We received information about the family of common mergansers and video footage from a reader. The mother and 11 young common mergansers were spotted at the municipal pond in Bolesławiec on Tuesday, May 14.

The day before, a reader reported that a group of these birds had been walking along Parkowa Street in Bolesławiec. It is very likely that this is the same family of common mergansers that was wandering in search of a body of water. After hatching, many dangers await young common mergansers. Young birds often fall victim to predators, and many of them will not reach adulthood.

Nurogeś z młodymi na ulicy ParkowejNurogeś z młodymi na ulicy Parkowej • Paweł

The common merganser is a water bird from the duck family. As we read on Wikipedia:

In Poland, a very rare breeding bird, found mainly in the north and west of the country; it winters in greater numbers. Outside the breeding season, it is seen along the Baltic coast and is fairly numerous along the Pilica River. It is also being seen increasingly often in the south. At the end of the 20th century, the total population was estimated at 900–1,000 breeding pairs; in 2013–2018, it was already estimated at 1,500–2,500 breeding pairs. The wintering population in 2013–2018 was estimated at 21,900–46,300 individuals.

Nurogęś z młodymi na stawie miejskim w BolesławcuNurogęś z młodymi na stawie miejskim w Bolesławcu • istotne.pl

How did the family of common mergansers end up in the center of Bolesławiec?

The answer to this question can be found in information about the places that common mergansers choose for their nests. Wikipedia comes to the rescue once again:

Nests. Usually in a hollow, often one made by a black woodpecker, even several meters above the ground. Sometimes, when ready-made hollows are unavailable—in rock crevices, fallen trees, burrows, rotten trunks, holes in the walls of abandoned buildings, church towers, or suitable nest boxes. They sometimes occupy the nests of birds of prey or corvids located even a kilometer from the water. The common merganser uses the same nest for several years; use for as long as 40 years has even been recorded. The female chooses the nesting site. They are not social birds then: along 2 km of coastline, river, or lake, no more than two pairs can be found.

More information about this interesting bird species can be found on Wikipedia.