Northern Shoveler

Northern Shovelers are common in Alberta from March to September. Photographed this male south east of Calgary, in the Frank Lake area.

"This species is unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. The breeding male has a green head, white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border.

The females are light brown, with plumage much like a female Mallard, but their long broad bill easily identifies them. The female's forewing is grey. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake looks more like the female.

It is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some emergent vegetation, and feeds by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging its bill from side to side and using the bill to strain food from the water. This bird also eats mollusks and insects in the nesting season. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground, lined with plant material and down, usually close to water." From indopedia.org.