8-10-2025 EL HONDO, ALICANTE - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

The Northern Shoveler, known in Britain simply as the shoveler, is a distinctive species with a broad, spatulate bill that sets it apart from other ducks. The male, or drake, in breeding plumage boasts an iridescent dark green head, a white chest, and chestnut flanks and belly. When in flight, one can observe the pale blue feathers on the forewing, edged with white and set against a green speculum. The female is more subdued in color, mottled brown akin to other dabblers, but her large, gray bill with orange hints is a clear identifier.

To identify the Northern Shoveler, look for the following characteristics:

Large, spatulate bill

Males: Iridescent dark green head, white chest, chestnut belly and flanks

Females: Mottled brown, similar to a female mallard but with a distinctive bill

In flight: Pale blue forewing feathers with a white border and green speculum

Size: Length of 48 cm (19 in), wingspan of 76 cm (30 in), and weight of 600 g (1.3 lb)

The Northern Shoveler frequents open wetlands such as wet grasslands or marshes with emergent vegetation. They prefer mud-bottomed marshes rich in invertebrate life.

This species has a broad breeding range across northern Europe, the Palearctic, and most of North America. It winters in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia.

Northern Shovelers are known for their unique foraging behavior, swimming rapidly in circles to create a funnel effect that brings food to the surface. They feed by dabbling for plant food and straining aquatic invertebrates from the water with their specialized bills. During the breeding season, males are territorial and perform elaborate courtship displays. They are fairly quiet, with males emitting a clunking call and females quacking like a mallard.

The male Northern Shoveler produces a clunking call, while the female's vocalization resembles a quack similar to that of a mallard.

Shovelers prefer to nest in grassy areas away from open water. The nest is a shallow depression lined with plant material and down, where the female typically lays about nine eggs. Males defend their territory and mates vigorously during the breeding season.

The diet consists primarily of plant food and aquatic invertebrates. The shoveler's bill is equipped with lamellae, which allow it to efficiently sift food from the water.

27-11-2024 MARJAL DE MOROS PUCOL, VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

The Northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata) is a widespread species of duck unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. In Britain, it is known simply as the shoveler. One part of its scientific name Spatula is the Latin for a "spoon" or "spatula"; the other part is derived from the Latin clypeata and can be translated as "shield-bearing".

During the breeding season, the male of this species has an iridescent dark green head, white breast, and chestnut belly and flanks. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border. In early fall the male will have a white crescent on each side of the face. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the male resembles the female. The female is a drab mottled brown like other dabblers, with plumage much like a female mallard, but easily distinguished by the long broad bill, which is gray-tinged with orange on the cutting edge and lower mandible. The female's forewing is gray.

Northern shovelers breed in wide areas across Eurasia, western North America, and the Great Lakes region of the United States. They are strongly migratory and winter in southern Europe, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the Caribbean, northern South America, the Malay Archipelago, Japan, and other areas. In North America, they winter south of a line from Washington to Idaho, from New Mexico east to Kentucky, and along the Eastern Seaboard as far north as Massachusetts. Northern shovelers are birds of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some emergent vegetation. Preferred feeding areas include lakes, estuaries, coastal shorelines, salt marshes, flooded fields, and agricultural ponds.

Northern shovelers are social ducks that live in small flocks and coexist peacefully with many other species. They feed during the day by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging their bill from side to side and using the bill to strain food from the water. Their wide-flat bill is equipped with well-developed lamellae; these are small, comb-like structures on the edge of the bill that act like sieves, allowing the birds to skim crustaceans and plankton from the water's surface. This adaptation gives them an advantage over other puddle ducks, with which they do not have to compete for food resources during most of the year. Thus, mud-bottomed marshes rich in invertebrate life are their habitat of choice. During the midday heat, the birds usually rest on land near the water. Northern shovelers are fairly quiet and communicate with each other only in certain situations; males have a low clunking call, whereas females have a light Mallard-like quack.

14-11-2023 MARJAL DE MOROS, VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

The northern shoveler (/ˈʃʌvələr/; Spatula clypeata), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia. In North America, it breeds along the southern edge of Hudson Bay and west of this body of water, and as far south as the Great Lakes west to Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon.

The northern shoveler is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The conservation status of this bird is Least Concern.

This species is unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. The breeding drake has an iridescent dark green head, white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border. In early fall the male will have a white crescent on each side of the face. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake resembles the female.

The female is a drab mottled brown like other dabblers, with plumage much like a female mallard, but easily distinguished by the long broad bill, which is gray tinged with orange on cutting edge and lower mandible. The female's forewing is gray.

They are 48 cm (19 in) long and have a wingspan of 76 cm (30 in) with a weight of 600 g (1.3 lb).

 

12-4-2023 MARJAL DE MOROS, VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

26-10-2022 RACO DE OLLA, VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

2-3-2022 TABLAS DE DAIMIEL, LA MANCHA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

1-3-2022 PERALVILLO, LA MANCHA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

28-2-2022 TABLAS DE DAIMIEL, LA MANCHA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

9-2-2022 MARJAL DE MOROS, VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

26-1-2022 MOROS MARJAL. VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

9-12-2021 CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

24-5-2021 TABLAS DE DAIMIEL, LA MANCHA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

 

24-3-2021 EL FONDO, ALICANTE - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558438-Spatula-clypeata

 

5-12-2018 PUCOL, VALENCIA - NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE) (Spatula clypeata)

The Northern Shoveler, known in Britain simply as the shoveler, is a distinctive species with a broad, spatulate bill that sets it apart from other ducks. The male, or drake, in breeding plumage boasts an iridescent dark green head, a white chest, and chestnut flanks and belly. When in flight, one can observe the pale blue feathers on the forewing, edged with white and set against a green speculum. The female is more subdued in color, mottled brown akin to other dabblers, but her large, gray bill with orange hints is a clear identifier.

This species has a broad breeding range across northern Europe, the Palearctic, and most of North America. It winters in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia.

Northern Shovelers are known for their unique foraging behavior, swimming rapidly in circles to create a funnel effect that brings food to the surface. They feed by dabbling for plant food and straining aquatic invertebrates from the water with their specialized bills. During the breeding season, males are territorial and perform elaborate courtship displays. They are fairly quiet, with males emitting a clunking call and females quacking like a mallard.

The male Northern Shoveler produces a clunking call, while the female's vocalization resembles a quack similar to that of a mallard.

Shovelers prefer to nest in grassy areas away from open water. The nest is a shallow depression lined with plant material and down, where the female typically lays about nine eggs. Males defend their territory and mates vigorously during the breeding season.

The Northern Shoveler can be confused with other dabbling ducks, but its large, spatulate bill is a key distinguishing feature.

The diet consists primarily of plant food and aquatic invertebrates. The shoveler's bill is equipped with lamellae, which allow it to efficiently sift food from the water.

The Northern Shoveler is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with a healthy and increasing population due to favorable habitat conditions.