Yesterday, two male Australasian Shovelers were fighting in front of Bittern Hide. The aggressive behaviour continued for about 5 minutes (most captured on video) with various behaviours such as beak opening, head bobbing, cutting each
other off, lunging at each other, trying to grab the tail area and hitting with their wings. They separated briefly when other males and a female paddled past and between them (some of them head bobbing) but they quickly resumed. It did not appear to be over
a female as none was present most of the time. In the video linked below you can hear them hitting out with their wings, aiming for the head of the other bird. The head of one bird shows evidence of being hit and is most obvious in the slow motion footage
at the end.
Steve
http://www.hbw.com/ibc/1384338
