It started as a typical day. I was at my desk at 5 a.m. with a cup of coffee ready to put in a few hours of work before the sun came up. With the sun rising, I decided to take a break for breakfast. As I sat eating my oatmeal I could see it was going to be a nice day with a predominantly clear sky. Having not experienced many sunny days of late I was excited to get outside for a walk with my camera. After a quick shower and donning some warm clothes I grabbed my camera, leashed Molly (my 75lb Bouvier mix and best birding buddy), and headed out the door.
We were off for a walk along a section of the Thames River where there are always plenty of birds present. This is an area I recently started birding and have had great success at. I was hoping to get some shots of the Bald Eagles I often observe in the area. I’ve photographed eagles a lot here over the past few months but I was eager to get some shots of these majestic birds against the blue sky.
Having walked around for about an hour I had tallied a nice mix of birds and captured a few photos I was happy with. Cardinals, Cedar Waxwings, Carolina Wrens, as well as several woodpecker and sparrow species were among the birds observed. I had seen one juvenile Bald Eagle perched in a tree as well as flying up and down the river but didn’t capture the image I was hoping for.
Deciding I should probably get home and back to work Molly and I picked up our pace. Walking by a section of fast-moving water a duck diving in the rapids caught my eye. As I watched the bird dive and surface repeatedly I noticed it had a white spot on its cheek. Could it be? I raised my camera and zoomed in for a closer look. It was in fact a Harlequin Duck.
The eastern population of Harlequin Ducks is listed as endangered and overwinters on the Atlantic Coast making them extremely rare in our area. In fact, this is only the third time I’ve ever seen this species in London. Back in 2015, birders flocked to the banks of the Thames River trying to get a glimpse of a Harlequin Duck that spent several weeks on the river. That bird made headlines in the London Free Press and I was even interviewed by Wei Chen of CBC radio about my experience observing the rare bird.
The Harlequin Duck I found on this day wasn’t a vibrant male like the one of 2015, but rather a less colourful first-year male. At first, this bird resembled a female Harlequin but upon closer look, it faintly displayed the white stripes and chestnut flanks indicative of a first-year male.
Moving slowly along the bank I got into a position where I could photograph this Harlequin Duck. It seemed a little skittish at first but with Molly leashed and keeping her behind my crouched body it quickly realized we were not a threat. As I watched intently, the Harlequin Duck which was associating with a small group of Mallards proceeded to feed and preen unperturbed by our presence. After capturing several images and a few videos of this rare duck, we backed away slowly and left it to go about its business.
Over the years, I’ve become reluctant to give out specific locations of rare birds. With so many social media groups and other on-line avenues for reporting rare sightings these birds often become subjected to harassment by birders and photographers wanting to get a look. Too often I see the best interest of the bird as well as the habitat in which they live not being respected and therefore I no longer share locations of rare sightings. Furthermore, with COVID-19 cases raging out of control in Ontario publically sharing this or any rare bird’s location only encourages non-essential travel as photographers and birders are bound to flock to the area in an effort to get a photo or add the bird to their lists.
With any luck at all this Halequin Duck will remain in the area as it seemed to be finding plenty of food and the rapids where I found it was prime Harlequin habitat. If you are out walking along the river in the city of London keep your eyes peeled for this rare duck.
Good birding,
Paul
*Watch my latest episode of Explore The Wild to see videos of this Harlequin Duck.*
Saw him in the river today, Feb. 5th, just about under the new bridge at the Adelaide fields.
Congrats Steve. He’s been in that same section of the river for about a month now and will likely stick around for another month or so. He has acclimated well to his surroundings.
I also saw this cute guy both up at Windermere on the river since Feb as well as behind King’s College down on the corner of the river, and the last time I saw him was a month ago approximately. He was always hanging out with 2 or 3 mallards both female and male. I posted pics on ebird and was surprised to find out he was a rare bird. Where do they go after here?
That is great Debbie! The eastern population of Harlequin Ducks breed in northern Quebec, Labrador, and Baffin Island and typically overwinters on the east coast.