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Red-breasted Merganser, Pair, Female left / Male right, Mergus serrator

'Mr and Mrs Sawbill' A pair of beautiful Red-breasted Mergansers, (Female left / Male right) foraging at the edge of Loch Scridain on The Isle of Mull, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.

 

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Red-breasted Merganser Notes and information:

 

These handsome diving ducks belong to the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. Their diet of fish such as salmon and trout has brought them into conflict with game fishermen. At home on both fresh- and saltwater, red-breasted mergansers are most commonly seen around the UK's coastline in winter. They are gregarious, forming flocks of several hundred in the autumn.

 

What they eat: Fish.

 

Measurements:

Length:52-58cm

Wingspan:70-86cm

Weight:900-1,350g

 

Population:

UK breeding:2,800 pairs

UK wintering:9,000 birds

 

Identifying features:

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.

 

Similar birds:

Goosander

 

Where and when to see them

The UK breeding population of Red-breasted Mergansers are concentrated in the north-west of Scotland, England, Wales and in parts of N Ireland. RSPB reserves with red-breasted mergansers in winter include Morecambe Bay, Lancs; Langstone Harbour, Hants; Exe Estuary, Devon; Arne, Dorset; Snettisham and Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk; Lough Foyle, Co Londonderry; Belfast Lough, Co Antrim; Culbin Sands, Highland; Udale Bay, Highland. RSPB Notes.

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Uploaded on October 26, 2022
Taken on May 15, 2022