Do you recall where you took this photo? I think that this is a female Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) with two ducklings. The bill seems a little too thick for a Red-breasted Merganser and there seems to be a pretty distinct demarcation between the red coloration on the head and the gray neck. Typically, in the Red-breasted Merganser the head color gradually fades into the gray neck and the bill has a longer appearance because it's thinner/finer. However, the top of the head does look very much like that of a Red-breasted Merganser.
This is indeed a common merganser with the sharp demarcation between head and neck coloration and the sharply demarcated white throat spot. There also appears to be a dark, not red iris, which also points to common merganser. The head is somewhat reminiscent of a red-breasted, but I think that has more to do with it being wet...
Thank you! I didn't even think to look at the eye color! I agree that the wet plumage on the head made this merganser more difficult to identify than most.
