New bird species have been arriving almost daily at Goose Pond since early March, such as the Greater White-fronted Goose (March 2), Song Sparrow (March 5), Eastern Meadowlark (March 6), Northern Shoveler (March 16), and American Coot (March 17). Shovelers can be easily seen foraging or loafing from Prairie Lane or the Goose Pond Road causeway. The Goose Pond Webcam also picked them up on March 17 along with several other species of waterfowl.

The Northern Shoveler’s common name, nickname (spoonbill or spoony), and scientific name (Spatula clypeata) all reference the most distinctive feature of this odd duck. Spatula, Latin for “spoon” combines with clypeata meaning shield bearing. Blue-winged Teal and Cinnamon Teal, both in the Spatual genus, are their closest relatives in North America. Northern Shoveler bills are large, flat, and contain specialized comb-like projections called lamellae which allow water to pass out of the bill, but trap seeds and aquatic invertebrates inside. Many species of whales use baleen in the same manner to filter out krill and other creatures from the water column. To take full advantage of this utilitarian bill, shovelers prefer shallow wetlands with submerged vegetation. They are commonly found in association with other ducks, especially Green-winged Teal. Drake shovelers have a distinctive combination of plumage with a dark green head, bright white breast, and chestnut sides.

Northern Shoveler at Goose Pond. *Photo by Arlene Koziol*

Left - Lamellae of a Northern Shoveler. *Photo by* *Jonas Waldenström*
Right - Waterfowl Identification - The LeMaster Method *by Richard LeMaster*

Although they have a significantly lower global population compared to Mallards (4.5 million vs. 19 million), shovelers rival the Mallard in worldwide distribution. Many shovelers migrate through Wisconsin on the way to their core breeding grounds in the Prairie Pothole Region of the northern US and Canada, but some find suitable nesting habitat in the Southeast Glacial Plains and open habitats on the eastern side of our state. Like other dabbling ducks, they prefer to nest in open grasslands adjacent to shallow marshes where aquatic invertebrates are plentiful.

*By SanoAK: Alexander Kürthy - Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Range map from BirdLife International 2016. Spatula clypeata (Northern Shoveler).*

Goose Pond regularly hosts at least a few pairs of shovelers during the breeding season, and broods were confirmed here in 2018 and 2019 during the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II. The only other confirmed nesting of Northern Shovelers in Columbia County was near Rio.

Northern Shoveler breeding distribution in Wisconsin. *Breeding Bird Atlas II*

On May 13, 2019, a very high water year, Mark, Jacqueline Komada, Graham, and Calla Norris conducted a waterfowl pair count finding 15 pairs of Northern Shovelers (8 pairs and 7 males; the females could have been egg laying or incubating). Mark holds the high count at Goose Pond of 150 individuals on September 28, 2008.

Spike Millington, avid Goose Pond eBirder, recorded Northern Shovelers at Goose Pond for 39 days between September 15 and November 21, 2021. We used Spike’s data to produce the graph below showing shoveler numbers for that time period in 2021.

This is an excellent time to view waterfowl at Goose Pond. Here are some selected high counts we’ve had for 2022 so far according to eBird: Tundra Swan (100), Greater-white fronted Goose (420), Northern Pintail (25), Wood Duck (17), and American Wigeon (10). Visitors or Pond Cam viewers will notice the low water levels. We will have to wait to see if spring rains raise water levels or if Goose Pond will provide high quality habitat for spring shorebird migration.

Written by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond Sanctuary land steward, and Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary resident managers