I had one of those oh-so-pleasant "Montpelier Moments" yesterday 
morning (8am) watching a group of COMMON MERGANSERS in the North 
Branch of the Winooski from the State Street bridge (by Capital 
Grounds coffee shop).

At first I had trouble even seeing them as they were scooting all 
around. I made five counts of them and each time saw more until I 
ended up counting NINETEEN total, a mix of adults (males in 
non-breeding plumage) and nearly grown juveniles.

I've seen smaller groups several times in the past few weeks but 
never this many at one time. I suspect I was seeing two or more 
family groups, obviously hanging out in town!

John Snell
Montpelier