Australasian Shoveler

Three good things about today.

I don't know where to start. Yes I do.

1. The smell of fresh baking bread in the house. I love to bake, and my passion at the moment is sourdough. I've kept this latest batch of starter going for more than a month now, and as it ages it gets better and better. I dare say that the only thing that smells better than the bread is the taste of it fresh from the oven dripping in butter.

2. Seeing a new species of birds at the wetlands up in Mount Barker. Actually more than one new species. And lots of native flowers, and sunshine. And people walking their dogs. And a yummy lunch in the main street. Although Mt. Barker is more or less an outer suburb of Adelaide these days, it still retains that country town feel which is absolutely charming.

3. Buying a real bargain on the instant, which is your size, your colour and a third the regular price, on a top branded item. It's such fun going to try it on, it fits like a glove, and you hand the ticket to the sales girl, and tell her you'll wear it now please.

It's been a great day!!

Australasian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis)

The Australasian Shoveler is a low-floating, dark headed duck, with a low sloping forehead blending to a heavy, square-cut, shovel-tipped bill. The male in breeding plumage has a deep grey-blue head with a vertical white crescent between the bright-yellow eye and the bill The back and rump are black, and the shoulder and wing coverts are blue-grey with several white bars. The underparts are chestnut, with white patches to the rear of the flanks. Outside the breeding season, the males are much duller. Females have mottled brown upperparts, chestnut underparts, and a dark brown eye.

It is a filter feeder, using special lamellae (grooves) along the edges of the bill to filter insects, crustaceans and a variety of plants from the water. This specialised bill limits the Shoveler's foraging range to aquatic habitats on open water or soft mud in fertile wetlands.