Surprise appearance at Dutch Gap
January 19th, 2011
I always make a trip to Dutch Gap when I visit Richmond. It's a conservation area on the James River. In winter, the hotspot is the marshes, where wintering waterfowl congregate, and Bald Eagles often perch in the branches above. There's no boardwalk (used to be, but they closed it down), but there are several points where you can stop your car and look out over the marsh from elevated platforms.
At the first lookout point, I saw some mystery ducks in the distance, swimming in and out of the vegetation. They had all-green heads like mallards, but their deep chestnut-colored flanks gave them away as something more exotic. I had no field guide on hand, but when I studied the pictures I took on my camera LCD and saw how long their bills were, I knew they could only be one thing: Northern Shovelers! A species I'd only ever seen at a huge distance away, in eclipse (drab brown) plumage, once. It's a rare species in Ottawa, at least at the places I frequent.
They were too far away for good photos. But we drove on to the next lookout point and struck gold: there was one swimming right out in the open!
These ducks forage with their long, spoon-shaped bills lowered in the water. Comblike projections (lamellae) around the edges of the bill strain out small crustaceans, aquatic insects and other food. Unlike some dabbling ducks, they don't tip up.
It takes a profile shot to show just how long the bill is:
January 19th, 2011
I always make a trip to Dutch Gap when I visit Richmond. It's a conservation area on the James River. In winter, the hotspot is the marshes, where wintering waterfowl congregate, and Bald Eagles often perch in the branches above. There's no boardwalk (used to be, but they closed it down), but there are several points where you can stop your car and look out over the marsh from elevated platforms.
At the first lookout point, I saw some mystery ducks in the distance, swimming in and out of the vegetation. They had all-green heads like mallards, but their deep chestnut-colored flanks gave them away as something more exotic. I had no field guide on hand, but when I studied the pictures I took on my camera LCD and saw how long their bills were, I knew they could only be one thing: Northern Shovelers! A species I'd only ever seen at a huge distance away, in eclipse (drab brown) plumage, once. It's a rare species in Ottawa, at least at the places I frequent.
They were too far away for good photos. But we drove on to the next lookout point and struck gold: there was one swimming right out in the open!
These ducks forage with their long, spoon-shaped bills lowered in the water. Comblike projections (lamellae) around the edges of the bill strain out small crustaceans, aquatic insects and other food. Unlike some dabbling ducks, they don't tip up.
It takes a profile shot to show just how long the bill is:
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Gillian
January 19th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Wow! Awesome photos! I've never been able to get close enough to this species to get such nice, detailed pictures. They sometimes show up at the Richmond Lagoon (how ironic!) in the spring sporting their breeding colours.
Suzanne
January 19th, 2011 at 11:43 pm
Yes, references to "Richmond" did make me blink for about the first year after I moved here :-)
I remember you pointing out the Richmond Lagoons to me on our last trip--they were less remote than I expected. I'll have to drop by there next spring.
Mike
January 20th, 2011 at 11:32 am
Colorful bird, isn't it? Especially contrasted against the gray water!
gabriel_le
January 20th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
welcome back btw.