Cricket,
?
Pretty common feeding technique for shovelers.? They do it to stir up whatever is in the water.? It's a real treat to see them at Ft. Steilicoom Park this time of year; some circling in pairs, and some groups of 15 or more, looking for all the world like kids on a merry-go-round. Good observation.
?
-Rolan

Rolan Nelson
Fircrest, WA
rnbuffle at yahoo.com

--- On Mon, 2/6/12, Cricket <birdnerd at inlandwireless.com> wrote:


From: Cricket <birdnerd at inlandwireless.com>
Subject: [Tweeters] Spinning Shoveler
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Date: Monday, February 6, 2012, 3:03 PM



Hi Tweeters,

We stopped at Nisqually yesterday on the way home from Portland.? Really nice day with lots of birds.?

At the Nisqually River Overlook there was a female Northern Shoveler doing a Phalarope imitation, swimming around and around and dabbling at the surface (rather than tipping up to get to the bottom.) I stayed and watched for sometime.? After awhile she moved about a duck length away and began spinning again. ? I have never seen or read about this behavior before.? Is this common?? I have seen Phalarope but thought they were the only species that did this trick.

Puzzled in Cle Elum

Cricket Webb
birdnerd at inlandwireless.com???

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