Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)

Common Merganser [lateral view of female-plumaged individual]. Photograph Credit: Susan E. Pirolo; Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; November 2007.

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Abundance: Very Uncommon during late fall and winter; well over 32 records in 15 Regional counties, 6 in Kentucky and 9 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population wintering (or visiting) and/or breeding in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident (or Visitor during winter) until c. 2015 when evidence began to accumulate that the species was a breeder in the Region once again (see below) and had thereby returned to Permanent Resident status; photographs (see above and links below).

Regional High Count: 12 (24 November 1983; Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky; D. Summerfield; Stamm 1984a).

Information on Records:

16 December 1969 (number unspecified) Pickett County, Tennessee (Robbie C. Hassler, J. David Hassler; Parmer 1970a).

27 December 1970 (2—age and sex unspecified) Lillydale, Clay County, Tennessee (Roy T. Hinds; Parmer 1971a).

Late December 1970/early January 1971 (number unspecified) Barren County, Kentucky (observers unspecified), a CBC record.

18 December 1976 (2—age and sex unspecified) Putnam County, Tennessee (observers unspecified; Stedman 1993), a CBC record.

Fall 1980 (number unspecified) Lake Cumberland, [county unspecified], Kentucky (observer unspecified; Stamm 1981a).

22 November 1981 ("a number") Dale Hollow Lake [county unspecified, possibly Cumberland County], Kentucky (Russell Starr; Stamm 1982a).

23 January 1982 (5—age and sex unspecified) Cordell Hull Reservoir, Jackson or Smith County, Tennessee (Ruth V. McMillan, M. R. McMillan; Bierly 1982b).

14 February 1982 (4—age and sex unspecified) Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr. [notes]).

24 November 1983 (12—age and sex unspecified) Barren River [Reservoir], Barren County, Kentucky (D. Summerfield; Stamm 1984a).

2 January 1988 (3—age and sex unspecified) Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (observers unspecified), a CBC record.

7/10 February 1988 (1/10—age and sex unspecified) Holleman's Bend, Jackson County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Joseph W. Wahl/ Joseph W. Wahl; Stedman 1988c).

1 January 1993 (6—age and sex unspecified) Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (observers unspecified), a CBC record.

1 January 1994 (3—age and sex unspecified) Warren County, Tennessee (observers unspecified), a CBC record.

28 December 1996 (1—age and sex unspecified) Warren County, Tennessee (observers unspecified), a CBC record.

29 December 1996 (4—age and sex unspecified) Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (observers unspecified; Ferrell 1997), a CBC record.

2 January 1999 (2—age and sex unspecified) Pulaski County, Kentucky (fide Roseanna M. Denton; Ferrell 1999), CBC record.

20 January 2000 (1—female or immature) Wolf Creek Dam, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).

7 December 2000 (3—age and sex unspecified) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties,  Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 2001b).

28 December 2000–2 January 2001 (1—female or immature) Lee's Ford, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Ferrell 2000), a CBC record.

20 November 2001 (1—female or immature) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

30 December 2004 (3—females or immatures) Harvest Farms Lake, Warren County, Tennessee (Carol D. Williams photo, Stephen J. Stedman, Nancy S. Layzer), a CBC record.

31 December 2004 (7—1 adult male and 6 females or immatures) Walnut Creek, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo, Stephen J. Stedman), a CBC record.

18 February 2007 (8—age and sex unspecified) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (B. Lemon Palmer-Ball, Jr.).

21–29 November 2007 (1—female or immature) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Thomas M. Saya, Stephen J. Stedman, Susan E. Pirolo photo [see above] et al.).

17 January 2009 (1—age and sex unspecified) Peninsula, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (Steve Kistler, Janet Kistler).

20 January 2010 (2—female-plumaged individuals) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).

4 December 2010 (1—female-plumaged individual) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).

6–7 January 12 February 2012 (1—female-plumaged individual) Lake Tansi, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand et al.).

16 December 2013 (1) Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton), a CBC record.

21 December 2013 (1—female-plumaged individual) DeKalb County, Tennessee (Scott G. Somershoe, Edmund K. LeGrand photo, Jonathan Carpenter, Douglas A. Downs), a CBC record.

23–24 December 2013 (3—males) Lake Breckenridge, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Daniel L. Combs, Stephen J. Stedman photo et al.), a CBC record.

8 March 2020 (2—male and female, presumed pair) Princess Falls, Big South Fork, BSFNRRA, McCreary County, Kentucky (James Kiser photograph), an eBird record [# S65653681].

Hypothetical Records:

22 or 23 April 1961 (2—age and sex unspecified) site unspecified, Putnam County, Tennessee (observers unspecified; Anonymous 1961a; Stedman 1993), a Spring Bird Count record; see also Remarks.

15 & 24 May 1971 (1—age and sex unspecified) Lillydale, Clay County, Tennessee (Roy T. Hinds; Parmer 1971c), see also Remarks.

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: 20 November 2001 (Pulaski County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton).

    Late Spring: 18 February 2007 (Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky; B. Lemon Palmer-Ball, Jr.), see also Hypothetical Records (above).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Breeding: Confirmed (Historical). Six egg sets collected from 1896 to 1899 in Smith County, Tennessee (Cook 1985; Kiff 1989; Knight 1989b), indicate breeding of this northern species in the Region about a century ago, a most intriguing circumstance; see also Remarks (below).

Habitat: Generally near shore on medium to large bodies of water, including large rivers.

Remarks: Probably present mostly as a consequence of severe weather to the north.

    The Spring Bird Count record (see Hypothetical Records) in Putnam County, Tennessee (Stedman 1993), is rather late for this species and is considered hypothetical.  The same is true for the May 1971 record (see Hypothetical Records) in Clay County, Tennessee (Parmer 1971c).

    A female-plumaged merganser of either Common or Red-breasted merganser was sighted near Burnt Mill Bridge on Clear Fork within the BSFNRRA 2 June 2015 (Antonio Xeira [resident of Portugal]), an eBird record; on 22-23 September 2015 eight individuals of one of these same two species were sighted at Big Island on the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, also within the BSFNRRA (Nora Murdock et al.), also an eBird record. Breeding by one of these species, probably Common Merganser, is strongly suggested by these observations. In the following few years several records of breeding in the Big South Fork, as well as in other riverine systems of Tennessee, were obtained.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited