Today I was astonished to see a female common merganser swim by the beach at Sebago Lake State Park in Casco with a huge string of chicks trailing out behind her. See pic. Only upon downloading my pics was I able to count at least 33 young, and there might be even more. I did some research and found that their typical broods are 9-12, but parasitism (one duck laying eggs in another's nest, sometimes of different species) is common with this species, as is "brood amalgamation" after the chicks are a week or so old. Some even think aggressive females "kidnap" young from more passive females. Escorting a larger crew around lessens the chances of her own young falling victim to a predator. I'd be interested to hear if others have seen common merganser broods of this size or larger. Truly, virtually every time I step into the outdoors to look at birds I see and learn something new.
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