I must once again become a mendicant for photos, as we’re running low. Please send yours in! I have about two days’ worth of photos in the tank. When those are gone, this feature is dead.
Fortunately, ecologist Susan Harrison sent us in some sea duck photos. Her captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Colorful Sea Ducks!
One way to spend a rainy day between the holidays: go to the coast and look for seabirds. In Newport, Oregon at the end of December, the jetty-protected harbor was calm even while storm waves were crashing on the exposed coastline. This made the harbor an ideal place to seek the beautiful and adorably named Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus), which winters along Pacific Northwestern rocky shores.
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Outer end of Newport jetty:
Inner end of jetty and harbor:
Almost immediately on arriving, we spied two Harlequin Ducks! Being excited to see them for the first time, I was partly doused by a “sneaker” wave while photographing these birds.
Harlequin Ducks:
According to the late renowned ecologist Robert Paine, Harlequin Ducks are the only seabird that specializes on eating intertidal invertebrates knocked loose from the rocks by waves.
Harlequin Duck “snorkeling” for prey:
Harlequin Duck diving for prey:
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) feeding nearby:
The next morning, in slightly calmer weather, we saw other seabirds by walking out along the Newport Fishing Pier, with its view of the inner harbor and the town of Newport:
Common Loon (Gavia immer):
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata), another sea duck; male eating clam:
Surf Scoter female:
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), also a duck; females:
Common Goldeneye males:
Red-Breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), yet another duck, with Surf Scoters:
“Histrionicus histrionicus”
Cannot be unread.
Indeed. And inquiring minds would like to know how it got such a bizarre scientific name.
From the web, apparently Histrionicus (from Latin) means theatrical, overly dramatic, like a Harlequin (colorfully dressed), histrio being Latin for actor. Presumably the name is a reflection of the male’s plumage.
Thanks for the photographs. I’m glad the sneaker wave encounter was only a partial dousing.
Thank you! We didn’t realize until later that the entire coast was receiving truly massive waves that day — it was in the news*. Some day to look for sea ducks!
* e.g. https://www.kgw.com/video/news/local/north-coast/283-6e9c6633-1555-4ff2-b339-51cb123932a7
Lovely photos! Harlequins look so beautiful. The beak of that male Surf Scoter looks comical in that photo. Almost like he has a cigar instead of a clam.
The ducks are beautiful, but the Oregon coast looks mighty bleak indeed.
What a beautiful way to brighten up an otherwise dreary weather day!