How exciting it has been to have a group of 8 common mergansers visit us regularly this year. We've heard and seen them making merriment in our cove, splashing and chasing and preening. Their behavior has such a distinctive sound that we know it's them without even looking up!
We know when they've been here since they leave their signature on our breakwater log - streaks of white along the length where they huddle together. The mallards sit differently on the log, such that their poop doesn't dribble onto the log, is my guess. Mallards leave it clean, leaving no trace of their presence. I wonder if it might be because of the difference in the way they sit and hold their bodies ...? Or, maybe it's just that we can see the guano because the water is low and no longer washes and crashes into the log (to clean it)?
Much to mull over ...
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