Two birds swimming upstream in Nisqually River. One was mostly white with a black head and reddish beak. The other (the female) had a gray body, small white spot near its bottom, and a brownish/red head that had somewhat spikey feathers. These birds were identified using a bird guidebook.
The Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), also known as a the gulaund or goosander, is a large-sized duck, which is distributed over Europe, North Asia and North America. It is most common on lakes and rivers. Its nests can be found in treeholes.
