Bluewing Teal and American Shoveler pairs - Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Tittusville, Florida

Seems like Ms Shovel and Whiteface are happy, but Ms Bluewing seems to have second thoughts about her half of the deal!

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Northern Shoveler Duck pair (a.k.a. Tray-billed Ducks¹) - Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida

Back and forth and back and forth went the focus (male/fem, male/fem) to get the captures for this dual focus composite. I could have gone all ƒ/16-y on them but didn't want the ISO 400 noise, or the chanciness of a 1/100 second capture at 600 mm, so a dual focus composite it was. And like they say in the New Jersey Lottery, "You gotta be in it to win it!" So I'm feelin' a bit like a winner here, but I won't be buyin' any Ferrari's with the winnings from this image!

¹ Not really. Sometimes I just make stuff up . . .

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Northern Shoveler Duck pair - Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida

When going for the wide open, low angle POV (with most of the water OOF), you usually have to settle for a single bird in focus. But here I got lucky, and captured them equidistant (with both their head's up, as they came to 90° as they rotated during a ritualistic feeding flirtation). Sometimes you can see these opportunities coming, but having both with their heads up at the right moment in time does indeed require a bit of luck, though the odds do get better the more time you spend in "the field".

Yowzer,
who even knew you could have 2 pics in "Explore"
on the same day???   ͒͜ ̴ ͒

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Northern Shoveler duck pair - Black Point Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida

In this capture dah wife stands/floats watch while her hubby eats, 'cause who knows what that guy on the shore might be up to with that big honkin' Canon.

The side story:
If cows could fly, this guy mighta been named the "Chestnut-sided Algie Cow", but then I guess we'll have to wait for pigs to fly before that happens.

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Northern Shoveler

A male protecting his lady.
More from other competing males than grom the photographer (me).

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