 Breeding evidence |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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5.13 (2.52 - 7.79)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Atlas results coming soon
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
The Hooded Merganser is the smallest of the three North American mergansers, the most striking in appearance, and the only one whose range is restricted to North America. Hooded Mergansers are secondary tree-cavity nesters, preferring large cavities such as those created by Pileated Woodpeckers. Breed throughout eastern US and Pacific Northwest with scattered breeding on the prairies. Winters in the southeast US and Pacific Northwest south into California and most of the southern US (Dugger et al. 2009).
Breeding habitat is closely tied to forested wetlands, including shallow lakes, rivers, streams, and beaver ponds, with surrounding trees large enough to support nesting cavities (Hooper 1992, Dugger et al. 2009). Unlike other mergansers, Hooded Mergansers and their broods feed mainly on free-swimming aquatic insects in lakes without fish, and only occasionally eat fish; during spring and fall migration they are often found in more open water (ibid.).
The Hooded Merganser is an uncommon and local summer resident on wooded lakes over much of east-central Saskatchewan, in the Qu'Appelle Valley, and along the Souris River. Historically, it was apparently more common. In the north, it is a rare possible breeder or transient, while in the south it is an uncommon summer visitant or transient (Smith 1996).
Original text by Candace Neufeld. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Hooded Merganser in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Hooded Merganser in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=HOME&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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