Northern Shoveler Gallery

Shoveler Life

An Old Married Couple

Watching waterfowl mate can be a bit unnerving since the female is mostly (and occasionally entirely) submerged when mounted by the male. The whole affair can be quite frenetic, but this shoveler pair was quite relaxed and calm.

The female's head is just above the water in this picture, taken at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in April of 2001.

Straight Ahead

Shovelers are dabbling ducks, and indeed sometimes you will see them feeding in the classic dabbler pose, the front halves of their bodies submerged underwater and their rear ends sticking up towards the sky. This is not their only way to feed, however, as they have several interesting approaches. The approach shown here is to swim in a straight line, feeding as they go. They often will pair up right beside each other, but here they’ve drifted apart a bit.

Swimming In A Sea of White

Taken at about the same time and location as the picture above but the male was at a slightly different angle to me, enough that the bright reflection on the water washed out to white when exposed for the shoveler, providing a natural high-key look. Fortunately the pond was still and clear around him, so that the only disturbances in the water are from the shoveler’s great bill and the wake behind him.

A Game of Inches (and Seconds)

This time a picture of the female from the picture above, taken a few minutes before, and her position was such that she was actually illuminated by a small patch of sunlight that made it over the dike. The difference in the light meant she was lit with the setting sun’s red rays and the water retained the blue reflection of the sky.

Feeding Habits

One of the fascinating things about shovelers is their various feeding techniques. Shovelers are dabblers, so sometimes you’ll see them in the classic dabbler pose with their heads submerged and their rear ends pointed skyward. At other times they’ll swim in a straight line with their long beaks down in the water, sometimes paired up in male and female pairs. My favorite technique, though, is when they feed in circles, swimming round and round and feeding in the stirred up water.

Northern shoveler pair feeding while swimming

Northern shoveler pair feeding in a circle

Frozen Shovelers

Shovelers generally enjoy pretty mild winters here in the Portland area, but on occasion it gets cold and the ponds freeze over. These pictures were taken during one such cold snap, some days it would warm during the day and the ice would melt and then refreeze at night, some days the ice hung around all day.

Northern shoveler male feeding in a circle in front of the ice

Agitation

Coots and shovelers were helping keep this patch of water from freezing. This male is keeping the water agitated as he circle feeds just in front of the ice.

Northern shoveler female preening on the ice

Northern shoveler male preening on the ice

Those Hard-to-Preen Places

The shoveler's most distinctive feature is its unusually long bill. This makes it easier to feed in shallow water, but it also makes preening a few spots more challenging. This male has lifted his head in a comical pose to get at those hard-to-preen places.

We had a cold snap in the Northwest and South Quigley Lake at Ridgefield had mostly frozen over. There were a few small openings and some really small openings, such as the hole just below the shoveler in the picture. The other ducks would leave these alone, but the shovelers would stand on the ice and stick their long bills down into the holes to feed. You can also get a feel for how shallow the lake is by the reeds caught in the ice in the background.

	Straight Ahead Shovelers are dabbling ducks, and indeed sometimes you will see them feeding in the classic dabbler pose, the front halves of their bodies submerged underwater and their rear ends sticking up towards the sky. This is not their only way to feed, however, as they have several interesting approaches. The approach shown here is to swim in a straight line, feeding as they go. They often will pair up right beside each other, but here they’ve drifted apart a bit.
	Swimming In A Sea of White Taken at about the same time and location as the picture above but the male was at a slightly different angle to me, enough that the bright reflection on the water washed out to white when exposed for the shoveler, providing a natural high-key look. Fortunately the pond was still and clear around him, so that the only disturbances in the water are from the shoveler’s great bill and the wake behind him.
	A Game of Inches (and Seconds) This time a picture of the female from the picture above, taken a few minutes before, and her position was such that she was actually illuminated by a small patch of sunlight that made it over the dike. The difference in the light meant she was lit with the setting sun’s red rays and the water retained the blue reflection of the sky.