Goosander Gains

 All too often my posts lament the decline of a species or the disappearance from my patch and so, for a change, I thought I would look at one species that is doing increasingly well.

The Goosander is a saw-billed duck which has become more common on my patch over the past few years. Traditionally I never considered the river Avon in Warwick to be a suitable location but that has changed. Unlike their close cousin the Merganser they prefer rivers to estuaries and coasts. Normally found inn Wales and in the north their range is extending south.

These interesting birds are an intermediary size between a duck and a goose and like ducks are sexually dimorphic. The males have striking white plumage with a bottle green head, whilst the female is greyer with a striking rusty tufted head. They sport hooked beaks and rearward placed webbed feet that make the excellent divers.

Male Goosander note the dark salmon beak and bright red legs.

Females sit lower in the water than males. They have striking rusty head with a mullet like crest at the back of the head.

Female Goosander taking flight, showing diagnostic red legs and white wing bars with black tips

Goosander feed mostly on fish and aquatic invertebrates, diving deep below the surface for some time and distance. I watch one this morning and it made short forays underwater between 15 and 20 seconds long.

I saw my first Goosander in 1998 on the river by Tan-y-bwlch at Aberystwyth, I had expected it to be a Merganser which I often saw off the coast of west Wales but on close examination I realised its true identity.

Goosander are mainly a Scandinavian species with its first confirmed breeding in the UK in Scotland in 1871. Slowly there range expanded with most of this growth occurring from the 1960's up to the mid-1990's whence numbers fell slightly to the numbers of 1990. In this area they are traditionally a winter visiting species, moving south and east in search of fish however between 2017 and 2022 there was an 8% increase in the number of individuals.

Heywood, J.J.N., Massimino, D., Balmer, D.E., Kelly, L., Marion, S., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., White, D.M., Woodcock, P., Wotton, S. Gillings, S. (2024) The Breeding Bird Survey 2023. BTO Research Report 765. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford.

My first local sighting of a Goosander was on New Waters at Warwick Castle Park in 2007 during a Heronries census. As for my patch I first recorded Goosander in 2009, these early sighting were usually of females who tended to flock together in the winter. 

Goosander sightings on my patch. So far in 2025 (Jan-Feb) there have been 8 individuals sighted over 7 one hour visits.

These sightings were all between November and March however in July 2024 a female with 13 young were recorded. These all appeared fledged and so could fly but indicate that Goosander could be breeding on the Warwickshire Avon, most likely at New Waters where their is abundant woodland and riverside trees. They nest in tree holes or under boulders. The current breeding population in the UK is 4800 pairs and Warwickshire is right on the edge of their current breeding range.

Adult female Goosander with young recorded on my patch in July 2024

It is hoped that this year more young will be seen and that breeding can be confirmed along this stretch of the Warwickshire Avon.