{"id":1870,"date":"2011-02-11T16:45:39","date_gmt":"2011-02-11T23:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=1870"},"modified":"2025-05-17T11:57:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T16:57:28","slug":"northern-shovelers-blasting-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/02\/11\/northern-shovelers-blasting-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Shovelers blasting off"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NorthernBack lit Northern Shovelers\u00a0 blasting off – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This morning I went to Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a> in northern Utah to look around and see what birds I might find there to photograph today.<\/p>\n

After you have gone through the park entrance there is a seven mile long causeway to get to the island. In spring and summer you will find the shores along the causeway filled with thousands of shorebirds, a variety of gulls, American Kestrels, ducks, grebes and more.<\/p>\n

In the winter there are fewer species of birds present along the causeway but quite often there will be large flocks of ducks.<\/p>\n

This morning when I had almost reached the island I spotted a huge flock of ducks blasting off from the water and behind them one Bald Eagle which is apparently the reason the ducks lifted off.<\/p>\n

Despite the scene being back lit; which can be a challenging exposure, I took some images of the hundreds of ducks blasting off from the Great Salt Lake.<\/p>\n

This was one of a few images where I had the sense to drop my camera some to show the ducks still on the water taking flight and the water splashing up towards the shovelers that were already in flight.<\/p>\n

I liked this image when I first previewed it on my LCD screen and was anxious to get it uploaded so I could view it on my monitor. I liked this photo even more when I could see it “big” and could make out that the majority of the ducks in the image are Northern Shovelers.<\/p>\n

I’m glad I took the shots and didn’t pass up this opportunity to create this photo.<\/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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning when we had almost reached Antelope Island I spotted a huge flock of Northern Shovelers blasting off from the water <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,429,26],"tags":[4004,431,2485,4021,430,9888,432,4717,1129,126,4052,4122,4005,5993,5178,4282,1137,6968,4903,975,3792,373],"class_list":["post-1870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-northern-shovelers","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-antelope-island-causeway","tag-back-lit","tag-bird-photography","tag-blast-off","tag-blasting-off","tag-chaos","tag-dabbling-ducks","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-great-salt-lake","tag-hypersaline-lake","tag-lake","tag-lift-off","tag-northern-shoveler","tag-shoveler","tag-shovelers","tag-spatula-clypeata","tag-take-off","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shoveler-flock-mia-mcpherson-3277.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ua","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35189,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/02\/whirlpool-of-feeding-northern-shovelers-on-the-great-salt-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":1870,"position":0},"title":"Whirlpool of Feeding Northern Shovelers on the Great Salt Lake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It is interesting to see this whirlpool effect of Northern Shovelers on the surface of the Great Salt Lake and to hear the sounds of their bills dabbling in the water.","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":"Whirlpool of feeding Northern Shovelers near the causeway to Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shovelers-feeding-mia-mcpherosn-9408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shovelers-feeding-mia-mcpherosn-9408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shovelers-feeding-mia-mcpherosn-9408.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shovelers-feeding-mia-mcpherosn-9408.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97768,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/29\/remembering-higher-water-in-the-great-salt-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":1870,"position":1},"title":"Remembering Higher Water In The Great Salt Lake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I came across this photo of a Green-winged Teal with Northern Shovelers in the surf of the Great Salt Lake that I took in December of 2011 yesterday. It was a punch in the gut.","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":"Green-winged Teal with Northern Shovelers in the surf of the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/green-winged-teal-northern-shoveler-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-3134.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/green-winged-teal-northern-shoveler-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-3134.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/green-winged-teal-northern-shoveler-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-3134.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/green-winged-teal-northern-shoveler-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-3134.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32332,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/11\/10\/a-flock-of-northern-shovelers-feeding-on-the-great-salt-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":1870,"position":2},"title":"Flock of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake","author":"Mia 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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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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/northern-shovelers-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-7486.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":126291,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/28\/drake-northern-shoveler-and-american-coot\/","url_meta":{"origin":1870,"position":4},"title":"Drake Northern Shoveler And American Coot","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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?","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Northern Shoveler swimming by, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shoveler-drake-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0987.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shoveler-drake-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0987.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shoveler-drake-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0987.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-shoveler-drake-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0987.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97664,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/26\/drake-northern-shoveler-landing-on-a-chilly-pond\/","url_meta":{"origin":1870,"position":5},"title":"Drake Northern Shoveler Landing On A Chilly Pond","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing a simple photo of a drake Northern Shoveler landing on a chilly pond that I took in early December of last year.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Northern Shoveler landing on a pond, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/northern-shoveler-drake-landing-mia-mcpherson-7223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/northern-shoveler-drake-landing-mia-mcpherson-7223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/northern-shoveler-drake-landing-mia-mcpherson-7223.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/northern-shoveler-drake-landing-mia-mcpherson-7223.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}