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.

Northern Shoveler : Middle Creek

At a small pothole along the road we observed two pairs of Northern Shovelers

A male Northern Shoveler shows off his namesake, his unusually large shovel shaped bill

Suddenly one of the males took a short flight landing in the middle of the pothole. I wasn’t ready for his take-off but I was ready for his splash-down.

Shot just a moment later, water is still flying as he coasts to a stop

The entire Middle Creek experience would have been worthwhile if this had been the only photographic encounter of the day as this is a species that I have only ever once encountered at the lake I frequent. That encounter did not result in any good images as it was too early in the morning when light levels were to low for sharp images of moving subjects