Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator

Red-breasted Merganser is a common to abundant winter visitor to the waters of Long Island. This bird was catching some rays at Point Lookout in January, 2004, when a flock of Purple Sandpipers flew in to share the rock. The merganser flinched, but held fast!  


A Red-breasted Merganser flinches as a Purple Sandpiper flies by.

Red-breasted Merganser is not particularly common in southern New York in the spring; so I was surprised to find this male Red-breasted Merganser in Inwood Hill Park, New York City, where it was a park first for me, in April of 2005. I initially misidentified this bird as a Common Merganser, which shows just how often I see this bird in breeding plumage!  


A gorgeous Red-breasted Merganser pays a visit to Inwood Hill Park.

Elsewhere on this site:
Birds of Inwood Hill Park

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