Harlequin Feather Sunrise

Another of North America's most beautiful ducks; the Harlequin duck is unique in that for most of the year it is a sea duck, living along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. However, it migrates inland and breeds along high-gradient streams of the Pacific Northwest. Males only stay long-enough to mate before heading back out to sea, while females brood and raise their young. These birds are threatened by climate change as changing dates and unpredictable fluctuations in snowmelt runoff may flood their nests and ruin any breeding attempts.