Shoveler Duck

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 I seem to be on a bit of a duck theme at the moment. I saw some shoveler duck the other day and thought they merited a slot. At a first glance and from a distance these ducks might be confused with mallards. This photograph is of the male bird and you will notice that the giveaway feature is the large spatula shaped beak with which these birds sieve through the water feeding on crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, insects seeds, and aquatic plants in shallow water. The female is "another brown duck" but has the same shaped bill.


Shovelers are present all year round in some parts of Britain but we only see them around here in the Autumn and Winter times. Apparently if the female is flushed from her nest she will often defecate on her eggs in an attempt to deter predators from eating them.

Diary
Nothing but rabbits on the overnight cameras. Some sunshine this morning for a changer.


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