There are Northern shovelers at Green Lake right now.

Bob Mauritsen
Seattle


On Sat, 27 Dec 1997, William Ward wrote:

> Tweeterites -- did I see what I thought I saw? Friday morning at
> Nisqually, in the now marshy area just as you head out the road to
> McAllister Creek, looking south, saw a pair of ducks that I id'd as
> Northern Shovelers. There was a brightly colored bird and a nondescript
> brownish bird with it. The bright bird had a green head, but unlike the
> male Mallard had a very definite burnt orange swath of color on its
> flanks, with white fore and aft. Couldn't make out the bills against the
> gray-brown background of decaying grasses. This pair was separate from
> large flocks of Wigeons and Mallards nearby. On getting home and taking
> a closer look at my Nat'l Geographic guide I noted Northern Shovelers
> should only be in Washington State in summer, not in winter. Would
> appreciate some help on this one. Did I really see Northern Shovelers?
> Has anyone else seen them at Nisqually this time of year? Is the field
> guide a little off, as one hears they are? Or do I need to write a
> hundred times: "Hey, dumby, you are looking at a Mallard"?
>
> Thanks in advance, and good birding!
>
> Bill Ward
> Lacey WA
> wward at cco.net
>
>
>