My, What a Strange Bill You Have!

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Daniel Cadieux

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tn_Northern Shoeler_3511-1.jpg

For many of you a Northern Shoveler is not that unusual, but for us up here having an over-wintering one is a big deal...and having it tame is an even bigger deal. It's been photographed a lot, and by many people, most of us that had never seen one up close before. Unfortunately it is mingling with a bunch of mallards that tend to get in the way, but it is kind enough to allow tight portraiture. Here I was glad to have this neat preening pose showing off the many comb-like serrations that it uses to filter out water while trapping food. I like the look it was giving me here!

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/1600s., f/8, ISO 800, natural light, handheld, about 80% FF, a few flecks on the plumage spot-tooled out.
 
Great eye contact and detail! Im waiting for the day I find a tame duck here where I live. We get Blue and Green-winged Teals, Shovelers, Ringed necked, Lesser Scaup, but they are all next to impossible to get close to.
 
Loving the sharpness & clarity Daniel! The light well handled and the water well frozen in time! The eye contact and super sharp bill is a bonus - a thumbs up from me!
 
I agree with everyone. The orange feathers in the foreground competes against the overall balance of the shot,but there is nothing you can due about that. The eye contact is super!

Ed
 

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