Rainbow at Haystack Rock

Friends of Haystack Rock

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Photo Courtesy of Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium
 

This month's Creature Feature 

Harlequin Duck    

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
 

 


 

 


The World of Haystack Rock
A series of Free Community Lectures Co-Sponsored by Friends of Haystack Rock and the Cannon Beach Library 
Held the SECOND WEDNESDAY of each month, November to April, 7-8:30pm Cannon Beach Library 131 N. Hemlock St. Cannon Beach

2014-2015 Schedule 
Wednesday Nov. 12, 2014
Matt Love
"One Writer's Muse: The Oregon Coast"
Location: Cannon Beach Community Hall-Corner of 2nd & Spruce

Wednesday Dec. 10, 2014 
Selina Heppell  "From Jumbo Squid to Ancient Rockfish: How Scientists & Citizens Conserve our Coastal Resources"  Location: Cannon Beach Library 131 N. Hemlock St. 
 
Wednesday Jan. 14, 2014 
Charlie Plybon
"A Rising Tide: Coping with a Changing Coast"
Location: Cannon Beach Library 131 N. Hemlock St.

Wednesday Feb. 11, 2015
Cameron La Follette
"Land, Forest Waters: Activism to Protect the Oregon Coast"
Location: Cannon Beach Library 131 N. Hemlock St. 
  
Wednesday Mar. 11, 2015 
Alan Rammer
"Educating Diverse Audiences about Marine Ecosystems"
Location: Cannon Beach Library 131 N. Hemlock St.
  
Wednesday Apr. 8, 2015
Ram Papish 
"Seabirds of the Falkland Islands"
Location: Cannon Beach Library 131 N. Hemlock St.
 

 

Friends of Haystack Rock is a non-profit organization that provides guidance and financial support for the Haystack Rock Awareness Program (HRAP) in cooperation with the City of Cannon Beach promoting the preservation and protection of the intertidal life and birds that inhabit the Marine Garden and the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge at Haystack Rock.
Friends of Haystack Rock is guided by a volunteer board of directors and advisors consisting of committed community members.

Friends of Haystack Rock
PO Box 1222
Cannon Beach, OR 97110

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