Records prior to 1993

Prior to 1993, only 5 nests had yet been found in the Oregon Cascades, though brood sightings had been reported from at least 20 streams from Douglas to Multnomah Counties (Latta 1992). Eggs collected in 1940 from a nest on the Wilson River, Tillamook County, are documented in a record from the Western Foundation of Vertabrate Zoology (Bayer, 1994. Egg set is at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology near Los Angeles, California) and stood for many years as the only confirmed nesting record for the Oregon Coast Ranges. A pair was also present through the breeding season on the Trask River, Tillamook County, in 1925. No additional breeding has been confirmed for the Wallowa Mountains since 1935, though reports of a few sightings of individual adults and pairs are known through 1992 (Evanich 1992).

Over 50 years would pass before any concerted effort was initiated to clarify the breeding status of the species in the state. Harlequin Duck was listed as "Federal Candidate Species, Category 2" for protection under the Federal Endangered Species Act in November, 1991. In response, biologists and government agencies from throughout the United States and Canada formed a working group to share information, address future research needs, and formulate survey protocol. In order to address the gap in knowledge of the species' breeding status in Oregon, Steve Latta from Willamette National Forest prepared a report that assimilated all available records for the state (December 1992).

A review of the records contained in Latta's report, though apparently incomplete, indicates that Harlequin Ducks were most often observed in the upper tributaries of the Sandy River, Clackamas County, The Molalla River and tributaries, Clackamas County, The North Santiam River and tributaries above Mehama, Marion and Linn Counties, The McKenzie River and tributaries, Linn and Lane Counties, and Salt Creek and tributaries in Lane County. Additional records are noted from the upper Clackamas River and tributaries, Clackamas County, tributaries of the Hood River, Hood River County, and the North Umpqua River, Douglas County. One record each is listed for Klamath (June, 1958) and Wasco (summer, 1988) Counties.

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