Strolling through the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum (TRWA) in winter is a serene experience and encourage you all to do so. There is always something on the trail that catches your eye weather it be a fox making tracks, the first sign of flowers awakening for their Spring symphony that is about to begin or ducks and geese on The Little River.
Yesterday I was fortunate to see a couple of geese sunning themselves on a high spot on the river. Big and beautiful they were enjoying the warmth of the sun. As I was watching them a pair of ducks swam by. These weren't your ordinary mallard or wood duck but some that I have not seen on the river before today. From the trail I watched them swimming up and down stream with the green necked, red billed, male in the lead and her brown head feathers flowing in the wind, female in close tow. Took some pictures and video to take home and do a bit of homework to find out what kind of ducks they were.
Common Merganser Duck on The Little River at the TRWA - February, 10 2021.Turns out, they were out-of-towners! The Common Merganser. They make there home up north during the summer and head a bit south for the winter but rarely this far south. Most stop in Virginia and Northern Kentucky and not going much further south. For more information see: Common Merganser on All About Birds.
If you get a chance head on down to the Townsend River Walk and Arboretum for a chance to see the Common Merganser. Walk about half way up the lower walk and look out on the river. They spend most of their time in the river and are beautiful and hard to miss. If you can't make it here is a little video of their graceful movements.