Life List 031
Visually documented
Northern Shoveler
Spatula clypeata
- First photographed
- January 31, 2026
- First location
- Colorado, United States
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
An evolving study
Northern Shoveler portfolio
This collection grows as I return to photograph new behavior, habitat, seasons, and stages of life.
Natural history
Species at a glance
Spatula clypeata
Overview
The Northern Shoveler is a dabbling duck specialized for filtering tiny food from shallow water. Its oversized, comb-edged bill sweeps side to side as the bird strains seeds and invertebrates from the surface.
Identification
The broad spatula-shaped bill is diagnostic. Breeding males have a green head, white breast, chestnut flanks, and powder-blue forewing; females are mottled brown with an orange-edged dark bill.
Range
Breeds across Alaska, Canada, and the northern and western United States. North American birds winter from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Habitat
Shallow freshwater and brackish wetlands, prairie potholes, marshes, flooded fields, sewage ponds, and sheltered coastal lagoons.
Diet
Seeds and other plant material, aquatic insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and plankton filtered from the water.
Photography by Brittany Templin
