared but after a bit it came out from its hiding spot and gave us quite a show.

Common and Red-breasted Mergansers

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-13T10:33:58-05:00March 20th, 2011|Categories: Bird ID, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-breasted Mergansers, Utah|Tags: bill, bird ID, Common Merganser, crest, crests, diving ducks, duck, ducks, eye color, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, Mergus serrator, Red-breasted Merganser, serrated bill, water|

Mergansers are considered "diving ducks" and one of the things the three species of mergansers found in North America all have in common are their serrated bills.