{"id":32332,"date":"2015-11-10T05:30:25","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T12:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=32332"},"modified":"2025-05-17T12:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T17:18:11","slug":"a-flock-of-northern-shovelers-feeding-on-the-great-salt-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/11\/10\/a-flock-of-northern-shovelers-feeding-on-the-great-salt-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Flock of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FlockFlock of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake – Nikon D810, f20, 1\/160, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically I try to isolate one subject to photograph to focus on the fine details but there are times I like to expand the view I show so that I can show herds or flocks of birds.<\/p>\n

Last December on the way off of Antelope Island I saw huge flocks of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake<\/span><\/a> and liked how they appeared through my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

I had forgotten about this image until last week while I was working on my waterfowl galleries. I should mention that these Northern Shovelers were close enough that I could hear their bills splashing the water.<\/p>\n

I also like how this image shows females and males both in breeding and eclipse plumage.<\/p>\n

Northern Shovelers are dabbling ducks that have elongated bills with comblike lamellae that filter their food.<\/p>\n

Here in northern Utah they can number in the hundreds of thousands during the winter. I see them both in freshwater and the saline Great Salt Lake.<\/p>\n

Last week I saw large flocks of Northern Shovelers close to Antelope Island on the south side of the causeway but not so many on the north side.<\/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":"

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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,429,26],"tags":[4004,4030,4053,4907,4717,4483,1129,126,2113,9889,4040,4070,4247,4359,5993,4905,4062,4031,1137,4716,6968,4903,975,2063,373],"class_list":["post-32332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-northern-shovelers","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-breeding","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-comblike","tag-dabbling-ducks","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-eclipse-plumage","tag-elongated-bills","tag-feeding","tag-female","tag-flock","tag-hen","tag-hypersaline-lake","tag-lamellae","tag-male","tag-nonbreeding","tag-northern-shoveler","tag-northern-shovelers","tag-shoveler","tag-shovelers","tag-spatula-clypeata","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t