Common Mergansers Common Mergansers
Mergus merganser
Common Merganser Tracks
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| These birds prefer fresh water and are seldom found near salt water. The male has a dark green head that appears almost black. The female has a crest on her head and a white throat. Both have a thin, red, hooked bill with sharp teeth along the edges. These teeth help them catch their swimming prey. The teeth also help them keep a grip on slippery fish. |
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Mergansers dive underwater to catch fish, their preferred prey. They can swim well and quickly pursue prey underwater. Mergansers also eat aquatic insects. The call is a low, short quack. |
They build their nests on the ground or in crevices of trees. Mergansers are commonly seen flying along some river canyons. They sometimes skim low over the water, usually in pairs. White wing patches are visible when they are in flight. Mergansers prefer open water. The webbing on their feet sometimes shows in the tracks. |
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A family of mergansers |
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Mother merganser and her young. |
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Pair of mergansers in the Eel River. |
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Mergansers on the edge of the river. The males are in their breeding plumage. |
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A group of mergansers getting warm in the sun. |
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Group of mergansers swims past a turkey vulture on the river bar. |
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Male merganser is breeding plumage. |
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| Three mergansers were resting on this rock in the middle of the river. When I approached, they jumped off. | |
Click for video clip of flying meransers along the Eel River in Humboldt County, California. |
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Find merganser posters, greeting cards, postage stamps and more in my new store.
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Now available: "Animals Don't Cover
Their Tracks - An Introduction to Animal Tracking" on CD! (Version 3.0)
New drawings, more species, more photos, more extensive sections on tracking
humans, more detailed directions for plaster casting, mystery tracks section,
tracking stories section, and more. The CD features over 100 species, including
special bonus sections with the tracks of some African and Australian
animals. A large section on tracking lost people for search and rescue is
included, with over four pages of photos showing the details of tracks and
signs people leave. Easy to use format. This web site is limited
by bandwidth, but the CD-ROM is not. The CD is available in my online store at:
www.dirt-time.com
Works with Mac or PC. Happy tracking!!
What else can you find in the nature store? Beartracker's animal tracks coloring book, T-shirts, sweatshirts, journals, book bags, toddler and infant apparel, mouse pads, posters, postcards, coffee mugs, travel mugs, clocks, Frisbees, bumper stickers, hats, stickers, and many more items. All with tracks or paw prints, or nature scenes. Custom products are available. If you don't see the track you want on the product you want, email me and I can probably create it. Proceeds from all sales go to pay the monthly fees for this web site. You can help support this site as well as get great tracking products! Thank you! |
| Find other tracking products: www.zazzle.com/tracker8459* |
| Also visit these fine
stores for more products of interest: NDN Pride shop - For Indian Pride items for all tribes. Custom items available on request. ASL Signs of Love - For anyone who uses or is learning ASL, American Sign Language. Custom name items and more are available here. Sales from all stores give commissions to Beartracker's Animal Tracks Den, which helps keep this site online as a free service. We are celebrating ten years online this year! |
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Looking for a Gift? This site lets you customize a gift card with your own photo. Commissions earned when you buy from this link help
keep Beartracker's Animal Tracks Den online! Thank you! |
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If you like the information provided here and find it useful, |
Personal Notes on Common Mergansers
Got a merganser story? E-mail me and tell me about it.
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Copyright © 1997-2008. Text, photos, video, and drawings by Kim A.
Cabrera.
Do not use without permission.
Updated: Saturday, July 18, 2008.
