Red-Breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

Nesting and Foraging Habitats are Adjacent during the early breeding season.

Nesting Habitat:
      Lowland Brush
   adjacent to:
      (Lake or Pond or River)

Foraging Habitat:
      Lake 
      or Pond 
      or River

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: The Red-breasted Merganser utilizes a variety of habitats for nesting. Nests typically are on the ground or very rarely in cavities. In island situations, favorite places to nest are next to fallen logs inside clumps of such shrubs as red osier dogwood or common elder. The nest is usually placed on the ground where there is good drainage in a cavity produced by the encircling shrubs.

Breeding is concentrated on the coasts and islands at the far northern end of Lake Michigan and Huron and the Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale. Red-breasted Mergansers nest on a variety of islands in the Michigan waters of Lake Superior, including the Rocky Islands north and west of Marquette, Tahquamenon Island in Whitefish Bay and the Huron Islands between Keweenaw Bay and Marquette, and on the larger rocky islands on the western shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula. In addition, the species occurs as a nesting species on a number of the outlying small islands of the Isle Royale group, most often in association with traditional gull rookeries where fertilization from bird droppings maintains a vigorous shrub growth. The species exhibits a preference for nesting where cover is extremely dense.

Habitat: Breeding: Rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes in forested areas and on coastal islands. Ideal habitat is a small island with low woody growth or low-hanging conifer limbs.

Special Habitat Requirements: Clear water for visibility when feeding.

Superficially this species is quite similar to the Common Merganser. However, the Red-breasted Merganser nests farther north, winters mostly on salt water, and nests mainly on the ground, while the Common Merganser winters mostly on fresh water and nests in cavities.

Habitat: Lakes, open water; in winter coastal bays. During nesting season around lakes and rivers, within the northern forest and northward into tundra regions. In winter mostly on coastal waters, including bays, estuaries, and open ocean; a few winter on ice-free reservoirs and large rivers.

Diet: Mostly fish. Feeds mainly on small fish, also crustaceans, aquatic insects, and sometimes frogs, tadpoles, or worms. Young ducklings eat mostly insects.

Nest: Female selects site on ground, usually near water in a spot sheltered by dense plant growth or debris. Sometimes nests inside hollow stump, under rock, or in shallow burrow. Nest is a simple depression lined with down.