Winter Coat

Every time I go birding I learn something new about birds! At Colusa NWR we kept seeing these ducks with yellow eyes and wide bills. They looked like Shovelers to me, but I thought they might be something different because I'd never seen a (male) Shoveler without a green head and bold rufous and white coloring.

Sure enough, after doing some research, it turns out that they are Northern Shovelers! The males remain in a drab, female-like eclipse until early winter...

And 1st-winter males often show a whitish crescent on their face...

Good to know!