One of the joys of being a dabbler and aficionado of learning is that you’re constantly surprised by new discoveries. For instance I’ve been photographing Northern Shoveler males like this one for several years now:
However, it wasn’t until my camera spooked this one and his mate that I realized what a striking wing pattern they had in flight:
Heck, I never realized until I started to type this up that the female had any color on her wings at all.
They’re beautiful! Why are they called “shovelers?”
I’m not sure, but I suspect it’s because they have a “shovel-shaped” beak and they are constantly turned upside down eating weeds on the bottom of the pond.
The female almost looks as if she were swimming. You can see the feathers pushings against the air.
great new look for the shoveler. kjm