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The UK Bird Atlas

Goosander (Mergus merganser)Where and when to see it in the UK

Resident · reporting peaks December to February · Ducks, Swans, and Geese · BOU category AF

Records to 2026-08-16 · build 2026-08-31

Goosander (Mergus merganser)
MPF, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Peak months
Goosander: relative reporting rate by 10 km square, September

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (grid squares, place names from OS Open Names). Northern Ireland place names: OSNI Open Data, OGL v3.0. County and country boundaries: Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Coastline: Natural Earth. Bird records from the data partners listed here.

Goosander has been recorded in 1,980 of the 2,971 10 km squares covering UK land (67%) in records to 2026. Resident in the UK. Its strongest squares are in England, Scotland and Wales. Reporting peaks in December to February.

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, LC)
View on the IUCN Red List
Relative to this species' best squares (how classes are calculated)
Very high
29% or more of visits
High
10% to 29%
Moderate
3% to 10%
Low
under 3%
Surveyed, not recorded
at least 20 qualifying visits, no record
Insufficient records
too few visits to say
Lighter fill
Few visits, lower confidence
Small dot
Occasional: a single record, or out of season

Seasonality

Reporting rate by month, relative to the peak month
MonthRelative to peakShare of visitsTypical class
January 100%8%Very high
February 89%7%Very high
March 71%6%Very high
April 41%3%Very high
May 25%2%Very high
June 21%2%Moderate
July 20%2%Very high
August 27%2%Very high
September 32%3%Very high
October 41%3%Very high
November 77%6%Very high
December 93%7%Very high

Squares with the highest reporting rate in January

SquareWhereShare of visitsClass
D40Mid and East Antrim, Northern Ireland100%Very high
HP60Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU59Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
J08Antrim and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland100%Very high
J49Mid and East Antrim, Northern Ireland100%Very high
ND25Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NG55Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NG60Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NG81Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NG83Highland, Scotland100%Very high

Spotted an error in a square? Report it and it goes into the review queue. Read the methodology for how classes, flags and sensitive-species rules work. Data to 2026.