KEY SPECIES
GOOSANDER Called the Buff-breasted Merganser by the legendary John James Audubon and nowadays known as the Common Merganser in the US, this sawbill is a familiar sight along fast flowing rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Britain, especially during the winter. Sawbills are the group of fish-eating ducks to which the Goosander belongs, whose members are characterised by having crests and slender hooked bills with serrated edges. There are five members of the true sawbills, Mergus, genus, including the now extinct New Zealand Merganser. There are also two aberrant family members, the Hooded Merganser from North America and the Smew, that scientists now believe to be more closely related to Goldeneyes. Goosanders are found across the Northern Hemisphere and in the UK are predominantly winter visitors, although, since 1970, the breeding population has steadily increased and has spread from Scotland in Wales, northern England into the south-west.