found in Idaho. The average brood size found Glacier National 

 Park was 4.18 (from Kuchel 1977). Fourteen young harlequins were 

 located during this survey. Kuchel (1977) found that most 

 mortality of young occurred during the first 2 weeks after 

 hatching, thus a minimum of 14 harlequin ducks were produced on 

 the study area in 1990. 



I found harlequins with broods on 2 streams on the study 

 area. Another brood was reported by USFS on the Middle Fork of 

 the Flathead River. The brood on Trail Creek was in the same 

 area I observed a brood in 1989. A single female was observed on 

 Wounded Buck Creek near where Miller (1989) had observed a brood 

 of 4 in 1989. These observations suggest a high degree of site 

 tenacity as reported in other studies of harlequin ducks 

 (Bengston 1966, Kuchel 1977, Wallen 1987, Dzinbal 1982). 



Three of the seven observations made during the second set 

 of surveys were single females. No distinction could be made 

 between nonbreeding, (i.e. sexually mature birds that refrain 

 from breeding), and unsuccessful breeding females. This is 

 similar to the 47-50% nonbreeders found in Alaska by Dzinbal 

 (1982). Wallen (1987) found that 62% of the harlequins in his 

 study area were nonbreeders. He also did not differentiate 

 oetween nonbreeders and failed breeders. Bengston (1971) 

 surmised that all females remaining on the breeding grounds 

 without broods were nonbreeders not unsuccessful nesters. He 

 felt that most nonbreeding female harlequins were first year 

 birds that do not even enter the breeding areas in Iceland. 



15 



