 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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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 Red-breasted Merganser has been called the "Saw-bill? due to the serrations on the edges of its bill, which help it to grasp fish, its primary prey. It is one of the fastest flying ducks, reaching speeds of up to 130 km/h (Terres 1980). Ranging across most of boreal and Arctic Canada, this hardy merganser arrives before the ice has substantially melted from the lakes and rivers. Breeds from the Aleutians to Labrador in all territories and provinces of Canada and several eastern border states. Winters along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Baha, the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts (Craik et al. 2020).
Nesting takes place near rivers and deeper lakes wherever fish are present. During migration, the species occurs on larger reservoirs and usually, but not always, on freshwater lakes.
This merganser is a common summer resident of northern Saskatchewan, south to Flotten, Delaronde, and McBride Lakes (Porcupine Hills), and fairly common as a transient in the south (Smith 1996). Breeding has also occurred in the Cypress Hills, and at Estuary in the southwest.
Original text by Candace Neufeld. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Red-breasted Merganser in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Red-breasted 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=RBME&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]
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