Hungry Horse Ranger District 



A male harleguin was observed on Wounded Buck Creek on 10 

 May by USFS personnel. A female harlequin was observed on 31 

 July by myself on this creek. Most of the creeks around Hungry 

 Horse Reservoir are small, higher gradient streams which do not 

 appear to provide harlequin habitat. Wheeler Creek was not 

 surveyed due to access problems but does warrant further 

 investigation for harlequin use. Creeks along the Middle Fork of 

 the Flathead River were also short, high gradient creeks offering 

 little for harlequin habitat. Creeks further up the Middle Fork 

 of the Flathead River into the Great Bear Wilderness likely have 

 some areas of appropriate harlequin habitat. An observation on 

 12 July by USFS personnel of a female with four young on the 

 Middle Fork is evidence that breeding does occur somewhere in the 

 wilderness. 



Spotted Bear Ranger District 



Sullivan Creek was the only creek surveyed in the Spotted 

 Bear Ranger District that harlequin ducks were found on. A 

 female harlequin and 4 young were located on 30 July on Sullivan 

 Creek near the confluence with Quintonkon. Sullivan Creek, 

 Bunker Creek, and the Spotted Bear River all had reaches of high 

 potential harlequin habitat and deserve additional surveys. 

 Quintonkon Creek was in a narrow canyon that did not meet 

 harlequin habitat criteria. No other creeks appeared large 

 enough or were low enough gradient to warrant searches during 



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