The closest town to Sawbill Lake is Tofte. The 1833 map by Captain Bayfield calls it "Sawbill". Sawbill Lake is a lake in Cook County, Minnesota. The name is derived from the French "", meaning river of sawbill ducks ("bec-scie"). At Sawbill Lake, there are moose, bears, bald eagles, and loons. Sheldrake ("Tadorna") and Sawbill ("Mergus") are both waterfowl in the family Anatidae. The hooded merganser has a sawbill but is not classified as a typical merganser. The Innu call the Tonnerre River, about to the east, "Ursuk Sipo", meaning "Sawbill River". "Sawbill" is a nickname of the common merganser duck. Sawbill has portages connecting it to Smoke Lake, Kelso Lake, Ada Creek and Alton Lake.