In Search of the Harlequin Duck   The Precipice of McDonald Falls.

One of my primary aims as a photographer is to use my images to communicate the wonders of God’s Creation.  So, when I first saw a drab brown duck in McDonald Creek (Glacier National Park) not just expertly swimming the rapids but disappearing below the surface only to emerge many seconds later and dive again over and over as though navigating the rocks and crashing whitewater was mere play, I wanted to learn more. Who is this amazing bird that has mastered the swiftest rapids? Was this normal behavior?  What is it doing underwater?

It didn’t take me long to learn the name of the only duck in North America that dives rapids: The Harlequin Duck. Considered a “Sea Duck”, in western North America they spend most of their lives in Pacific coastal areas known for rough surf and harsh, rocky conditions. But during the breeding season they become white-water specialists: feeding, mating, nesting and raising their young along and in fast moving mountain streams. 

A Harlequin Duck (female or juvenile) navigating the rapids of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park.
 

This is where I saw my first Harlequin Duck in the rapids of McDonald Creek. But she had no male with her. A few years later, on a trip to Yellowstone National Park I again saw a female – this time with her young, Harlequin Duck on the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park.I'm presuming these are siblings because they all bunched together in the rapids while one (presumably the mother) appeared to keep watch from a nearby rock in the middle of the whitewater. all tackling the rapids of the Yellowstone River.  It was a delight that turned into an excellent photo opportunity. But again, no adult males. Why?

A female Harlequin will bond for life with a male on their wintering grounds in coastal waters. When spring arrives she will return faithfully to her natal stream to breed. Her mate will follow her year after year to the stream where she was born. He will stay nearby and guard her until she lays eggs. This makes their migration pattern unusual among migrating birds. They move west/east rather than north/south. Banding and radio telemetry studies have shown that at least some of the breeding pairs in Glacier spend their winters in the rocky coastal waters of the Salish Sea in British Columbia.¹

And this is where the high quality of Glacier’s streams plays such a vital role. In order for a female to produce eggs she must have a diet rich in fats. The eastward migration to the long stretches of rapids and riffles of McDonald Creek’s cool and well-aerated stream beds provides the aquatic invertebrate larvae and small fish she needs.

Pulling aquatic invertebrates off the stream bed apparently can lead to getting a little "spinach" stuck in your bill.

It is a food source that, though not abundant, is also not The American Dipper, with a collection of aquatic insects which it took to chicks nearby. available to other bird species.  Even the American Dipper, that also feeds underwater in clean, fast moving mountain streams will not overlap entirely with the Harlequin as it forages. The Harlequin can dive to chase fish or pull aquatic insects off rock beds in portions of the stream that the Dipper will not. Being a duck, the Harlequin can emerge from a dive and swim or float within the rapids, whereas the Dipper emerges from the rapids with a hop or a short flight to find a solid perch such as a log or rock. So, while their food is similar (primarily aquatic insects), the Dipper prefers to forage near perches and the Harlequin can take on stretches of rapids with no perches.

McDonald Creek hosts roughly 25% of all the breeding females in Montana. But don’t get the wrong idea – theses aren’t large numbers. Each year McDonald Creek averages only about nine (9) breeding pairs with an average of only ten (10) chicks successfully fledged.²  Fledging means that the young have matured to the point they are out of the nest and able to fly on their own. It is not a large population for a very long stream.

The presence of the male Harlequin in spring with his guardian disposition enables the female to feed frequently and build up the fat she needs to produce eggs. Once she starts to incubate their eggs the male returns to spend the rest of the year in coastal waters. The female will incubate and raise her young on her own. After her chicks have hatched, she will lead her young to gentler stretches of the stream where they will build the skills that eventually will enable them to navigate even the swiftest of waters.

That is why I never saw adult males – I arrived in summer, after the males had returned to the ocean. So, this year, when I arrived in West Glacier in late May, one of my goals was to see and hopefully photograph a male.

My first sighting was serendipity. I was taking my first hike along the shore of Lake McDonald, not looking for Harlequins there. But my old hiking shoes quickly gave me blisters. I retreated back to my truck and in the process needed to cross the bridge over McDonald Creek. It is always a good idea to look over a bridge to see what is going on below. You never know when a moose may amble out of the woods. Looking over the bridge I found no moose, but a small flotilla of common mergansers swimming the calmer waters with their heads submerged as they looked for small fish. Then, along the southeastern shore – what was that dark bird? Ah- at last! A male Harlequin! I was not too late in the season. His strongly patterned feathers were every bit as handsome as the pictures I had seen, and then some.  

And there, close by, was his mate. She fed almost continuously while he mostly followed her around, only occasionally diving or going tail-up for food. Now that I knew there was opportunity, I planned some hikes along McDonald Creek. 

McDonald Creek has rapids and riffles for many miles upstream of the bridge. Not all of that has a trail beside it. I hiked the available trail a couple miles upstream and saw some old signs posted to deter off-trail hiking in order to protect nesting sites below. But no Harlequins. On another day, with my big lens in tow, I had a little more success. A breeding pair was slowly working their way up the northwestern side of the stream. The left side of the image below is the stretch of stream that they were working. They are actually in this picture somewhere, but too small to pick out.

A small section of McDonald Creek's rapids. The Harlequin Duck pair I was tracking was feeding along the left side of this section of stream.

I wound up finding more pleasure in simply watching their actions than photographing them. I followed them from the trail looking for a good vantage point to shoot. But the opportunities were not good. I was high, they were low.  Steep rocky shelves were in between us. When I went low, they did not continue upstream to where I had set up. Such are the days of a wildlife photographer still learning her subject.  

But to simply watch them was a joy. They worked very persistently to find their food, and they made it look effortless.  Though once I did see the male swim deliberately to the eddy behind a large boulder to give himself a short reprieve from the pounding whitewater. Occasionally, the two of them would simply turn sideways to the water flow and let the current carry them downstream. They would bob up and down with the undulations of the rapids until they reached some desired spot and then begin to work their way back upstream again. Often, if they wanted to make quick tracks further upstream they would use their wings more like paddles and push themselves through the spray powered by a combination of webbed feet and wings, but never actually taking flight, as though they preferred to keep the water splashing over their bodies.

In the end, I was able to capture a few mediocre quality images of the male that I

will be happy with until I learn their ways better.  Something to look forward to for next year.  

My best result from this year. The male Harlequin Duck and his showy feathers. Note also this diamond shaped tail carried just under the water surface. It is used like a rudder and paddle for steering and diving.

Notes: 

1. Video Documentary,  “Winged Harlequins”.  Produced by Wings in Nature.  https://wingsinnature.org/winged-harlequins/.  
2. National Park Service.  Harlequin Duck Resource Brief.  Link to Brief

All photos and text are Copyright © Julia Flanagan unless otherwise noted.  All rights reserved.