Re: How many trout do these diving birds really eat?
Mergansers can put a serious hurting on any smaller stream especially when water is low and trout(or any fish) have little refuge. On larger rivers - Delaware - not such a big deal. I spooked one "pod" of Mergansers along a steeam a few years back. One of them coughed up what it had eaten and it was one wild brown trout and two white suckers. You DON'T want to see them of the smaller creeks. They can stay under for up to 2 minutes which is impressive. Their bills are also serrated like a knife to grip slippery fish.
Cormorants I've only seen on larger lakes like Merrill. They seem to sit on branches of the flooded timber areas more than in the water feeding. Lots of them though - guess around 50 or so. Judging from all the fish in Merrill, they don't seem to be hurting the fish pops...yet.
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