Breeding habitat: shallow nutrient-rich wetlands with rich vegetation — reed-fringed lakes, ponds, flooded coastal meadows. Requires a depth of 20–80 cm for effective filter-feeding. Without the right habitat there are no Northern Shovelers, even where other ducks thrive.
Breeding season: May–July. The female lays 8–12 eggs (most often 9–11) in a scrape on the ground, hidden in dense shoreline vegetation. Incubation 22–25 days. The young are nidifugous — they leave the nest within a day and swim with the female. Fledged after 40–45 days.
The male leaves the female shortly after the eggs are laid and joins other males in bachelor flocks to moult.
Look for the Northern Shoveler in shallow nutrient-rich wetlands — the species is a breeding bird that arrives in April–May and leaves in autumn.