Wise Words On Sunday

 

Saturday's Critters #423

 Have you ever watched a Northern Shoveler swimming in a lake?

It is quite fascinating.

I have seen and photographed them in the past,

 but never noticed the swimming pattern I have observed this winter.

Firstly, they swim in couples...

and they swim in a pattern, 15 feet in one direction, then 15 feet back, always in the same area.

It is an unmistakable duck, due to its long, flattened bill.

Males and Females are dissimilar.

My book says they are widespread and considered to be fairly common, 

this is a duck I see only during the winter.

The other odd behavior I noticed 

was that they keep their bill just under the surface of the water while they swim,

rarely picking it up.

The male has a shiny green head and a bright yellow eye.

The female resembles a female mallard.

They don't stop moving.

It was rare to see him lift up his head and show off his bill, I was happy to capture this image.

These pictures were taken at Lake of the Lilies.

The lake freezes, thaws and freezes again...on this day, most of the lake was thawed. 

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturday Critters