{"id":126291,"date":"2024-03-28T04:34:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T10:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=126291"},"modified":"2025-05-07T20:13:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T01:13:05","slug":"drake-northern-shoveler-and-american-coot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/28\/drake-northern-shoveler-and-american-coot\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake Northern Shoveler And American Coot"},"content":{"rendered":"

This drake Northern Shoveler swam past me on my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a>. I couldn’t resist taking photos of him. Why would I want to?<\/p>\n

\"DrakeDrake Northern Shoveler swimming by \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Male Northern Shovelers are striking-looking dabbling ducks. In breeding plumage, their black bills, iridescent green heads, white breasts, and chestnut flanks are quite eye-catching.<\/p>\n

I know for sure that this Northern Shoveler caught my eye when he swam by.<\/p>\n

Northern Shovelers are migratory ducks in most parts of the country. In Utah, they are year-round residents.<\/p>\n

\"NorthernNorthern Shoveler drake with an American Coot \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I did think it was odd that I didn’t see a hen Northern Shoveler near this male, because by now they are usually paired up. But maybe there was a female hidden in the phrags on the far side of this canal.<\/p>\n

Female shovelers can blend into the marshy habitat far more easily than the brightly colored males.<\/p>\n

Instead, an American Coot swam up to the male Northern Shoveler, and they paddled side by side together for a bit. I liked how this photo showed that the shoveler drake is longer in length than the coot.<\/p>\n

I also liked how this image showed the difference in the eye color of these two species.<\/p>\n

Another thing I enjoyed about both of these photos is how the bright blue sky was reflected on the water and mixed in with the browns of the nearby phrags.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good,<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Northern Shoveler photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/a><\/span> to view more of my American Coot photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This drake Northern Shoveler swam past me on my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I couldn’t resist taking photos of him. Why would I want to?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,124,27,1148,429,26],"tags":[4004,4010,2772,2773,4717,4483,1129,126,4121,4062,4094,1137,6968,4903,975,1283,3996,4095,373],"class_list":["post-126291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-northern-shovelers","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-coot","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-dabbling-ducks","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-fulica-americana","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-northern-shoveler","tag-shoveler","tag-shovelers","tag-spatula-clypeata","tag-swimming","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shoveler-drake-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0987.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-wQX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":86332,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/29\/drake-northern-shoveler-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":126291,"position":0},"title":"Drake Northern Shoveler In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It isn't easy to photograph some birds on the wing so I was thrilled yesterday to photograph a drake Northern Shoveler in flight.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Northern Shoveler in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/northern-shoveler-drake-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-1831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/northern-shoveler-drake-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-1831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/northern-shoveler-drake-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-1831.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/northern-shoveler-drake-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-1831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137772,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/12\/hen-and-drake-northern-shovelers-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":126291,"position":1},"title":"Hen And Drake Northern Shovelers At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Some areas of Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge were very ducky yesterday. These hen and drake Northern Shovelers were among the dabbling ducks I found.","rel":"","context":"In "Northern Shovelers"","block_context":{"text":"Northern Shovelers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/ducks\/northern-shovelers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hen and drake Northern Shovelers at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/northern-shovelers-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-7486.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/northern-shovelers-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-7486.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/northern-shovelers-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-7486.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On the same morning that I photographed the drake Northern Shoveler flying by at the refuge I also photographed a drake Cinnamon Teal in flight.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Cinnamon Teal in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cinnamon-teal-drake-flight-mia-mcpherson-1957.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cinnamon-teal-drake-flight-mia-mcpherson-1957.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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McPherson","date":"November 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last December on the way off of Antelope Island I saw huge flocks of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake and liked how they appeared through my viewfinder.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flock of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake. 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