Northern Shoveler

Gallery: AvianPosted January 9, 2017228 views5 comments

Nonbreeding male (?)
Gainesville, Florida
1/7/2017 – 11:31:36 AM (previously raining, very cloudy day)
Canon EOS 7D EF400mm f/5.6L USM
1/250 sec; f/7.1; ISO 640
Manual; Spot metering
LR5, PS6, Light Topaz DeNoise on the background, Topaz Detail on the bird, cropped at the left and top to 80% of full frame

There was at least one female and one other male that looked pretty different from this one, with a completely black bill, no blue or green that I could see, and just darker in general. I'll post the other male and maybe the female. I used the Merlin ID app to ID this duck from one of my images.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 9, 2017 at 10:50 PM

I think shovelers are among the most beautiful of ducks.
Mallards breed with just about any duck, making for odd colour combinations. I bet shovelers do too, to a lesser extent, so you never
know just what combinations of colour and other features will show up. Makes for a lot of interesting ducks!
Great detail in this littler lady, and bright colours. They are often very muddy, but this one isn't.
Nice perspective and well-placed in the frame.
Mixed feelings about the OOF greenery, but it's ok and not much you can do about it without great effort.
Nice image!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 10, 2017 at 11:35 AM

She looks a bit disheveled, but with that beak she's definitely a shoveler. A very nice shot with good detail, Barbara. I tend to like the foreground greenery.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on January 10, 2017 at 4:50 PM

So is this a female and not a male, then? The other female looked much lighter than this, with a totally orange beak.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on January 10, 2017 at 4:54 PM

Nice view of this NorthernShoveler. This is a female. Males have dark green heads and orange sides. Nice placement in the frame. Well exposed considering your overcast skies.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on January 10, 2017 at 5:02 PM

David and others, I think only breeding males have the dark green heads and orange sides, and we don't have any breeding males in this area, according to the habitat maps.

Some images of nonbreeding males are here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartwildlife/6710231645

http://tailsofbirding.blogspot.com/2012/01/dabbler-id-for-4.html (scroll down a bit)

http://thebirdersreport.com/world-bird-wednesday-2/northern-shovelers-have-a-very-distinctive-bill

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shoveler/id

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments