Male Common Merganser
This duck is, in fact, common throughout Maine in the summer and year round within about 40 miles of the coast from York County to Hancock County. Lakes are their preferred habitat.
Long at 22-27 inches, the common merganser has a pointed, orange bill with jagged edges to catch slippery fish. The male’s dark green head may appear black in poor light.
The female’s head is rusty brown with ragged feathers that look like hair. It may be mistaken for a “duck-like bird,” with the ragged feathers and pointed, jagged-edged bill. But thanks to a comment by “Nicole,” we are reminded it is a duck!
These were observed at Giles Pond in Aurora, April 2013. Common mergansers are found in most of the United States, except in the dry plains east of the Rocky Mountains, and along the southern coast.