In September, Dan Dasynich saw a flightless common merganser at Duck Hollow and posted this photo of her stubby wing in the Duck Hollow Facebook group.  Her condition prompted a discussion: Since she couldn’t fly did she need to be rescued?

Common mergansers eat fish that they capture by chasing them underwater.  They don’t need to fly in order to eat and they don’t need to fly if they can swim to safety.

In September I remarked that this bird has been at Duck Hollow for at least a year, eating well and staying safe, so she didn’t need to be rescued.  Today I found proof that she’s been here for seven years, maybe more.

In a blog post from October 2011, I used Tom Moeller’s photo of her with a hooded merganser and pied-billed grebe. 

That was seven years ago when she was relatively new to Duck Hollow. Though she can’t fly she’s done well for a very long time.

On Throw Back Thursday, read the first article that mentions her: Divers in a Dabblers’ World

p.s. We usually don’t see her at Duck Hollow during the summer.

(photo credits: solo merganser by Dan Dasynich, trio of birds by Tom Moeller)