Harlequin Duck, London, Ontario
The Harlequin Duck (first-year male) is a very rare duck in southwestern Ontario. There was one sighted here a few days ago, so I thought I would go and find it...I've never seen one before. They breed northern Canada and overwinter along the Atlantic coast. It was in the Thames River with a small group of Mallards in the fast moving water with a strong current. It was feeding among the rocks. They like swift rivers and streams, coasts and islands...often the roughest and rockiest of shores where the water is highly turbulent.
The Harlequin likes to eat crustaceans and mollusks.
What a great bird and photos to go with it! That's a species I'm still waiting to see myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jonathan. A nice looking duck!
ReplyDelete