Goosander

Scientific name: Mergus merganser

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Males are striking with an iridescent dark green head, white underparts, and black back; females are duller with russet-brown heads and grey bodies. Both sexes show a slender, elongated profile and a thin, hooked red bill.

Size and weight

Males 58–66 cm, 1.0–2.0 kg; females 52–58 cm, 0.9–1.3 kg.

Habitat

Goosanders inhabit fast-flowing rivers, streams, and clear lakes in temperate to boreal regions, preferring clean water with good fish populations. They favour areas with nearby trees or cliff faces suitable for nesting cavities.

Distribution

Found across northern Europe, Asia, and North America; in the UK and Ireland primarily as winter visitors and passage migrants, with expanding breeding populations in Scotland and northern England.

Diet

Primarily fish (trout, salmon, pike, perch), with occasional aquatic invertebrates; diet is predominantly fish year-round in occupied waters.

Behaviour

Diurnal divers and surface feeders, often solitary or in small groups; highly mobile between water bodies seasonally. They spend much time in water and flush readily when alarmed, taking long running starts for take-off.

Hunting tips

Look for fish-feeding sign (scales, remains) and droppings on banks or rocks near favoured feeding pools. Approach from downstream where visibility is limited; use riverbank cover and move slowly during feeding times. Birds are wary and mobile—position yourself between roosting and feeding areas, or wait near narrows where water funnels them into predictable zones.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 5 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.