Mary's Merganser House in the Pond
photo by Renee Davis
Back in 1995 Mary Lewis put up a half barrel birdhouse in her pond to attract nesting mergansers. It was basically a 35 gallon oil drum laid on its side with half the front cut out. It worked. She had Red-breasted Mergansers hatch out 9 fledglings that year. That was a very rare occurrence and it has not happened again in Sullivan County that we know of. Since that time Common Mergansers have “taken over the box” and have been quite successful in it.
A Closeup View
photo by Renee Davis
This year marks the 14th nesting. There were some years when no nesting took place. This year’s mom merganser fledged 12 youngsters that bring the total number of fledglings up to 133.
It’s interesting to think of all the different birdhouses there are and what birds they attract. Many of us have Bluebird boxes, or wren houses or owl boxes but hats go off to Mary for her Merganser Motel!
— Renee Davis |
