Northern Shoveler

This is a duck that can easily be identified by silhouette alone. The bill of the Northern Shoveler is unmistakable They use that large namesake bill to filter food out of the water by sweeping it back and forth. One source noted that they carry their tails high. It’s only a coincidence but it is almost as if the bill was tilting them forward.

In the eastern half of North America, Northern Shovelers breed in Canada along the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and a bit of the Canadian Maritimes near the mouth of the St. Lawrence. They winter in the southern US and up the Atlantic coast as far as southern New England. They are much more widespread in western North America, breeding as far north as Alaska and wintering well down into Mexico. We are just above their winter range in Massachusetts but they seem to linger as long as the ponds are ice free.

All ducks rely on clean, well oiled feathers to stay warm and dry. So they will spend a lot of time preening and caring for their feathers. The second one seems to be doing his best impression of a dog though!