Aquatic Birds

Fast Food

I was at the fence overlooking the WRL lower spillway steps when I saw this mallard exhibiting behavior new to me. He would walk up to the top of the incline them swim backwards with his beak under water, swiveling it back and forth rapidly. Hit the bottom then walk back up and do it all over again. Turns out there was a lot of tiny silver shad being carried over the edge and down the spillway steps. All the duck had to do was position its bill and scoop them up, gulp and repeat.
Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

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