Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4/5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 640

No story here.  Just a duck on a pond.  A flooded field, really.

A Shoveler Stretching Her Wings

Northern Shoveler -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 1000, f/5.6, 1/2000s

 There's nothing particularly exciting about these photos.  I like how they work together as a whole.  I've never seen a female northern shoveler look so pretty, so maybe that's the exciting part?

Northern Shoveler -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 1000, f/5.6, 1/2000s

Northern Shoveler -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 800, f/5.6, 1/1600s

Northern Shoveler -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5,6L IS II USM. ISO: 1000, f/5.6, 1/2000s

Northern Shoveler -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 800, f/5.6, 1/1600s

Daffy Duck

Northern Shoveler -- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 640, f/5.6, 1/1600s

When ducks go bad . . .

All Your Ducks Are Belong to Us

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Northern pintails and northern shovelers are packed in tight in this photo from a couple of years ago at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge.  The populations can get a bit dense in the winter.

Snow Geese & Friends

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II, 1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 320

I stopped at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on my way up to Oregon this weekend.  It's always more fun to go here with Pongo because he enjoys seeing all the wildlife as much as I do, but this was not a good trip to bring him along.  Just as well, my parents were cat sitting my sister's two new kittens.  Pongo and kittens would not be a good mix.

I think I hit the refuge at a bad time of day.  There were plenty of birds to see, but I've seen the refuge packed a lot tighter with birds than on this particular day.