Northern Shoveler Coming In For A Landing Over Ice
A grab shot that worked out pretty well. Usually my grab shots are nothing but garbage.
Tag: anas clypeata
Northern Shoveler – Just Because I Like It
Northern Shovelers don’t get a lot of attention from photographers and I’ve been guilty of ignoring them myself.
Northern Shoveler Just Before Splash-down
I’ll admit to often ignoring Northern Shovelers while they’re on the water but I enjoy the challenge of photographing them in flight.
Pied-billed Grebe Investigating A Potential Feather For Swallowing
I’ve posted previously about grebes swallowing feathers as a digestive aid. Yesterday I photographed a Pied-billed Grebe with that very intention.
Northern Shoveler Duckling
Occasionally (very occasionally) I can’t resist the cuteness of a duckling and post it to my blog. It hasn’t happened for a long while now but this little guy put me over the edge.
Attack Of The Shoveler
Most Northern Shovelers breed far north of my area (northern Utah) so I rarely get to see their intensely agonistic breeding behaviors but I’ve seen and photographed some of it in mid-June at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in sw Montana. Northern Shovelers are the most territorial of all dabbling ducks and the sexes remain paired longer than any other species. Both of these factors contribute to their aggressive natures. These three sequential shots don’t have great image quality but I do think they illustrate some interesting behavior. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’d been photographing Short-eared Owls from my pickup but was aware of some activity from shovelers in the marshy grasses nearby. A commotion got my attention just in time to see the male on the right fly in to attack another male on the water. The second bird saw the attack coming and decided that discretion was the better part of valor and rose from the water in a hasty retreat. I like the non-plussed look of the retreating bird. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In this second image of the series it’s not clear if the open bill of the incoming bird is due to aggressive vocalization or an attempt to bite the other male. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But in this last image I think it becomes obvious that the intent was to bite the retreating duck. Bird behaviors fascinate me. They’re often both interesting and entertaining but many of…
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Northern Shoveler – Just Because I Like It
Northern Shovelers don’t get a lot of attention from photographers and I’ve been guilty of ignoring them myself.
Northern Shoveler Just Before Splash-down
I’ll admit to often ignoring Northern Shovelers while they’re on the water but I enjoy the challenge of photographing them in flight.
Pied-billed Grebe Investigating A Potential Feather For Swallowing
I’ve posted previously about grebes swallowing feathers as a digestive aid. Yesterday I photographed a Pied-billed Grebe with that very intention.
Northern Shoveler Duckling
Occasionally (very occasionally) I can’t resist the cuteness of a duckling and post it to my blog. It hasn’t happened for a long while now but this little guy put me over the edge.
Attack Of The Shoveler
Most Northern Shovelers breed far north of my area (northern Utah) so I rarely get to see their intensely agonistic breeding behaviors but I’ve seen and photographed some of it in mid-June at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in sw Montana. Northern Shovelers are the most territorial of all dabbling ducks and the sexes remain paired longer than any other species. Both of these factors contribute to their aggressive natures. These three sequential shots don’t have great image quality but I do think they illustrate some interesting behavior. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’d been photographing Short-eared Owls from my pickup but was aware of some activity from shovelers in the marshy grasses nearby. A commotion got my attention just in time to see the male on the right fly in to attack another male on the water. The second bird saw the attack coming and decided that discretion was the better part of valor and rose from the water in a hasty retreat. I like the non-plussed look of the retreating bird. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc In this second image of the series it’s not clear if the open bill of the incoming bird is due to aggressive vocalization or an attempt to bite the other male. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But in this last image I think it becomes obvious that the intent was to bite the retreating duck. Bird behaviors fascinate me. They’re often both interesting and entertaining but many of…