Shoveler Anas clypeata

Medium-sized duck with large spatulate bill, often seen dabbling

Habitat: freshwater marshes, estuaries, reservoirs and lakes

Resident species although breeding numbers quite low; widespread in winter

Male: black and white but for bottle green head and chestnut flanks; female mottled brown with grey/orange bill

Feeds by sweeping large bill through water and wet mud

Eats plants, aquatic vegetation, molluscs and crustaceans; shows pale blue forewing in strong flight

Nest is a lined hollow near water

1 brood April – May; 8-12 buffy eggs