Harlequin Duck! - 06 Jan 2018


Scott Jennex reported a Harlequin Duck at Wyandotte Municipal Boat Launch yesterday afternoon. This on the heals of Andy Dettling reporting a pair of Long-tailed Ducks nearby had me out the door at 4 pm. I arrived just as Scott was getting ready to leave. He and Matthew Gasperoni were looking for the male Harlequin that had just moved south of the boat launch.

We drove over to Perry Pl and Scott found the Harlequin Duck among a group of female Common Mergansers that I was scoping. I was able to get a couple videos of the duck as it swam and bathed in the frigid temperatures (9F, windchill near 0F).


A bonus bird was this Glaucous Gull that took off among a flock of Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls on the ice flowing past us.





Out in the middle of the river ~2000 Canvasback / Redhead were crowded into a tight raft in open water near Mud Island. Groups of 20-50 birds were flying past in the low light and afforded a few flight pics.

Canvasback

Common Merganser, female

Seaway Boat Club, Wyandotte, Wayne, Michigan, US
Jan 6, 2018 4:15 PM - 4:50 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Scott Jennex and me.
10 species

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  4
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  1000     mixed flock w/ Redhead. Estimate is conservative
Redhead (Aythya americana)  1000     mixed flock w/ Canvasbacks just in open water of ice-filled Detroit River. Estimate is considered conservative.
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)  1     Male. First reported by Scott Jennex at the Wyandotte Municipal Boat Ramp. Digiscoped video taken of male duck swimming among female mergansers just north of Perry Pl. St.
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  6
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  20
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  30
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)  8
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)  1     All-white gull in flight w/ small bill. Per conversation with A. Byrne bird appears to be Glaucous Gull and not Iceland.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41692796

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)