Cape Shoveler

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Cape Shoveler at stays in or beside Goukamma Nature Reserve, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, Rocherpan Nature Reserve, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve and Kogelberg Nature Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Cape Shoveler is most recorded in Western Cape (84% of records), Gauteng (5% of records), based on 2,255 iNaturalist observations. 45 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Cape Shoveler on site or nearby.

The Cape Shoveler is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Kwandwe Private Game Reserve: year-round, best Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Rocherpan Nature Reserve: Winter and spring for birds and flowers, Jun-Oct; De Hoop Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The Cape shoveler or Cape shoveller (Spatula smithii) is a species of dabbling duck of the genus Spatula. It is resident in South Africa, and uncommon further north in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zambia.