Tag Archives: harlequin duck

Harlequins

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Monday, February 11, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.1C  Min. 2.0C Reset 5.1C  Rain 3.0 mm
MARINE LIFE: 13 mature, 4 immature Bald Eagles today. The 6 Canada Geese spent the day in the area around the Learning Centre. They kept an eye on Mike as he power washed the sidewalks but did not seem bothered by the activity.The Elephant Seal was hauled out on the rocks just below the tower in the morning and then spent most of the afternoon floating about in the East Bay.There were 7 Harlequin Ducks (4 male) also in the east bay area all morning, then saw them later much farther off shore towards the east.Counted 123 Cormorants today.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:22 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy  Vis 15 Miles  Wind West 7 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:10 AM

3 day summary

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Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 7.7C Min. 4.9C  Reset 7.7C  Rain 3.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: 7 (5 mature) Bald Eagles.Group of 22-24 Black Oyster Catchers were around most of the day and at times paired off and spent 45-60 minutes along the shore near traditional nesting areas.Saw 5 Harlequin Ducks, all male, in the east bay area.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2nd Nature in with several guests and 1 tour boat.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis. 15 Miles Wind East 9 Knots  Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:14 AM
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 23 Knots Sea 3 Foot Moderate – Low South West Swell
MARINE LIFE: 9 Bald Eagles (5 mature) today. 24 Black Oyster Catchers spent most of the day along the south shore of Gr. Race and at times paired off and spent 1/2 hour or so in nesting areas.Saw 4 male and 2 female Harlequin Ducks in the East bay area early afternoon.
HUMAN INTERACTION:2nd Nature in with Angus,Garry,Chris and Guests approx.2:30pm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:33 AM
Monday, January 21, 2002
Good Evevening
TEMPERATUER: Max. 6.C  Min. 2.2C  Reset 3.7C  Rain 2.0 mm
MARINE LIFE:6 (4 mature) Bald Eagles today. Very stormy all morning with a series of squalls coming in from the west,by 2 pm the wind decreased to 12 knts and we enjoyed some sunshine.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM

2500 to 3000 sea birds feeding

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-2002-01-03′, ’15:48:41′, ‘Another red letter day,calm sea,blue sky and wonderful warm sunshine. There were 3 – 1 mature ) Bald Eagles today. Counted 18 Black Oyster Catchers and again 7 Harlequins – 4 Male ). There was a lot of feed in the water in the tide lines, 200-300 hundred metres off the reserve to the west and north,and into Pedder Bay.There must have been 2500 to 3000 sea birds feeding. The eagles were flying low just skimming the surface, talons outstretched as they hit the water.As the eagles circled,the other birds flew off and landed some distance away, except for about 7 or 8 gulls that tried to ”herd” the eagles away.Every once in a while the eagles would dive at the gulls, I think more out of frustration from the harassment then wanting to catch the gull- it was the fish they were after.It is so quiet with the light wind that we have heard Elephant Seals vocalizing tonight.’, ‘Mike or Carol’, ’15:49:37 ,

2500 to 3000 sea birds feeding

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Thursday, January 03, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.0C — Min. 6.9C – Reset 7.7C — Rain 1.3 mm
MARINE LIFE:Another red letter day,calm sea,blue sky and wonderful warm sunshine. There were 3 ( 1 mature ) Bald Eagles today. Counted 18 Black Oyster Catchers and again 7 Harlequins ( 4 Male ). There was a lot of feed in the water in the tide lines, 200-300 hundred metres off the reserve to the west and north,and into Pedder Bay.There must have been 2500 to 3000 sea birds feeding. The eagles were flying low just skimming the surface, talons outstretched as they hit the water.As the eagles circled,the other birds flew off and landed some distance away, except for about 7 or 8 gulls that tried to ‘herd’ the eagles away.Every once in a while the eagles would dive at the gulls, I think more out of frustration from the harassment then wanting to catch the gull- it was the fish they were after.It is so quiet with the light wind that we have heard Elephant Seals vocalizing tonight.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 4 boats through the reserve today 2 orange Ribs ( 1 whale watcher ) 1 pleasure craft-sight seeing and 1- 4 metre boat with 3 divers between Gr. Race and West Race.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:10 PM

Good Morning

WEATHER: Sky Cloudy — Vis. 15 Miles — Wind South East 3 Knots — Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:11 AM

Out of the dark days

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-2002-01-02′, ’15:45:15′, ‘It was sooo nice to see the sun after so many dark, windy days! It was such a pleasure to do the morning walk without getting chilled to the bone with the north wind and drenched in spray.We had 7 -2 mature) Bald Eagles and 1 immature Peregrine Falcon today.The Eagles spent several hours on the Southeast rocks then moved over to West Race.The crows and starlings were nowhere to be seen while the Peregrine Falcon was around but soon reappeared after it flew off towards the north.The gulls and cormorants seemed more alerted to the Falcon than the Eagles.The eagles are impressive in their size but the Falcon is incredibly fast. A group of 22 Black Oyster Catchers spent a good part of the day along the south shore of Gr. race. The 7 harlequins were also back today in the east bay.The big job tomorrow will be clearing the boat ramp of all the driftwood that has piled up over the past week. ‘, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:46:06 ,

Peregrine falcon visits

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Wednesday, January 02, 2002

 Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.5C — Min. 7.9C — Reset 9.0C — Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: It  was sooo nice to see the sun after so many dark, windy days! It was such a pleasure to do the morning walk without getting chilled to the bone with the north wind and drenched in spray.We had 7(2 mature) Bald Eagles and 1 immature Peregrine Falcon today.The Eagles spent several hours on the Southeast rocks then moved over to West Race.The crows and starlings were nowhere to be seen while the Peregrine Falcon was around but soon reappeared after it flew off towards the north.The gulls and cormorants seemed more alerted to the Falcon than the Eagles.The eagles are impressive in their size but the Falcon is incredibly fast.A group of 22 Black Oyster Catchers spent a good part of the day along the south shore of Gr. race. The 7 harlequins were also back today in the east bay.The big job tomorrow will be clearing the boat ramp of all the driftwood that has piled up over the past week.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:12 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast — Vis 12 Miles — Light Rain — Wind North 9 Knots — Sea 1 Foot Chop Low East Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:45 AM

Histrionicus histrionicus: Harlequin duck–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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rmharley copy

Histrionicus histrionicus –Harlequin Duck

In the fall of 2006, there was a large flock of males and females around the shores of the island. They were frequently visible in the waters and shoreline around the docks. These pictures were captured on the remote camera 5 by Pam Birley.

Interesting Facts:

  • English name from characters in Italian comedy that wear a mask and have an oddly painted costume
  • Locally may be called “rock ducks” due to their habit of staying out on rocks.
  • Population of 200 – 300 thousand on the West Coast but endangered on the Atlantic Coast
  • A group of up to 30 harlequins overwinter at Race Rocks, arriving in early November and departing in the spring, numbers vary as they come and go during that time.

Identification:

  • Length: 12 inches
  • Wingspan: 26 inches
  • Small diving duck
  • Small gray bill
  • Dark wings

Males have a striking feathers with dark blue, dark orange, and white streaks
Females are discrete and have a subtle brown color that camouflages them for nesting

Ryan Murphy has an album of images of Harlequin ducks which he took while he was an Ecoguardian at Race Rocks- 2009-2011.

Biotic Associations:

  • Predation from Sea Lions ( We have seen them leave the water and come up on the rocks when sea lions are near.)
  • Spend majority of time feeding in Kelp Beds on aquatic invertebrates and lesser quantities of fish.

Food:

Freshwater invertebrates

  • Fish eggs consumed when available
  • Use their stubby bill to pry invertebrates such as snails, limpets, crabs, chitons, and mussels from the rocks
    during the winter months
  • In the late winter months they feed on herring spawn in large congregations.

Domain : Eukarya
Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Subphylum:  Vertebrata
Class : Aves
Order:  Anseriformes
Family:  Anatidae
Genus:  Histrionicus
Species: histrionicus
COMMON NAME: Harlequin Duck

See other posts on this website with reference to Harlequin Ducks

Other Members of the Class Aves at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

This file was originally produced by Dec. 2001 Karim Ladha (PC yr 27)

 

Harbour seal antics

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Monday, November 26, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 8.1ºC — 5.0ºC — Reset 7.1ºC — Rain 1.2 mm — total so far this month 122.1 mm rain
MARINE LIFE: A great day -a bonus really when you consider it is now the last week of November. The Sea Lions did what they do best on calm days-catch up on their sleep.Most of the Northern S.L’s hauled out on Middle Rock while the Californias preferred to raft about in the kelp beds East and South of Gr. Race. The 5 Harlequins were back in the east bay and spent the afternoon by the boat dock.2 Mature Bald Eagles arrived about 9:30,one took up position on the high point on West Race and the other maintained look-out on the log on North Rocks.They stayed about 45 minutes then flew off towards Whirl Bay. 4 Harbour Seals enjoyed what I can only describe as the quintessential log rolling competition in the kelp,east side of Gr.Race. 3 seals on the log,3 seals off the log! It was the 4th seal wanting on that log that kept me watching for 35 minutes and yes, that 4th seal finally succeeded,unfortunately success was short lived. The log was caught up in the tide between the South East Rks. and Gr. Race and just twirled too much for the seals to stay on it.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:23 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky clouydy — Vis. 15 miles — Wind calm — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:29 AM

students webcast

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Sunday, November 25, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 8.1ºC — Min. 5.3ºC — Reset 5.4ºC — Rain 9.8 mm
HUMAN INTERACTION:The 2nd Nature in to the dock a little after 9:00 with the students working on the live web presentation at the R.B.C.M.The sea was much calmer than yesterday but the rain was a definite inconvenience. One charter Dive boat in West Race area from 11:00 until just after 14:00. The students departed approximately 15:30 to return to campus.
MARINE LIFE: There was a group of 3 male and 2 female Harlequin Ducks in the East Bay most of the afternoon.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:08 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis. 15 miles — Wind west 5 knots — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:18 AM

Harlequin Ducks return

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Wednesday, November 07, 2001

MARINE LIFE: Over 150 Northern Sea Lions were on Middle Rocks in the mid afternoon, another 15 on North Rocks. Harbour seals are scattered in several little pockets an various islands usually no more than 8 in one area. Many of the Californian Sea Lions have moved to the rocky beach just South of the Tower. I also saw for the first time this fall, the flock of 20 Black Oyster Catchers high on the Rocky shore, to the sw of the engine room.
posted by Garry Fletcher at 9:53 PM
WEATHER: The day was part cloudy and windy with max. temp of 9.3 ºC and min. temp. of 7.1 ºC .
MARINE LIFE: Five Harlequin Ducks have arrived back for the winter. We were filming them as they patrolled through the kelp beds around the edge of Great Race Rocks.
PC STUDENTS: Our fourth day at Race Rocks has just ended. Today, we managed to finish off refilling the oil tanks and this should take us until April. Garry came over to deliver the G3 Powerbook for a webcast later this evening.
HUMAN INTERACTION: One boat with eight people passed by Race Rocks.
posted by Michael Kiprop at 6:43 PM