"Its oversize, spatulate bill is the chief claim to fame of the northern shoveler ... The shoveler sits low in the water with its bill angled downward as if too heavy to hold up ... The female is the typical mottled brown of most other female ducks, but her outsized bill makes identification relatively easy." (John L. Tveten. The Birds of Texas. P. 82.)

"Common to abundant migrant and winter resident throughout the state. Northern shovelers are present in large numbers between early September and mid-May." (Mark W. Lockwood & Brush Freeman. The TOS Handbook of Texas Birds. P. 8.)

Photo taken with a Nikon D300 using a manual focus Nikon 400mm f/5.6 lens.

September 26, 2015.