Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

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Bev Alexander
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Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Bev Alexander » Sat May 08, 2021 1:22 pm

Saw 1 male Northern Shoveler at Pegasus Wetland this morning. Bird was seen resting with Aust. Shovelers in big pond on the north side of Tiritiri Maoana Dr. The same area 1 was seen at last year.
Happy birding.
Bev Alexander.
georgie
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Location: Ōtautahi Christchurch

Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby georgie » Sun May 09, 2021 6:34 pm

Great sighting Bev. No sign of the Northern Shoveler at any of the Pegasus Wetland and Lake Pegasus areas this afternoon. Bumped into two other groups of birders on the north side of Tiritiri Moana Dr and they had similarly had no luck today.
FraserGurney
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby FraserGurney » Thu May 13, 2021 3:54 pm

Had a quick look this afternoon but no Northern Shoveler on the main wetland or North of Tiritiri Moana Drive.
FraserGurney
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby FraserGurney » Fri May 28, 2021 4:57 pm

The Northern Shoveler was on the ponds North of Tiritiri Moana Drive this afternoon, on the northernmost pond tucked up under some willows. I wonder if it's been here all this time, out of sight of where is usually checked?
Bev Alexander
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Bev Alexander » Fri May 28, 2021 5:54 pm

Good spotting, Fraser. I had a quick check this afternoon (only with binos), did see a possible sighting behind an island at north end but was to lazy to walk further up to check it out. Crested Grebe still present.
georgie
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Location: Ōtautahi Christchurch

Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby georgie » Sat May 29, 2021 8:18 am

Great views in the lower half of the northern-most pond north of Tiritiri Moana Dr this morning. N Shoveler was feeding close to the path that bisects the two northern ponds. Thanks for the heads up!
andrewcrossland
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat May 29, 2021 9:15 am

Team, please keep the UBRs coming in for all these Northern Shovelers - they are all reportable and although some are absolute “no-brainers”, there are a lot of very similar looking NZ shovelers out there so it’s important for us all not to become lazy and ascribe a “positive ID” of northern shoveler to birds that are just poorly- or partly viewed NZ shovelers. We also need to know about birds switched to Southern Hemisphere breeding cycles, birds paired and breeding with NZ shovelers, confirmed or suspected hybrids, and the holy grail - a confirmed female northern shoveler (surely they arrived with the irruption of males?).
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sav
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby sav » Sat May 29, 2021 2:14 pm

Hey AC,

I absolutely agree that we should all keep on top of this Northern Shoveler "invasion".

Just for the record though, there has been a female seen in NZ. I know that because I found it. Phil Battley found a drake at Pauri Lake near Wanganui on 19 Aug 1989, and the next day I was with him when there was a pair present. Although the record was accepted by the OSNZ rarities Ctte (whatever it was called then?) the female has dropped out of the literature for no apparent reason. ie it isn't mentioned in the Checklist.

The other point worth thinking about is whether, or not, we should be expecting females. Whenever it is possible to assign gender, (young) males are the most prolific vagrants - outnumbering females by several times.

cheers
Sav Saville
Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ
Great Birds, Real Birders
andrewcrossland
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat May 29, 2021 4:28 pm

Yep, good points - I was meaning females this time young because of course whenever one had a beer with Phil back in the day the story of that Parrie lake pair was sure to come up!!
And yep, it’s entirely possible that just boys have made or down here, but keep keeping a look out guys!
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Dave H
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Re: Northern Shoveler, Pegasus, Canterbury.

Postby Dave H » Sat May 29, 2021 7:45 pm

i spent a little bit of time watching this male and it didn't seem to be associating with any particular female - definitely seemed to be a loner!

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