UK Wildlife

Red-breasted Merganser Coastal Sawbill

The red-breasted merganser is a sawbill duck that breeds beside upland rivers and coasts and winters on estuaries, distinguished by its shaggy double crest.

Key Facts

Red-breasted mergansers have a distinctive ragged double crest in both sexes
UK breeding population around 2,100 pairs in Scotland, northern England and Wales
Breeds beside fast-flowing rivers and sea lochs
Dives for fish in both freshwater and coastal marine habitats
Also subject to persecution claims related to fish predation

Welfare Considerations

Red-breasted mergansers face similar persecution pressures to goosanders on fish rivers. Their estuarine and coastal wintering sites face threats from disturbance and pollution. Evidence-based, proportionate management approaches are preferable to lethal control.

What You Can Do

Support evidence-based approaches to sawbill management on fish rivers
Advocate for coastal estuarine protection to maintain merganser wintering habitat
Record red-breasted merganser through WeBS to track coastal wintering populations