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:
The Harlequins are pretty ducks. I am looking forward to seeing some in my area soon! Great shots!
Getting a photo of an endangered species is quite the chore. I'm impressed.
I agree with the previous commentators: pretty ducks and lovely shots.
They are quite impressive birds.
How wonderful to see these impressive ducks and capture such great close ups. It is sad when species are endangered.
Lovely critters and your pictures are really beautiful!I also like their name "Harlequim", it's sweet!
Léia
wow, so different. neat coloring. ( :
wow, these are gorgeous ducks.. and all new to me.. what a find
Oh how great to have captured photos of these beautiful ducks!
so lucky to have captured these lovely birds.
That are beautiful ducks.
Gosh, how fortunate for you to photograph these beautiful birds. They have such pretty markings.
wow. just awesome sighting! so uniquely colored!
j'aime tes photos!
Very nice post!
Thanks & Welcome for your comment and your next visit to my blogs.
Have a nice day! Cath.
Nice shots of the ducks!
such handsome ducks
Beautiful birds.
Wonderful birds! We don't have them here, so I'm a little bit envious.
Beautiful rich colours!
They are beautiful!
I love their unusual markings, such handsome birds!
Great photos of very beautiful birds. I am glad they came close enough for you to get the photos.
Splendid-looking ducks, nicely photographed!
Lovely photos of these handsome ducks.
Wonderful shots. So sad that these beautiful ducks are in decline.
A great serie of photos, well done!
This is perfect for WBW!
Hi. lovely ducks. I have seen them in Iceland when visited a few years ago.
Wow! That is a very special find. Beautiful pictures as well.
Very beautiful birds, nice to see them.
They are gorgeous! Well done, EG.
They are so beautiful, and they look like they don't mind being photographed one bit!
You have captured two very smart ducks there, and a good find.
All the best Gordon.
I've never seen these ducks before but they sure are beautiful. I love their markings and colouring. What a great capture for you!
I've only seen drawings of these - your photos are GREAT - thank you.
They are so showy and it's so cool how they posed for you! Thanks for sharing pictures and the great info.!
They are so beautiful, they almost don't even look real! I bet you were one happy lady to get to photograph them.
Beautiful markings.
What stunning looking ducks. Great capture.
Beautiful birds. I must say I like the name "histrionicus, histrionicus"
Darla
A truly gorgeous bird EG. I have never seen one. How lucky you were, and so close. Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Wonderful colors!
=)
Beautiful looking Duck.
So a beautiful couple, they are sweet.
Greetings !
How wonderful you got to see them! They are truly gorgeous ducks.
lovely birds. I'll wish you a Happy Thanksgiving but I'm not sure it's Thanksgiving in Canada. Have a nice day.
They are beauties!!!
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