Hooded Mergansers - Larimer County

[David Wade]

Hello, while birding the Poudre Trail on bike today, I spotted over 20 Hooded Mergansers in the gravel pond Northwest of where the trail crosses Taft Hill Rd. The pond is private property and surrounded by a chain-link fence but there are a few spots one can get views of the water from the trail. The viewing conditions were terrible and it was hard to see many details. However, it appeared that all the birds were either adult females or young ducks hatched this year! I can't imagine the young ones are capable of moving very far so, apparently, we have some breeding mergansers in Northern Colorado. 

David Wade

Fort Collins CO