F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 400.
Northern Shoveler
What did the duck say when he dropped the dishes?
“I hope I didn’t quack any!”
Interesting Fact: Females use their body, feet, and bill to make a small depression on the ground about 8 inches wide. The nest scrape is usually surrounded on at least three sides by vegetation and lined with downy feathers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shoveler/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.
Wood Ducks
A man and a woman have just had their 50th wedding anniversary.
The husband turns to his wife and asks, “What do you want to do to celebrate our anniversary dear?”
She replies, “Let’s run upstairs and make love.”
He turns to her and says, “Well make up your mind, we can’t do both!”
Interesting Fact: Egg-dumping, or “intraspecific brood parasitism” is common in Wood Ducks—females visit other Wood Duck cavities, lay eggs in them, and leave them to be raised by the other female. This may have been made more common by the abundance and conspicuousness of artificial nest boxes; in some areas it happens in more than half of all nests. Individual females typically lay 10-11 eggs per clutch, but some very full nests have been found containing 29 eggs, the result of egg-dumping. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory#behavior )
F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 320.
American Wigeon
I went to a really emotional wedding over the weekend.
Interesting Fact: The American Wigeon’s short bill enables it to exert more force at the bill tip than other dabbling ducks, thus permitting efficient dislodging and plucking of vegetation. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Wigeon/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 160.
Wood Duck
What do you call an old snowman?
Water!
Interesting Fact: Breeding pairs search for nest cavities during early morning. The male stands outside as the female enters and examines the site. They typically choose a tree more than 1 foot and often 2 feet in diameter, with a cavity anywhere from 2–60 feet high (higher sites seem to be preferred). ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Northern Shoveler
At what time does a duck wake up?
At the quack of dawn.
Interesting Fact: When flushed off the nest, a female Northern Shoveler often defecates on its eggs, apparently to deter predators. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shoveler/overview )
F/ 10.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
Northern Shoveler
What do you call a kid who doesn’t believe in Santa?
A rebel without a Claus.
Interesting Fact: They are often referred to as the “Spoonbill” or “Spoony” because of their unique spatulate shaped bill, which has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges, for straining food from water. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/97/overview/Northern_Shoveler.aspx )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 200.
Wood Duck
A really big drunk walked into a bar and, after staring for some time at the only woman seated at the bar, walked over to her and kissed her.
She jumped up and slapped him silly.
He immediately apologized and explained, “I’m sorry. I thought you were my wife. You look exactly like her.”
“Why you worthless, insufferable, wretched, no good drunk!” she screamed.
“Funny,” he muttered, “you even sound exactly like her.”
Interesting Fact: Wood Ducks seem to fare best when open water alternates with 50–75% vegetative cover that the ducks can hide and forage in. This cover can consist of downed trees, shrubs such as alder, willow, and buttonbush, as well as emergent herbaceous plants such as arrowhead and smartweeds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Northern Shoveler ( Female )
How do you know if there’s a snowman in your bed?
You wake up wet!
Interesting Fact: Northern shovelers feed by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging its bill from side to side and using the bill to strain food from the water. They use their highly specialized bill (from which their name is derived) to forage for aquatic invertebrates – a carnivorous diet. Their wide-flat bill is equipped with well-developed lamellae – small, comb-like structures on the edge of the bill that act like sieves, allowing the birds to skim crustaceans and plankton from the water’s surface. This adaptation, more specialized in shovelers, gives them an advantage over other puddle ducks, with which they do not have to compete for food resources during most of the year. Thus, mud-bottomed marshes rich in invertebrate life are their habitat of choices. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_shoveler#Behavior )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 400.
Northern Shoveler
A jumper cable walks into a bar.
The bartender says, “I’ll serve you, but don’t start anything.”
Interesting Fact: Northern Shovelers don’t just occur in the Americas, they also breed across Europe and spend the winter throughout Europe, Africa, and India. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shoveler )
Through Open Lens 