Feeding Frenzy of Red-breasted Mergansers and Gulls

Huge numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers - anywhere from 4000-5000 - are building up on Lake Ontario in Durham from Pickering to Whitby.  Watching this spectacle is exciting. Ajax Rotary Park on 29 October 2019. News as of 7 November: check lookouts all the way to Whitby as the flocks are constantly moving. Thousands are

 

VIDEO: Feeding Frenzy of Mergansers and Gulls on Lake Ontario

Abundant baitfish such as alewife, smelt and shiners are the attraction. Gulls and loons are also feeding on the ever-moving schools of fish. Ajax Rotary Park on 29 October 2019.

 

The flock is almost entirely Red-breasted Mergansers. We hope it brings in a jaeger or gannet or rare fish-eating duck or loon.

 

Only small numbers of Common Mergansers were in the frenzies, around 45-50. Ajax Rotary Park on 29 October 2019.