Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

 

Description

Ducks at a Distance
Waterfowl Identification

If you put aside your prejudices for a second, you'll see that the shoveler is a really interesting duck. It is very different from other ducks, especially in how it looks. Its bill is unmistakably wide and long, which automatically sets this duck apart from all others on the ground and in flight. The shoveler carries a large blue patch on the forewing, which could be confused with blue-winged or cinnamon teal in flight from a distance, except that the shoveler is noticeably larger.

Perhaps the most visible diagnostic characteristic of the northern shoveler is its large, spoon shaped bill, which widens towards the tip and creates a shape unique among North American waterfowl. Male northern shovelers have an iridescent green head and neck, white chest and breast, and chestnut belly and sides. They have a white stripe extending from the breast along the margin of the gray-brown back, and white flank spots. The wings have a gray-blue shoulder patch, which is separated from a brilliant green speculum by a tapered white stripe. The bill is black in breeding plumage and the legs and feet are orange. During display male will utter a repeated liquid, hollow "g-dunk g-dunk g-dunk" often in flight as well as from water. Female northern shovelers have a light brownish head with a blackish crown, and a brownish speckled body. The upper wing coverts are grayish-blue, the greater secondary coverts are tipped with white, and the secondaries are brown with a slight greenish sheen. The bill is olive-green, with fleshy-orange in the gape area, and speckled with black dots.

Breeding

Northern shovelers breed in the parklands, short- and mixed-grass prairies of Canada, and the grasslands of the north central USA. They prefer shallow marshes that are mud-bottomed and rich in invertebrate life. Nest sites are generally located on the ground in grassy areas lacking woody cover and away from open water.

Shovelers are one of the latest breeders of all dabblers which some believe contributes to their abundance. It seems that ducks tend to have better nesting success later in the season, perhaps because there are more alternative food sources around for predators to focus on.

Female northern shovelers lay an average of 9 eggs.

Migrating and Wintering

Northern shovelers fly from the prairie pothole region through the Pacific or Central Flyway, with major stopover areas in the Great Salt Lake, Malheur Basin, and Carson Sink. They winter in California, coastal Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico, and the north and central highlands of Mexico. Wintering habitat includes fresh and brackish coastal marshes, and ponds. Saltwater wetlands are generally avoided.

Population

Northern shoveler populations have shown a fluctuating but consistent rise since the 1950s. The 2001 breeding population survey was 3.3 million birds, which is well above the North American Waterfowl Management Plan target population of 2 million.

Food Habits

Northern shovelers feed by dabbling and sifting in shallow water. Seeds of sedges, bulrushes, saw grass, smartweeds, pondweeds, algae, and duckweeds, also aquatic insects, mollusks, and crustaceans are consumed by filtering water which is taken in at the bill tip and jetted out at the base.

The large bill of the shoveler is unique in being ideally suited to allow the birds to strain tiny invertebrates (i.e., "water bugs") out of the water as it swims. The summer and winter diet of shovelers is dominated by these small aquatic organisms, although small seeds are also consumed. The foraging strategy of shovelers may result in a lack of competition for food with other waterfowl and therefore a potential competitive advantage.