My friend Will Rowland observed and photographed a female Hooded Merganser with seven ducklings at Bass Lake Park in Wake Co. on 19 April, and Stephanie Horton observed a female with two ducklings at Betz Lake (RTP, Wake Co.) on 27 April. Looks like a big year for them breeding in the Piedmont.
Jeffrey C. Beane
Collections Manager for Herpetology
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: <carolinabirds-request...> <carolinabirds-request...> On Behalf Of Kevin Kubach
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 6:59 PM
To: <rdnc13...>
Cc: <carolinabirds...>
Subject: Re: Breeding Hooded Merganser
Kevin Kubach
Greenville, SC
On Apr 23, 2025, at 6:58 PM, Kevin Kubach <kmkubach...><mailto:<kmkubach...>> wrote:
Thanks for sharing. In a similarly surprising observation, an astute birder saw a hen with eight young on 20 April in Kershaw Co., SC (essentially on the fall line between the Piedmont and coastal plain)!
Yesterday April 22, i found a female Hooded Merganser with 9 small young. They were at a farm pond surrounded by grass, in the community of Social Plains in extreme southern Franklin County. I never would have expected to find breeding evidence in a place like this!
