Spatula clypeata
Silhouette: Andreas Trepte (modified) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata), often known simply as the shoveler where other related species do not occur, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and throughout the Palearctic and across most of North America, and winters in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia. In North America, it breeds along the southern edge of Hudson Bay and west of this body of water, and as far south as the Great Lakes west to Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon.
The northern shoveler is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The conservation status of this bird is least concern. The northern shoveler was first formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. He introduced the binomial name Anas clypeata. A molecular phylogentic study comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences published in 2009 found that the genus Anas, as defined at the time, was not monophyletic. The genus was subsequently split into four monophyletic... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Shoveler sighting in Leeds on a given day, based on 81 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 67th most-seen of the 113 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and September–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Shoveler in Leeds on a given day, against under 5% in January–March and May–August, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Shoveler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
62nd of 146
Of the 146 cities where we can rate Northern Shoveler sightings, Leeds ranks 62nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Ciudad Juárez (México, about 70%), Mesa (United States, about 40%) and Naha (Japan, about 40%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Northern Shoveler that you can see in Leeds (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Mallard (about 60%), Mute Swan (about 40%) and Canada Goose (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Shoveler is recorded against all the birds logged in Leeds (81 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
