Check out my latest West Coast Beat Writer post over at 10000 Birds! I’ve got this video plus two others and several photos of the beautiful Northern Shovelers that were taken at our National Wildlife Refuges.
Mating and Feeding Behavior of the Northern Shoveler
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Larry, as always — great post, photo and vids over at 10,000 Birds! I had no idea about the lamellae. I mean, I’ve seen them but didn’t understand the full function, nor would I have recognized all of these behaviors as courtship ones. I absolutely love seeing Northern Shovelers and appreciated knowing more about them.
The coolest shoveler experience I ever had was at Coyote Hills in the Bay Area. Scores of shovelers were flying in over the hills to land on one of the big ponds. As they flew over us, they produced a sound that was just like fighter jets. I’ve asked a number of people about that but no one yet has heard it. It must have been a combination of their flight path and wind direction. So odd but so evocative when I remember that moment of standing under their beautiful flight.