Northern Shovelers: Blackwater NWR

 Northern Shovelers feeding in Blackwater NWR freshwater marsh

 An Audubon field guide marks the Chesapeake Bay as the Northern Shovelers northern-most wintering range.  During our recent visit to Blackwater we found a small flock dabbling in one of the freshwater marsh impoundments.  This is a species that I have encounterd only once in my home area so to encounter them here was a special photo opportunity for me.

The shovelers were so engaged in feeding that it nearly every frame I captured had numerous ducks tipping.