My first post of a northern shoveler was one horrible photo taken at Merritt Island NWR in Florida. My second post I got much better photos at Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It included some breeding males with green heads and other beautiful colors. They were pretty long distance, however.
I got some better photos, in some respects, recently at the Tule Lake NWR in northeastern California, near the Oregon border. They are of females or non-breeding males. The distinctively shaped bill, looking like it has been only partially varnished; an orangish eye that sticks out of its dark brown/black head; and its bright orange legs that are just barely visible, make it one of the more distinctive looking ducks.
The bill looks enormously long, and that orange eye is just plain creepy.
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