Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Harleguin Ducks

 Male Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus)

Harlequin ducks - endangered in Canada -  are waterfowl usually found in fast moving water, and that's just where these guys were: at the mouth of the Beaver River emptying into Georgian Bay (Lake Huron).

Harlequins breed in Greenland, Iceland, western Russia, coastal northwestern North America and eastern Canada and Maine. Between October and December, some are spotted on the Great Lakes. A few even spend the winter in the rough waters of Lake Ontario.

Same ducks looking the other way

 LAST winter my husband and I heard there were two Harlequins near Toronto in Lake Ontario. We never saw either. Elusive, they were always far out in the lake.

Last week our luck turned. These two Harlequins were most likely still on there way further south but had spent a couple of "balmy" weeks on Georgian Bay. Luckily for me, when I saw them they were close to shore and apparently not camera shy. They posed for a while then swam away in search of fish and marine invertebrates.

I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

46 comments:

eileeninmd said...

The Harlequins are pretty ducks. I am looking forward to seeing some in my area soon! Great shots!

Andy said...

Getting a photo of an endangered species is quite the chore. I'm impressed.

Mersad said...

I agree with the previous commentators: pretty ducks and lovely shots.

William Kendall said...

They are quite impressive birds.

LindyLouMac said...

How wonderful to see these impressive ducks and capture such great close ups. It is sad when species are endangered.

Cezar and Léia said...

Lovely critters and your pictures are really beautiful!I also like their name "Harlequim", it's sweet!
Léia

Elizabeth Edwards said...

wow, so different. neat coloring. ( :

MadSnapper said...

wow, these are gorgeous ducks.. and all new to me.. what a find

Karen said...

Oh how great to have captured photos of these beautiful ducks!

Unknown said...

so lucky to have captured these lovely birds.

Our photos said...

That are beautiful ducks.

Gail Dixon said...

Gosh, how fortunate for you to photograph these beautiful birds. They have such pretty markings.

TexWisGirl said...

wow. just awesome sighting! so uniquely colored!

cath carbone said...

j'aime tes photos!
Very nice post!
Thanks & Welcome for your comment and your next visit to my blogs.
Have a nice day! Cath.

Linda W. said...

Nice shots of the ducks!

Crafty Green Poet said...

such handsome ducks

Stephanie said...

Beautiful birds.

Rune Eide said...

Wonderful birds! We don't have them here, so I'm a little bit envious.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful rich colours!

Anonymous said...

They are beautiful!

LONDONLULU said...

I love their unusual markings, such handsome birds!

mick said...

Great photos of very beautiful birds. I am glad they came close enough for you to get the photos.

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Splendid-looking ducks, nicely photographed!

Unknown said...

Lovely photos of these handsome ducks.

Phil Slade said...

Wonderful shots. So sad that these beautiful ducks are in decline.

HansHB said...

A great serie of photos, well done!
This is perfect for WBW!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Hi. lovely ducks. I have seen them in Iceland when visited a few years ago.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Wow! That is a very special find. Beautiful pictures as well.

sunshine said...

Very beautiful birds, nice to see them.

RedPat said...

They are gorgeous! Well done, EG.

Lisa Gordon said...

They are so beautiful, and they look like they don't mind being photographed one bit!

Gordon said...

You have captured two very smart ducks there, and a good find.
All the best Gordon.

Pamela Gordon said...

I've never seen these ducks before but they sure are beautiful. I love their markings and colouring. What a great capture for you!

Maggid said...

I've only seen drawings of these - your photos are GREAT - thank you.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

They are so showy and it's so cool how they posed for you! Thanks for sharing pictures and the great info.!

Rose said...

They are so beautiful, they almost don't even look real! I bet you were one happy lady to get to photograph them.

Randy said...

Beautiful markings.

Liz Needle said...

What stunning looking ducks. Great capture.

Darla said...

Beautiful birds. I must say I like the name "histrionicus, histrionicus"

Darla

Becky said...

A truly gorgeous bird EG. I have never seen one. How lucky you were, and so close. Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Susan Anderson said...

Wonderful colors!

=)

Neil said...

Beautiful looking Duck.

Ela said...

So a beautiful couple, they are sweet.
Greetings !

Cynthia said...

How wonderful you got to see them! They are truly gorgeous ducks.

kayerj said...

lovely birds. I'll wish you a Happy Thanksgiving but I'm not sure it's Thanksgiving in Canada. Have a nice day.

Judy said...

They are beauties!!!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.