A Dabbling Duck: The Northern Shoveler

A morning walk discovery at a nearby wetland...

What a treat it was to spy an unusual migratory duck in my neighborhood.

Their mysterious behavior caught my eye.

These beauties were spinning in circles while keeping their head in the water.

Was this a duck game? I had to find out more.

Here is what I learned:

The Northern Shoveler is a migrating duck with the curious behavior of swimming in circles. This clue alone led me to identify their species. A give-away clue was their unusual behaving of going round and round. As they "pinwheel" about, they stir up and sift food with an large and extraordinary spoon-shaped bill.

Those "pinwheels" remind my of my work as an author.

We, too, go about the work of sifting ideas for stories.

And, authors dig deep, and indeed, we do shovel.

Maybe this feeling I sometimes have of going in circles is not such a bad thing.

Thank you, Northern Shoveler! 

Again, nature gives us the gift of reflection and learning.

Photo captured March 8, 2018 at local wetland pond.