Wild Memories Photography Tours

Harlequin ducks are not among the best known duck species but they are among the prettiest. They get their name from an actor dressed in multi-colors wearing a mask. The males are indeed multi-colored but, alas, not so the female.

Harlequin ducks are unusual in several regards. Most ducks migrate. In North America they usually move south in the fall and north in the spring to go to their breeding grounds.

Yellowstone’s Harlequins spend their winter’s in the Pacific Ocean. In the spring they move inland to fast moving rivers to mate. In Yellowstone that means Le Hardy Rapids on the Yellowstone River.

I don’t know why they like this extremely fast, rough water but they do. They spend several weeks in late April and early May displaying, fighting and mating. I love to watch and film them during this time as I really admire their ability to thrive in such rough, fast water. As I was looking at my footage after one filming session I watched as a male appeared to be moving upstream.

When I looked more closely I realized there was a female harlequin under him. They were mating! I am not sure how she avoided drowning because she was almost entirely underwater, but she was fine.

Once they finished mating they move to smaller fast moving creeks to build their nest, lay eggs and raise a family. One of those creeks in Yellowstone is Soda Butte Creek.

In the fall they move back to Le Hardy Rapids. The males loose their breeding colors and all of the males, females and young look alike, all looking rather plain. After a few weeks they move back to the Pacific Ocean and spend the winter. So even though they live in two very different areas in the summer and winter, both areas have the same type of water.

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