October’s Bird of the Month is the Red-breasted Merganser, and here is the article in the upcoming October 2018 Kite written by Clive and Celecia Pinnock.

October Bird of the Month – Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
by Clive and Celecia Pinnock

Red-breasted Mergansers belong to a group of ducks known as “divers.” These ducks, unlike their more familiar counterpart, the “dabblers,” have legs set closer to their rear, enabling them to dive beneath the surface of the water in pursuit of fish, their primary prey. To grab and hold their slippery quarry, mergansers have long thin serrated bills. These large slim long-bodied ducks also have long necks and shaggy head feathers (crests) which give them a distinctive appearance.

Adult males sport a dark green ragged crest and head, a white collar, red eyes and bill and a rusty streaked breast. Females are pale brown with the chin and fore neck whitish in color. These mergansers are some of the fastest flying ducks, clocking speeds of up to 81 miles per hour.

Red-breasted Mergansers are most often seen in flocks in coastal wintering areas. In migration they tend to prefer brackish and salt water estuaries, unlike Common Mergansers, which have a stronger preference for fresh water ecosystems. They are highly migratory, and their nesting range extends further north than that of the Hooded and Common Mergansers.

Highly social throughout the year, these birds are not generally territorial and, in highly populated areas, may even form loose nest colonies. Their nests are generally placed close to water, hidden on the ground near vegetation, under boulders or in rock crevices. They have also been known to occasionally place their nest in tree cavities, a behavior more typical of the Common Merganser.

When incubation begins, males abandon the females, leaving them to incubate the eggs and raise the chicks on their own. The males then form “bachelor” flocks in secluded areas, where they molt before heading south for the winter. Females molt in the nesting areas with the young prior to migrating south.

Photographers – please note that next month’s November bird of the month is the Avocet.

Please check out the picture by Bob Morecraft in the October KITE cover and to see the slide show of the entire virtual gallery this month, along with photographer etc  — click on BOM SLIDE SHOW below the pictures displayed here:

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BOM SLIDE SHOW – October 2018 Bird of the Month – Red-breasted Merganser