To see these beauties at Haystack Rock, you may have to brave the rough winter weather of the Oregon Coast: this is no summertime bird.

Male harlequin ducks are unmistakable and hard to miss. Their brilliant white bands and collars, along with their rusty chestnut breast, create quite a contrast against their dark, slate-blue plumage. The male's plumage reflects the general heath of the animal, and plays an important part in the duck's mating ritual: a female will be attracted to a vibrant, healthy plumage.  

In contrast to her male counterpart, the female harlequin (like most other female ducks) lacks the flashy colors, sporting instead a brown plumage, white chest, and a single patch of white just behind the eye.

Start watching closely for the bird's courtship dance in October. Males will often shake their heads and tails while making whistling noises around females. Once breeding pairs are formed, they are rarely seen apart; even in the roughest weather, they can be seen together, diving for fish and small marine invertebrates in the waters around Haystack Rock.

In late March, after having spent the winter on the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean, breeding pairs migrate east to their breeding grounds in the forested mountains of the Cascade Range. Non-breeding harlequins will remain in coastal waters.

Males will help with the building of the nest, but when the time comes to incubate the eggs, they head back to the coast. The female incubates the eggs and raises the chicks by herself, returning to Haystack Rock in July.

Photo Courtesy of Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium