Being squarely in the migratory path of northern waterfowl, I never know what interesting ducks will stop at the lake on their way to sunnier places in the winter and back to northern breeding grounds in spring. Yesterday I spotted this unusual group swimming along with the Canada geese. After doing some research, I identified these dabbling ducks as Northern Shovelers. This is the first time I’ve seen them on the lake.
The female’s brown coloring resembles that of mallard females but the males are striking in appearance-- a green head, brown sides, white chest, and black and white back. However, the really distinctive characteristic is the long, spoon shaped bill.
Here are some interesting facts:
- The Northern Shoveler’s bill has comb-like projections along the outer edge to filter food from the water. These ducks often forage by swimming with their bills lowered into the water, filtering out small crustaceans.
- These ducks are monogamous. The female builds the nest and incubates the eggs alone. Average clutch size is 9 eggs.
- Northern Shovelers breed in the northwestern quadrant of the U.S. and in northwestern Canada and winter in extreme southern U. S. and Mexico.
When I first saw these ducks, the green head of the male and the brown color of the females led me to believe they were Mallards. I’m glad I got out the binoculars, because I’d hate to miss seeing these natty dabblers.
Comments