They're underrated, they're under-appreciated, and they often don't get the respect they deserve—but when the going gets tough, you can count on a spoony to save the day! (Photo credit: Ryan Barnes.)
July 18, 2025
By Nate Corley
What Is A Northern Shoveler? Depends on who you ask. The Northern Shoveler bears many names. Spoony. Spoonbill. Hollywood. The “other greenhead.” Whatever you call it, that trademark bill of the Northern Shoveler is unmistakable. With a narrow base that flares into a broad rounded tip, this distinctive schnoz is what gives spatula clypeata (literally: “spoon beak”) its name—and its swag. Below is everything you need to know to find, hunt, shoot, and cook this egregiously underrated duck.
The author holding up a prized trophy—a good ol' Northern Shoveler! (Photo courtesy of Nate Corley.) Where Do Northern Shovelers Live? Pretty much everywhere. Beijing to Boise. Sioux City to Stalingrad. Paris, France to Paris, Illinois (go Tigers!). The Northern Shoveler can be found in every mainland time zone across the Northern Hemisphere. And how did this bird conquer the world? Fecundity. With a stable global population hovering around 6 million, spoonbills have enjoyed consistent nesting success even in years with less precipitation. This not only supports an annual global hunter harvest in excess of 450,000 (!), it bodes well for the hope that your great-grandkids will still be shooting shovelers from their laser hoverboards in 2132.
How Do You Hunt Northern Shovelers? There is no one more qualified to answer this question than the writer, speaker, biologist, television host, and bane of Willamette Valley waterfowl: Scott Haugen (check out Haugen’s Playbook department in every issue of WILDFOWL’s print edition for proof of his bona fides). Haugen is happy to hunt every variety of ducks and geese, but has recently emerged as one of the Northern Shoveler’s foremost apologists. “My obsession with spoonbills began at an early age,” Haugen recalls. “When I was 18 months old, my dad brought home a limit of ducks. Apparently I was enthralled by one of them, a hen shoveler. I took the duck and carried it around the garage and into the house. Stories say I kept playing with the bird’s head even after dad had cleaned all the other birds. Maybe that’s where the seed was planted for attaining my own degree in biology.” Want to give your own toddlers this potentially career-altering experience? Here’s some wisdom from the Shoveler Shaman.
How Do You Scout For Northern Shovelers? Cross the dry grainfields off your list. God gave the spoony that ping pong paddle on its face not just for swag but for straining. Long, fibrous teeth called “lamellae” filter seeds, crustaceans, and bugs that other dabblers might miss, which is why you’ll often spot shovelers sweeping their heads side to side on the surface of the water like your mom with a Hoover. Zeroing in on shallow wetlands with an abundance of these foods will narrow your search, as can using your binoculars on flooded field edges. For southern hunters, flooded rice fields can become livid with shovelers during peak migration and provide a pleasant change of pace from all those heavy straps of timber mallards (yawn).
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One of the best decoying ducks out there, if you can't get the mallards and pintails to work, a flock of shovelers will do the trick! That might be why some hunters despise them, and others love them. (Photo courtesy of the author.) Shoveler Scouting Hack: Wait for freeze up. By far, the hottest shoveler shoots for our group have happened in the coldest temperatures. Shovelers rely on open water for food. So while the mallards and pintails may hammer the cornfields when the mercury plummets, shovelers will seek out a hole in the ice. If you’ve found it first, all you need to do is hide and wait and pick out the drakes. One such warm water seep in our neighborhood has earned the nickname “The Shoveler Hole” for its abundance of these birds every January. If you’re looking for a gorgeous drake for the wall, find your own shoveler hole and keep an eye on the forecast.
How Do You Decoy Northern Shovelers? “I discovered years ago that shovelers that like gathering with their own kind,” Haugen observes. “If you want to target spoonbills, get some spoonbill decoys.” Many major brands manufacture shoveler decoys, but Haugen is partial to the realism of the spoony blocks from the Final Approach Live Shoveler line (“I almost saved one to put in my office, they’re that authentic in appearance,” he says). Or if you want to really impress your blind buddies, snag the Spoonzilla from Mojo Outdoors. This leering spawn of waterfowl nightmares may be missing a front tooth, but the spinning wing motion will snag the attention of cruising shovelers from afar. Just don’t waste your ammo on all the pintails and mallards Spoonzilla will attract between flights of Hollywoods.
Shoveler Decoy Hack: Segregate the spoonies. Haugen used to mix his shoveler dekes in with the rest of his blocks. Until two years ago, when he set a wad of pristine shoveler fakes 25 yards from the rest of the spread. “Eleven of the fourteen ducks we shot that morning were shovelers, and every one of the Hollywoods dropped in the spoony decoys, not even glancing at the other decoys as they sped by.” Try setting your own shoveler wad off to the side and see how many more spoobills end up on the strap.
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How Do You Call Northern Shovelers? Even with a mixed bag, hunters across the nation are starting to admit to their guilty pleasures of loving to shoot Northern Shovelers, spoonies, hollywoods, or whatever else they might be called. (Photo courtesy of the author.) If you can imitate a mallard hen with a head cold, you can call shovelers. The wheezing “quack” of the hen is highly distinctive, and your standard mallard double reed can reproduce the sound with moderate practice (achieving this on most single reeds is more difficult due to the air presentation). But since shovelers are vocal ducks, they respond happily to other duck vocalizations as well – like the two mature shoveler drakes that splashed into my decoys last January while I was sawing away at a high-flying flock of mallards.
Shoveler Calling Hack: Make ripples. As is often the case, a “visual call” can be more effective than an auditory call for drawing in ducks. For shovelers, in particular, running a jerk line can be deadly in the later season when unfrozen water is at a premium. The wavelets and splash from your jerk rig are like a big “FEED HERE” sign for these surface dabblers and worth more than a quartet of state champions buzzing away on their acrylics.
How Do You Cook Northern Shovelers? The first shoveler recipe I received came from one of my dad’s old hunting buddies who advised: 1. Wrap the shoveler breast in bacon. 2. Grill. 3. Remove the bacon. 4. Throw away the shoveler breast. 5. Eat the bacon. Such scorn of shoveler meat is anathema to Haugen. “At home we eat a lot of shovelers. They’re tender and delicious in this part of the Pacific Flyway.” He acknowledges that this may not be the case in other regions, but posits a primary barrier to enjoying shoveler meat is psychological. “Eating a shoveler is like eating a crow, nutria, or cougar. It’s often about the mindset. Give spoonies a try. If you cook it right, you might be surprised.”
Shoveler Cooking Hack: got milk? Next time you shoot a limit of spoonies, try soaking the skinless breasts overnight in a freezer bag of milk. In the morning, the milk will look like strawberry milk (kids: it’s not). Drain it out and cover the meat in fresh milk. Repeat for another night or two, then throw those breasts in a pan, cook to medium rare, and serve them to your buddies. The lactic acid in the milk works like a natural tenderizer, the sugars add a touch of sweetness, and your dinner guests will think they’re sinking their teeth into prime autumn mallard. You, on the other hand, can just smile – as wide as the grin on the spoonbill you’re serving.
