Harlequin drakes, front and back
This year there were more harlequins at the rapids than I've ever seen before. On this visit I counted seven drakes (and only one hen).
These wonderful amazing ducks migrate from the coast of the northwestern U.S. to ply the rapids in the Yellowstone River where they glean lots of aquatic insect life for about a month before the plain-plumed hens lay eggs in nests on the bluff high above the river, and the decoratively-marked males fly back to the coast, leaving the hens to raise the ducklings and guide them to the coast at the end of their short Yellowstone summer.
Harlequin drakes, front and back
This year there were more harlequins at the rapids than I've ever seen before. On this visit I counted seven drakes (and only one hen).
These wonderful amazing ducks migrate from the coast of the northwestern U.S. to ply the rapids in the Yellowstone River where they glean lots of aquatic insect life for about a month before the plain-plumed hens lay eggs in nests on the bluff high above the river, and the decoratively-marked males fly back to the coast, leaving the hens to raise the ducklings and guide them to the coast at the end of their short Yellowstone summer.