600 Shovelers Shoveling

That title “600 Shovelers Shoveling”, sounds like a headline you might see in any East Coast paper at the moment.  Poor dears, being hammered with ice and snow as I write this, but actually, it refers to ducks.  Northern Shoveler’s get their name from their huge shovel-like bill, the largest bill of any North American duck for that matter, that they swing back and forth in the water to strain out their main food diet of invertebrates.

Lucky for me, although you will hear they are found mostly in small groups of no more than 20, that is not true in winter, when they congregate here, south of San Antonio on Lake Mitchell and on other southwest ponds in the hundreds, perhaps thousands.  To come upon them, practically covering the surface of the pond was incredible. 

And cooler yet, they were all in the act of “shoveling”! (My word-there is probably a more scientific word for it, seining maybe)  You see them with their bills low in the water, sort of swinging them back and forth and just plowing along.  The wide bill strains out the water and keeps the tasty invertebrates.  Some were plowing sort of shoulder to shoulder, while in another section of the pond they were forming tight groups and swimming quickly in a circle.  Looked like ducks at a hoedown!  But what they are really doing is creating a whirlpool that will bring the critters up from the bottom to the top where they can scoop them up.  Reminded me of humpback whales that make a bubble net that traps the fish in a column that they can feed easily from. 

I feel I was lucky to see them, for the weather is quickly getting warmer and they will be heading north to nest in western Canada and our north central states. 

On the same ponds were quite a number of Ruddy Ducks, a favorite of mine ever since we lived in VA and we would see them along Chesapeake bay.  What is interesting, is the way so many different species can share the food supply found in a pond by feeding in slightly different ways.  Whereas the Shovelers, for the most part, feed at the surface straining out food, the Ruddy Ducks make for the bottom, straining the invertebrates with their specialized bill from the muddy bottom.  They also feed more often at night than by day, so the poor damselfly larvae can’t catch a break!  Ruddy Ducks are so interesting that they really deserve their own blog, which they shall get when I find some time.

 

I must say, getting acclimated to February being spring is still difficult for me, It means the Outdoor Classroom at Cibolo Nature Center where I volunteer is in full swing, the yard needs work and the baby opossums and raccoons are starting to fill up the Wildlife Rescue place that I also volunteer at.  So, although there is finally more to write about, there is scant time to do so.  But next time I get an opportunity, the Ruddy Duck shall get its due.  Till then, all my northern friends, keep shoveling; had we not had to move, I would have been right there with you.