Drakes & Hens

Hauled Out

Fly Away

My appreciation for the bejeweled drake and plainer hen grew as I learned.  Harlequins are migratory and the North American Pacific population winters along the coast from Alaska down to California.  Spring is breeding season, and birds head inland to nest along fast moving rivers and streams.  I saw birds on Hornby that had been banded in Montana, Jasper, and Idaho.  Worldwide, Harlequins are found along the coast of Russia down to Japan, and in dwindling numbers on the Northern East Coast, Iceland, Greenland, and Maritime provinces.

Because of their habitat choice they have been called the white water bird or surfer duck.  They congregate mostly where shores are violent and swift and the oxygen content and clean water support a large number of maritime invertebrates.  A 19th century taxidermist who specialized in Harlies noted that many had large numbers of broken bones due to their love of things rough!

Harlies feed on a wide variety of life in the intertidal zone along the seacoast, shore crabs, limpets, sea worms, and chitons.

I gained a respect for wildlife photographers and experienced how difficult it was to have the needed conditions present at the same time:  light, and birds.  It is a simple request, or so I thought.  The trick, which I soon discovered, is to position oneself in a protected area before the birds arrive.  One morning I was nestled in some thick salal at the shore, waiting, birds were few and I lay down, salal supporting a surprisingly comfortable nap. They soon showed in more impressive numbers.  I woke and started to shoot.  Focusing on what was to be my best shot yet, a culmination of days of work, the birds erupted in a flurry of wings.  A well-meaning band reader stood at the shore.  Tomorrow is another day.

next