I saw my first Harlequin Duck off of Nauset Beach on Cape Cod this week. I had never seen one before!

I was taking a walk along the beach when I saw these three diving ducks a little bit offshore. I wasn’t sure what kind of ducks they were so I took a few photographs. They looked pretty dark with two white spots on their heads.

As I looked them up in my Sibley Guide to Birds, I learned that an adult breeding Harlequin Duck is very colorful, where an adult non breeding Harlequin Duck looks just like this from November to May.

Have you ever seen a Harlequin Duck?