Harlequin Duck / Histrionicus histrionicus

HAPPY snowy CANADIAN THANKSGIVING!

Last night, I came across this photo in one of my photo folders and discovered that I never posted it on flickr. I remember being taken aback when I first saw the image after downloading it to my computer, as I had never expected it to look quite like this. Of course, the background does make it more difficult to see the beautiful Harlequin Duck, but that's OK. We were so lucky to see this striking bird and so close.

"The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French Arlequin, Italian Arlecchino), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak.

These birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat molluscs, crustaceans and insects. Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air within them. This is vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters they ply. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, making them bounce like corks after dives." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_duck

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/harlequin_duck/id

Waterton Lakes National Park is where three friends (Anne B, Janet and Shirley) and I went on 11 and 12 June 2018. Part of Monday was spent travelling south to Waterton Lakes National Park, stopping at several places en route, including Lundbreck Falls. With no stops, it takes roughly three hours to get there. We stayed on Monday night at the Bear Mountain Motel in Waterton town. Tuesday morning, we drove around the Waterton area, hoping to maybe see more bears, and then made our way back north, reaching Calgary late afternoon/early evening.

As it was, we were so lucky to see a gorgeous Cinnamon Black Bear, at first from a great distance and then unexpectedly close. Also spotted a Black Bear in among the blackened, burned trees that were near the edge of the road. It was very difficult to see and impossible to find an open spot through which to take photos - but it was our second bear.

I had been hoping to someday get a chance to get down to Waterton again, especially to see how it looked after the devastating Kenow wildfire that damaged or destroyed so much of the park in 2017. Most of the park is still closed, but the whole town site and Chief Mountain Parkway and area are open. To me, the park looked beautiful, with enough green areas to contrast with the dead trees on the mountain sides. Firefighters did such a brilliant job last year of saving the whole town, and a team of firefighters form Calgary had been given the task of doing all they could to save the historic Prince of Wales Hotel. There it still stands, untouched. One can see how close to the town and iconic Hotel the fire had come - right up to the very edge, where a sprinkler system had been set up before the fire got close.

Wild animals, plants and birds were seen. There were plenty of wildflowers, though I suspect we may have been just a little early for many species. I was so pleased to spot a small patch of what I thought might be Mariposa Lilies near the edge of the road that we were driving on. We stopped for me to check and, sure enough, my friends were able to see these unusual flowers for the first time. Chipmunk, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Columbian Ground Squirrels and deer were seen. Not a huge variety of birds, but we were only able to look in such a limited space. It was great, though, to see two distant Sandhill Cranes and a distant Common Loon on her nest.

Supper on Monday was at Zum's restaurant - an interesting place with walls covered with old vehicle licence plates. Apparently, people send them to the restaurant from so many places, near and far. The food was good and, next morning, after a short drive to see what we could find, we returned there for a good breakfast.

Apart from the most unpleasant, very strong wind all day both days, we were very lucky with the weather for our two days. No rain, thank goodness. The morning was chilly and so was the night. The temperature got up to 20C on our way home.