Day

March 12, 2026
Two male Harlequin Ducks with blue and chestnut plumage resting on a rock in the middle of whitewater rapids at Le Hardy rapids in Yellowstone.
12
Mar

The Blue Ghosts of LeHardy: Why Harlequin Ducks are Yellowstone’s Extreme Athletes

By Emily Lucas, Co-owner & Master Naturalist, Teton Excursions TL;DR: The Harlequin Highlights Built for Impact: Harlequins are the only birds known to have “impact-resistant” bodies; most adults have healed fractures from literally bouncing off river rocks. The “Sea Duck” of the Rockies: They spend nine months in the crashing Pacific surf and only come...
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