Unusual beauty

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Unusual beauty

April 4, 2016 by Mike Powell

With new vegetation springing up near the edges of the ponds at Huntley Meadows Park, some of the ducks are now hanging out within range of my camera rather than in the middle of the pond. This past weekend I was able to capture the unusual beauty of this male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata).

No matter how many times I have seen it, I never fail to be amazed at the disproportionately long bill of the Northern Shovelers. They look to me like they were drawn by the cartoonists at Disney, who deliberated exaggerated their features for comic effect.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Northern Shovelers in a Disney feature film at some point in time.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Anas clypeata, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Shoveler, Northern Shoveler, Tamron 150-600mm | 9 Comments

9 Responses

on April 4, 2016 at 10:40 am | Reply Dan Antion

So pretty.
- on April 5, 2016 at 5:12 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Dan. This duck not only is pretty–he seems to have an attitude.
on April 4, 2016 at 7:39 pm | Reply Sue

Beautiful shot, Mike!
- on April 5, 2016 at 5:11 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Sue.
on April 5, 2016 at 4:53 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

They are a pretty duck.
on April 5, 2016 at 8:15 am | Reply shoreacres

For some time, I didn’t understand why one of the ponds at a nearby wildlife refuge was called “Shoveler Pond.” Now, I get it. These are quite common here, and wonderful to photograph. A couple of good online guides say they don’t “tip tail” to feed, but I see them doing that quite often. It’s hilarious, so say the least.
on April 6, 2016 at 12:14 pm | Reply Spring playing hide and seek | From guestwriters

[…] With new vegetation springing up near the edges of the ponds at Huntley Meadows Park, some of the ducks are now hanging out within range of his camera rather than in the middle of the pond. This past weekend he was able to capture the unusual beauty of this male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). (See: Unusual beauty) […]
on April 11, 2016 at 7:45 am | Reply Birder's Journey

What a great close-up image – you’ve really captured the unique look and beauty of this Shoveler.
- on April 11, 2016 at 5:59 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I still distinctly recall the first time that I saw the elongated bill of a Northern Shoveler–I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.