Diving Shoveler

[aeshna5]

Has anyone else seen Shoveler repeatedly diving for food? Yesterday I was at a very wet Minsmere + we were in Island Mere Hide + there were 2 birds repeatedly diving for food- not the typical dabbling behaviour. I see this species every week from August to May + have never seen them dive before. They dived like an auk or some of the seaduck by outstretching their wings + used them like paddles as they submerged.

Unfortunately I missed an Otter from this hide which showed up shortly after I left- drats!!

Another curiosity was an all white Black-headed Gull apart from dark primaries. Other highlights included a solitary Waxwing by car park, a Brambling, family parties Bewick's Swan, pair Bullfinch + a pair of exceedingly tame Muntjac, the female nibbling grass outside tearoom! The grand finale : some 12,000 Starlings swirling in the skies before coming into roost- what a spectacle!

[John]

I must admit that i can't recall seeing a Shoveller doing that myself.

Regarding the Muntjac. I have seen them being relatively tame but that is extraordinary. I wish I had been there with my camera.

Shame you missed the Otter. The only one's I have ever seen have been in Scotland and I am yet to see my first one south of the border.

If the weather there was anything like ours over here then you were a brave man to venture out in it as it was torrential rain for most of the day here. Considering the conditions you had some nice birds. The lone Waxwing was a bonus.

Regarding the Starlings. I was talking to someone, whilst I was at Slimbridge,who actually lives in Westhay, Somerset (home of the largest Starling Roost in the UK). He tells me that the current numbers are not high and those that are there have split into three groups instead of one. He also reckons that the continental birds still haven't arrived to boost the numbers up.

This seems to be a bit of a trend on a fair few of the wintering visitors in Europe. When I was in Spain virtually nothing had come down from the North. Hardly any Wildfowl to be seen on Donana and looking at a few of our reserves and reservoirs I have noted that the numbers are well down on previous years.

John

[nightshade]

Re starlings I have been told there are several Sparrowhawks in close attendance
could these have caused the flock to split?

[John]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Re starlings I have been told there are several Sparrowhawks in close attendance
could these have caused the flock to split?

I doubt it. I have witnessed Peregrines continually attacking large flocks of Starlings and they always stay together. It is their best defence. To split up gives the predator the edge.

John

[mrs fish]

Wet it truly was yesterday in Suffolk, your sightings of the day sound really good though
One waxwing in Suffolk!
It is even mild in Scandanavia and the alps haven't had their normal amount of snow yet. The last two winters have been like this and feb/march we have had strong cold easterly winds and snow, even april/may last year we had cold easterly winds, even the birds didn't use E/NE facing nest boxes.

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by John

Regarding the Muntjac. I have seen them being relatively tame but that is extraordinary. I wish I had been there with my camera.

Regarding the Starlings.
John

Well John, if you take your camera to Minsmere, you are
almost certain to see the Munkjac by the visitor centre
around midday!

s/he comes round to gobble up the droppings from
the feeders.

To-day a little girl went out through the doors (discreetly)
and was eight foot from the little devil and he showed
no fear.

The starlings are alleged to now be up to 25,000 per night.
16.05 at Dunwich Cliffs Nat Trust site is the best view.
Even my non-birding missus was excited by them to-night!

The otters are seen quite often - sadly not by me - yet!

[John]

Originally Posted by Hobjob

Well John, if you take your camera to Minsmere, you are
almost certain to see the Munkjac by the visitor centre
around midday!

s/he comes round to gobble up the droppings from
the feeders.

To-day a little girl went out through the doors (discreetly)
and was eight foot from the little devil and he showed
no fear.

The starlings are alleged to now be up to 25,000 per night.
16.05 at Dunwich Cliffs Nat Trust site is the best view.
Even my non-birding missus was excited by them to-night!

The otters are seen quite often - sadly not by me - yet!

I will be definitely going to Minsmere at the end of April but I'm not sure if I will get there before then but I will keep the Muntjac info in mind.

Thanks for the info.

John

[woslxn]

I saw two shovellers at Upton Warren, Worcestershire, repeatedly diving on Sunday 04/11/07.

[davidbale]

I've been observing diving Shoveler at the Settlement Lagoons since 13th November. In ten visits since then, today was the first time I saw no diving. This was because the six Shoveler on the Lagoon in front of the hide (the only one where I've seen this behaviour) were all resting. I waited for 40 minutes, but had to content myself with watching the feeding green sandpiper, redshank and 45 teal.

There were another 15 Shoveler visible on the adjacent lagoons but they too were resting or feeding in the usual Shoveler-sifting manner.

I've witnessed up to eight diving Shoveler (five drakes and three ducks). On average they dive for 5-6 seconds. The record while I've been watching is 9 seconds. They are definitely feeding: they return to the surface with bits of weed in their bills and often dip the tip in the water briefly before swallowing, like you or I might take a sip of water for the same purpose.

The shovelers are strong divers, opening their wings slightly in the act of diving rather like an auk. It is not hesitantly done, but seems innate and instinctive. At first I was convinced by the senior ranger at my home reserve who said that this behaviour was typical of birds from Welney when the ducks and swans are regularly fed corn each day. There has been a certain influx of Welney birds this year due to the low water levels there, so it seemed a plausible explanation.

However having spoken to an ex-member of the Welney staff who actually used to do the feeding, I learnt that over a considerable period she never observed Shoveler availing themselves of the corn feed and to this day declares she has never seen a Shoveler dive!

So, the plot thickens. I suspect it has something to so with the water level in the lagoon at Grafham in front of the hide. Today the water level was appreciably higher. Could that have anything to do with the lack of feeding today even though it was at a similar time to the other days when I have visited.

If anyone is interested, I'll keep you posted.

[aeshna5]

Yes, I've been to Welney many times over the years + though Shoveler are found at the site I've never noticed them in the scrum at feeding time- lots of swans, geese, Coot, Mallard + especially Pochard (90+% male) dominating the mixed ensemble. I've certainly never seen one dive.

It doesn't appear to be regular behaviour for this species, but maybe learnt to exploit certain feeding oppurtunities + this behaviour then copied by congeners.

Always fascinating to observe unusual behaviour like this + good to hear of your observations.