"Critters"--The Mergansers
December 31, 2025
Common mergansers are the largest of North American diving ducks. But it’s their airspeed that can really make your head spin
I honestly don’t know the story about how Common Mergansers got slapped with the adjective “common” in their names. They’ve never seemed common—or at all ordinary—to me.
As a somewhat late immigrant to the Northwest I was stunned the first time I witnessed them in flight, zipping low and at freeway speed, making a whistling sound as they passed. They are so aerodynamic they resemble (to me at least) jets from air shows, with their sleek profiles, head-spinning speed and tightness of formations. (We also have Hooded Mergansers in our waters. They’re considerably smaller; more frequently observed in winter. Suffice to write that I’ll get them in a future post.)
Common Merganser pair, heading upstream on Latah Creek in late summer
Mergansers are people shy, but not as shy as some of the other diving ducks they sometimes hang out with (i.e. Buffleheads and Golden-eye ducks). The males are more skittish than females, and harder to photograph (well) because without good light their eye-bead blends gets lost in their dark green hoods and, as a photographer, I’m always trying to make the eyes of my critter subjects visible. It’s a bit easier with the females who, as a rule, are more approachable, with somewhat more visible eyes.
They rely on fish for their diet and they will often surprise me with the size of the fish they’ll attempt to catch and swallow.. It can be quite a workout.
Finally, their broods are enormous, often well over a dozen chicks in a train behind their moms. It’s quite a sight. —tjc.
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p.s. Happy New Year
Merg mom with a train of chicks at my swimming hole on the Spokane River in west Spokane
Mature male at full speed. They tend to fly low to the water and beneath the bridges
Female preening near my makeshift blind on Latah Creek
Young female, a striking redhead, cruising in icy waters last winter
Merg mom at the front of a long brood on Latah Creek in early summer
Male in icy waters and good winter light
A merganser pair mixing with two pairs of Goldeneye ducks in the rough waters where muddy outflow from Latah Creek enters the Spokane River
A gaggle of mature males and females bursting into flight a few days ago, as the low, winter sun made an appearance
Video bonus, the ice garden
