Various pines, firs and spruces add green to the outdoors in cold, gray December, and I welcome them. But I also study the landscape this time of year to search for rare surprises with colorful hues to help warm me.
One rarity awaited us on a cold, breezy day near Spring Bluff Forest Preserve and North Point Marina. It was a harlequin duck garbed in full breeding plumage. The sea duck that breeds in the north country, and mostly winters on the east and west coasts, is rare in northern Illinois in winter. Even rarer is the fact that the male being seen this year was in its full breeding splendor, which is not seen nearly as often as the drabber females and immature.
The harlequin drake, or male in breeding plumage, has a slate grey belly, slate blue back and complementary chestnut-colored flanks. White streaks are splashed on its head and body, and a white, crescent-moon-shape adorns the base of its short bill. It also has a round, white ear patch. This duck species gets its name from harlequins, colorfully attired and masked characters popular in Italian comedies.
The females and immatures are mostly plain brownish grey, with white patches below each eye and a white ear patch. It takes two to three years for the male to acquire colorful patterns.
We went looking for it, as did many other birders and nature lovers in early December. Standing along Lake Michigan and peering at the harbor waters, we noticed a small dark bird. Binoculars brought this bird into a closer view and we were able to see its bold plumage.
Within minutes, it flew off with the bufflehead, other small ducks, with whom it was cavorting. Buffleheads are much more common here and can be found in open water in winter. Their contrasting black and white plumage appears like newly fallen snow against dark tree bark. Setting up a spotting scope that brings images in even closer than binoculars helped us relocate the harlequin with his bufflehead entourage farther offshore.
The ducks flew off into more open water, and that day we did not see the harlequin again.
Harlequin ducks live most of the year along the east and west coasts of North America. In spring, they visit fast-flowing rivers and streams in Alaska and other northern locales to nest. In winter, they seek rocky coastal areas with turbulent waters. There are some rocky shorelines along Lake Michigan in Illinois, and that’s usually where harlequin ducks can be found each winter.
The brave ducks, by human standards, are attracted to rough water and often dive near rocks and ledges to find mussels and other delights of the sea. The harlequin ducks we see in northern Illinois in winter are likely from migratory western breeding populations, rather than the eastern population that winters along the Atlantic coast.
In all my years of birding, I have never seen a male harlequin in full breeding plumage until this December. I needed no other holiday treat, but I did discover one more — a group of prickly pear cactus tucked in the sand near the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Yes, several cactuses were alive and green on a cold winter’s day in Illinois. We associate cactus with dry, warm environments, but there’s a species called the eastern prickly pear that thrives in sandy spots and is native to Illinois. You can find it in sandy or hilly areas along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, as well as sandy and rocky areas in northern Illinois.
You can find this cactus at Illinois Beach State Park and Spring Bluff Forest Preserve near Winthrop Harbor, and surprisingly they hang onto their green shades through December, and perhaps even longer into the winter. Chemicals in the plant’s cells that work like antifreeze enable it to survive the cold temperatures of northern Illinois.
The eastern prickly pear sprawls in clumps several feet wide and one foot tall. Because the cactuses were not hidden by other greenery this time of year, I could closely observe the flat, round, green pads containing many small dot-like bristles that are painful when touched.
There’s a bit of promise in the air, even a sense of a miracle, when I see cactus in Illinois in winter.
Perhaps you won’t find a harlequin duck or prickly pear cactus on your forays outdoors this December, but you’ll certainly find some plant or animal to remind you of the resilience of nature at a time when there are many more dark hours than light ones.
Sheryl DeVore has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter, editor and photographer for the Chicago Tribune and its subsidiaries. She’s the author of several books on nature and the environment. Send story ideas and thoughts to sheryldevorewriter@gmail.com.
