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Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:02 am
by Grahame
Map of the distribution of Northern Shoveler for the Western Palearctic.

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 12:04 pm
by Clinton9
Orange = around the whole year ???
Green = wintering ???
Red = summering ??? / breeding ???

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 12:21 pm
by Grahame
My apologies Clinton9, et al,

You are correct in your logic,
Red--Summer Orange--All year
Green--Winter

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 5:33 pm
by erikforsyth
Hi all

I see wintering birds in Thailand, Korea and Japan between October and March. They also winter in the Philippines. These birds breed in the Russian Far East and NE China.

I believe the birds wintering in the south occasionally reach Australia and NZ.

cheers
Erik Forsyth
Rockjumper Birding Tours
www.rockjumperbirding.com

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:40 am
by andrewcrossland
Guys, guys, guys ................ we don't live downwind of the Western Palearctic............ has there ever been a single bone fide record of a bird in this country (other than that Swedish-banded Arctic Tern found dead on a beach in Stewart Island) that plumage, moult timing or structural features suggested it came from the Western Palearctic?

For the purposes of understanding the migratory birds that reach these shores, reference to what happens in the Western Palearctic is almost always gonna confuse the issue!

For example: Our Bar-tailed godwits turn red in Feb, European ones don't; Our common terns have black bills, European ones don't; Our Black-tailed Godwits are smaller than our Bar-tails, in Europe their sub-species are the reverse; Our visting Northern Shoveler are in full, bright breeding plumage in May/June, while European ones are (according to Sav's recent posting) already at a different stage. etc, etc.

Its time to chuck all those European field notes in the red bin and focus instead on literature from East Asia, Hongkong, Japan, Korea, SE Asia, NW Arctic North America. Its also time (if folks have the chance) to do some expeditionary trips to East Asia and document the timing of plumage changes to try and rectify the paucity of accurate information...

Here's an example: In Feb-May 1997 I spent 4 months studying waders and terns in Sumatra: Here's my notes on White-winged Black Tern plumage changes: (similar observations on Northern Shoveler etc would be useful....)

28 Feb (400+ birds) all in winter plumage. very few showing any colour.

3 Mar some beginning to moult into BP, the most advanced moult stage being in <1/2 BP

11 Mar wide assortment of plumages from full winter to < 1/2 BP

17 Mar (400+ birds) wide assortment of wing patterns.

23 Mar most birds showing black under-wings, white upper wings, but body feathers still white

25 Mar appearance of first birds in "dalmatian" plumage - black splots on body

31 Mar many in dalmatian plumage (also first big influxes of assumed Australian waders on passage - Red Knots, Black-tailed Godwits & Terek Sandpipers)

2 April (300+ birds) WW Bl Terns in 1/3 - 2/3 BP but none with fully black bodies yet (c.f. Whiskered Terns which are all in BP).

14 April (980 birds) Big influx. Majority now have fully black bodies (full BP), with remainder in "dalmatian" plumage. (contra: Most adult Whiskered Terns, Little Terns, & Gull-billed Terns have almost all departed, leaving mainly birds in imm/juv plumage)

17 April Huge nos (thousands) along coastline and well inland (up to 15km) over ricefields and fish ponds.

19 April and 22 April Several groups observed on northward migration across Straits of Malacca during Ferry crossing from Sumatra to Penang (Malaysia). Also observed was a northward passage of Pomarine Skua.

23 April most birds in full BP

24 April (200+ birds) numbers declining, big drop in numbers . All whiskered terns and most Little Terns now gone.

4 May small numbers, all adults in BP, small nos of juv/imms.

12 May (<100 birds). Almost all juv/imms. Very few adults remain.

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 12:04 pm
by Clinton9
Pre-breeding moults of Northern shovelers take 3 months (c.f Mallard duck pre-breeding moult take a month).

When Northern shovelers migrate south on September, they are in esclipe plumages.

They start prebreeding moults on February.

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 1:20 pm
by Clinton9
I had been looking at photos of adult male Northern shovelers from esclipse plumages to breeding plumages, I notice that seems Northern shoveler had three body moults...eslipse plumage (take 2 months to moult from breeding plumage), supplementary plumage, (take two months to molut from eclipse pumage), breeding plumage (take 3 months to moult from supplementary plumage). Take a month to renew these flight feathers.

If supplementary plumage exist, this means shovelers have 8 months moulting season
If supplementary plumage do not exist, this means shovelers have 6 months moulting season.

Mallard ducks have 3 months moulting season.

Adult Red-billed gulls have 10 months moulting season (January to October) Post breeding moult January to May and pre breeding moult August to October.

Re: Northern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 6:47 pm
by erikforsyth
Hi All

as I said in my previous post, the birds that reach NZ are from NE China or the Russian Far East


erikforsyth wrote:Hi all

I see wintering birds in Thailand, Korea and Japan between October and March. They also winter in the Philippines. These birds breed in the Russian Far East and NE China.

I believe the birds wintering in the south occasionally reach Australia and NZ.

cheers
Erik Forsyth
Rockjumper Birding Tours
http://www.rockjumperbirding.com

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 11:14 pm
by Clinton9
Very very strange for 5 male Northern shovelers to remain overwintering in NZ, instead of migrating back to northern east Asia to breed.

Re: Nortrhern Shoveler Distribution

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 6:47 am
by Liam Ballard
6 now!