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The UK Bird Atlas

Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)Where and when to see it in the UK

Resident · reporting peaks October to April · Ducks, Swans, and Geese · BOU category AF

Records to 2026-08-16 · build 2026-08-31

Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Peak months
Shoveler: relative reporting rate by 10 km square, September

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (grid squares, place names from OS Open Names). Northern Ireland place names: OSNI Open Data, OGL v3.0. County and country boundaries: Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Coastline: Natural Earth. Bird records from the data partners listed here.

Shoveler has been recorded in 1,319 of the 2,971 10 km squares covering UK land (44%) in records to 2026. Resident in the UK. Its strongest squares are in England, Scotland and Wales. Reporting peaks in October to April.

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, LC)
View on the IUCN Red List
Relative to this species' best squares (how classes are calculated)
Very high
36% or more of visits
High
13% to 36%
Moderate
4% to 13%
Low
under 4%
Surveyed, not recorded
at least 20 qualifying visits, no record
Insufficient records
too few visits to say
Lighter fill
Few visits, lower confidence
Small dot
Occasional: a single record, or out of season

Seasonality

Reporting rate by month, relative to the peak month
MonthRelative to peakShare of visitsTypical class
January 98%17%Very high
February 94%17%Very high
March 96%17%Very high
April 86%15%Very high
May 58%10%Low
June 37%6%Low
July 35%6%Low
August 57%10%Low
September 82%14%High
October 92%16%Very high
November 100%18%Very high
December 97%17%High

Squares with the highest reporting rate in January

SquareWhereShare of visitsClass
HP60Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU43Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
NB43Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland100%Very high
NB56Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland100%Very high
NO21Fife, Scotland100%Very high
NS31South Ayrshire, Scotland100%Very high
NS34North Ayrshire, Scotland100%Very high
NS89Stirling, Scotland100%Very high
NS98Falkirk, Scotland100%Very high
NX30Isle of Man100%Very high

Spotted an error in a square? Report it and it goes into the review queue. Read the methodology for how classes, flags and sensitive-species rules work. Data to 2026.