We have had an unexpected avian visitor this winter in our Audubon chapter area. A female Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is wintering on the St. Croix River below the Highway 8 bridge that connects Taylors Falls, Minnesota with St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Due to the discharge of water from the St. Croix Falls hydroelectric dam, this portion of the river does not freeze over. Harlequin Ducks are considered a rare regular species in Minnesota, which means that on average one or more individuals is seen per year, but rarely inland from Lake Superior. This bird is the first record for Chisago County.
Harlequin Ducks are one of 15 species of waterfowl known as sea ducks because they are adapted to life in coastal waters. Two distinct populations of Harlequin Duck breed in the northwest and northeast portions of the North American continent and winter along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, respectively, as well as along coastal Greenland (see Cornell Lab of Ornithology range map below). These small, compact ducks breed along clear, fast-flowing sections of rivers and winter on rocky shorelines. They feed on aquatic insects, small fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. Harlequin ducks are very agile swimmers that can easily navigate in turbulent water. Our St. Croix River visitor has been observed flying slightly upriver and then diving and feeding as the current carries her back downstream.
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