Photo Friday: Foraging Together

A couple of weeks ago I watched this pair of Northern Shovelers forage for quite some time. For much of it, these two just continued to circle each other occasionally dipping below the surface of the water for a bite. They would occasionally stop and look around and then continue this circling. After a while another pair came by and there was a brief, but intense confrontation. The colorful male shown here was victorious and ultimately held his ground… or water?

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 500 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/6.3, 1/1250 sec.
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri