Boyd,
Well, part of it is true. Common Mergansers have successfully bred on Little
River in Townsend and Walland in 2017 and 2018. These are the first photos of
young chicks. In 2017 photos were made of juvenile chicks in same area.
In 2015 Common Mergansers bred in Greenbriar section of the park, but the only
observer of the chicks and female was unaware of the significance of the
sighting.
The pair in Greenbriar failed on 2016 and 2017, returned briefly on 2018 then
I think jumped to Metcalf Bottoms but no one knows their disposition.
Hope this helps.
Keith Watson
Keith Watson
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------From: abw11365@xxxxxxxxxxx Date: 5/7/18 5:38
PM (GMT-05:00) To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [TN-Bird] Common Mergansers
Breeding in Smokies?
I don't know if this is true or not (this statement applies to both the fact
that they are breeding and the fact that it's the first time), but came across
this on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/OneLanePhoto/status/992211673627922433
I'm guessing that would be Sevier County. Maybe Blount
Boyd Williams
