Subject: [Tweeters] Spinning Shoveler
Date: Feb 6 17:46:19 2012
From: Rob Sandelin - nwnature1 at gmail.com


Just a few days ago I was able to watch a group of shovelers do this, at
close range with a scope. I had wondered what they were eating when they did
this behavior and what I saw was they were eating floating algae. It
appeared that by crusing in a circle it concentrated the algae in the
middle, or maybe they somehow pushed the water with their feet in such a way
to bring the bits of floating algae together to eat.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County

_____

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Rolan
Nelson
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 4:24 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu; Cricket
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Spinning Shoveler



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
<http://us.mc1215.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=birdnerd at inlandwireless.com>



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