Red-breasted Merganser flock on Flat Lake

This Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) flock was first reported on Big Lake by Pierre and Judy Strong. From the first indistinct photos Terry Snyder thought they were Grebes, I thought they might be Mallards, Dan Kruse researched the species specific behavior of mergansers and thought they might be Common Mergansers. Terry then asked Bob Winckler, President of the local birding club, and he was able, from the first indistinct photos, to make a positive identification, as follows:

"...that raft of ducklings with the female are almost certainly Red-breasted Mergansers. The difference between the females of the two females is slight. The Common Merganser female has a sharp demarcation line on her neck, dividing the upper red color and the lighter color lower down. She also has a white area right under her chin. The graininess of the blowup of the picture of the female w/all of the young made it hard to make out the plumage markings, and because Common's are much more common around here, I incorrectly assumed that they were Common Mergansers."

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Red-breasted Mergansers
• Flat Lake
• Big Lake
• Alaska wildlife