Harlequin Ducks in Calgary in late fall (1 Viewer)

[dant1999]

Is it considered very unusual to see harlequin ducks in Calgary at the end of November? I saw a pair of them, a male and a female, at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on the Bow River a couple of weeks ago on November 27th. From all the guidebooks I've seen, it seems that they can be found in the Rocky Mountain portion of Alberta during the summer but winter on the Pacific Coast. I was just wondering if there are localized populations that persist outside their normal range through the winter...

 

[John Cantelo]

Is it considered very unusual to see harlequin ducks in Calgary at the end of November? I saw a pair of them, a male and a female, at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on the Bow River a couple of weeks ago on November 27th. From all the guidebooks I've seen, it seems that they can be found in the Rocky Mountain portion of Alberta during the summer but winter on the Pacific Coast. I was just wondering if there are localized populations that persist outside their normal range through the winter...

Checkout the link below which details a number of field trips to Inglewood which, on a quick browse, suggests a handful of Harlequin are found there in late autumn/early winter and again in spring.
http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/field_trip_notes/Inglewood_Park.html

I'll probably be there myself in April visiting my daughter who has taken up temporary residence in Calgary so I'll be asking for help myself anon,