Birds of Central Oklahoma

All birds Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Northern Shoveler, adult male
Adult male Photo by Andreas Trepte. CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Here October to April.

Recorded by Paul Marvin. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, via xeno-canto, trimmed and volume evened out.

Look for

  1. A huge, wide bill shaped like a big spoon or a shovel.
  2. Males have a green head, a white chest, and rusty brown sides.
  3. Females are speckled brown, and their big bill is gray and orange. In flight, look for a blue patch on the wing.

A little about it

Shovelers are winter ducks here. You can find them from October to April, and February has the most.

A shoveler swims slowly with its bill skimming the top of the water. It swings its bill from side to side. The bill works like a strainer and sifts food out of the muddy water. It almost never dives.

In winter, shovelers eat mostly seeds and other bits of water plants. In summer they eat more small animals, like snails and bugs.

They look heavy, but they're good fliers. A big flock may take off, circle over the water a few times, and land again. The mother lays 9 to 12 eggs in a nest on the ground near water. The dad stays with her longer than most duck dads do.

Fun fact

In winter and spring, a few males may swim around 1 female. Each one tries to lead her away. She picks one by flying off with him.

When it's here

Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in February.

More winter birds

How big

SparrowRobinCrowGoose

17 to 21 inches. About as big as a crow.

Where to look

Shallow ponds and lakes with muddy edges. Shovelers even like still, dirty water that most other ducks stay away from.

  • On or by water

People have spotted it at Oklahoma City Zoo area, Martin Park Nature Center, Lake Hefner.

Could it be something else?

  • Mallard

    A male Mallard has a green head too, but he has a yellow bill and a reddish chest. A male shoveler has a white chest. A female Mallard is speckled brown, like a female shoveler. Check the bill. A shoveler's is much bigger and wider.

  • Blue-winged Teal

    A teal also shows a blue wing patch when it flies. But a teal is smaller, and its bill is small.

More photos

Northern Shoveler, female
Female Photo by Andreas Trepte. CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Where these facts come from