Cutts Nature Photography
Shovelers
Northern Shovelers (Spatula clypeata) trail only Mallards and Blue-winged Teal in overall abundance. Their populations have been healthy since the 1960s and have soared in recent years to more than 6.5 million birds most likely because of favorable breeding, migration, and wintering habitat conditions. The bill of the Northern Shoveler is big and shaped like a shovel, but that odd-shaped bill has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander, filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water. Northern Shovelers are monogamous and remain together longer than most pairs of other dabbling ducks. They form bonds on the wintering grounds and stay together until just before fall migration. Look around the fringes of shallow areas for groups of ducks with their heads down foraging intently. They tend to use more stagnant pools of water than other ducks, so you may also find them in smaller and murkier pools of water. The male's bright white chest will surely attract your attention if you don't immediately see their giant bill. Shovelers are a little less wary than other ducks, sometimes allowing closer looks without the need for binoculars.
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Shovelers
Northern Shovelers (Spatula clypeata) trail only Mallards and Blue-winged Teal in overall abundance. Their populations have been healthy since the 1960s and have soared in recent years to more than 6.5 million birds most likely because of favorable breeding, migration, and wintering habitat conditions. The bill of the Northern Shoveler is big and shaped like a shovel, but that odd-shaped bill has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander, filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water. Northern Shovelers are monogamous and remain together longer than most pairs of other dabbling ducks. They form bonds on the wintering grounds and stay together until just before fall migration. Look around the fringes of shallow areas for groups of ducks with their heads down foraging intently. They tend to use more stagnant pools of water than other ducks, so you may also find them in smaller and murkier pools of water. The male's bright white chest will surely attract your attention if you don't immediately see their giant bill. Shovelers are a little less wary than other ducks, sometimes allowing closer looks without the need for binoculars.
Click on the link below to subscribe so you don’t miss out on updates, sales, and new blog posts.
www.cuttsnaturephotography.com