It’s springtime so things are getting exciting at our bird refuges.
Yesterday I had a productive morning at Bear River MBR but I took so many photos I haven’t yet had time to even look at most of them. So this morning I just decided to grab one I like and run with it.
1/5000, f/7.1, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
About a dozen drake Northern Shovelers were competing for the attention of a single hen when this guy found himself further away from the action than he preferred. So instead of swimming quickly in order to catch up with the other ducks, he chose to take off and fly the short distance to join them. This is the first photo I got of him in flight after he took off, out of 21 flight shots that were sharp.
I think drake shovelers in breeding plumage are one of our most attractive ducks and this flight posture shows off his many colors and plumage patterns about as well as they can be displayed. I wasn’t particularly close to him but he’s sharp so I think the photo stood up quite well to significant cropping.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many shovelers at Bear River as I have this spring. Without question they’re the dominant duck at the refuge. They seem to be everywhere and most of them are paired up or in the process of becoming so. And many of them are ‘sticky’ because they’re reluctant to leave their mates so opportunities abound for bird photographers interested in behavioral or flight shots of a very handsome duck.
Other species are feeling their oats too – it’s that time of year. One of the series of photos I took yesterday was of mating Black-necked Stilts. You’re likely to see some of those images soon.
Ron
A wonderful image of a spectacular bird.
We don’t often see this species down here in NZ but it has been seen across both islands – often in company of Australasian Shovelers.
Well done.
Interesting, Gary. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as Australasian Shovelers. I’ll be looking them up.
It sounds as if you had a wonderful day and my greedy self is looking forward to more.
I did, and good, EC. More coming soon.
After seeing this gem, I’m definitely looking forward to the other treasures from your foray into the field yesterday. This is one handsome shoveler — and smart too!
Thanks, Marty. I hope some of the rest of the photos turn out well. At one critical point I was having troubles with the R5 so it could go either way.
Beautiful Ron. Fell in love with these guys the first time I saw them when we moved here to Prescott. Had to ask what they were before I bought my first Sibley’s.
Thanks, Everett. Lots of folks think they’re Mallards, before they notice their spatulate bill.
Beautiful! Guess I’ve never seen one in breeding plumage. 😉 Quite a variety of colors and irredescence. 🙂
Spring HAS sprung with a Northern Flicker finding the metal portion of the chimney on the old shack – glad it’s not the house which has happened in the past! 😉
Thanks, Judy.
In the past, flickers have tried to pound their way through my eves and even the metal flashing on my neighbor’s fireplace, which is right outside my bedroom window. The racket they make is impossible to ignore.
That’s for sure – chimney pipe on the house will bring you right out of a sound sleep……… 😉
What a gorgeous bird! The colors would wow any Shoveler lady–
if there are many dudes like this one around her, her head would be spinning, just like yours must have been……I’m so glad that you had
a day offering so many possibilities—-happy, happy spring !
“her head would be spinning,”
Kris, her head WAS spinning – along with every other part of her body as she attempted to deal with that many males pursuing her. I suspect she was secretly pleased… 🙂
That is indeed a beautiful bird. Really like your shots that not only shows the beauty of the bird, but also show the detailed form and function of all the flight feathers in action – this one caught right at what looks like the apex of the forward motion of the wings.
Thanks, Michael. A bird this attractive can make most any photographer look good.