Merganser Bird Houses

Hooded Mergansers are the only merganser that breeds and winters exclusively in North America. In the past, they were found throughout the continent, including mountainous areas, wherever suitable habitats existed. Today, they are most common in the Great Lakes region and eastern Canada but are also found in the Pacific Northwest. The habitat preferences of Hooded Mergansers are very similar to those of Wood Ducks. They like quiet, shallow, clear-water pools that have sandy or cobblestoned bottoms. They prefer ponds that are near or surrounded by deciduous woods: river bottomlands, small forest pools, millponds, swamps and beaver ponds. Unlike Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers have a difficult time finding food in turbulent water, so calm, clear water is highest on their list of habitat requirements. Hooded Mergansers readily use nest boxes.

The Common Merganser prefers to breed in ponds associated with upper portions of rivers in forested regions, and clear, freshwater lakes with forested shorelines. It winters as far north as open inland waters are available. The Common Merganser generally nests in cavities in hollow trees near water, but also in dark recesses, on the ground or in nest boxes. The height of the tree cavity and species of tree are unimportant, but the number of suitable cavities available is definitely limited.