Now that winter’s arrived, waterfowl are back in big numbers. One of those birds is an endearing duck called the American Wigeon.
Identification
Male American Wigeon are best identified by their head pattern. A bold white stripe runs down the crown, a green mask wraps around the back of the head up over the eyes, and the sides of the face are finely marked in a series of intricate black and white lines that just looks gray from any distance. The sides of the duck have a pinkish tone, there’s a white patch on the back of the flanks, and the feathers under the tail are black. The bill is fairly small and goose-like, with a blue-gray tone.
Wigeon are dabbling ducks and are on the smaller side of the spectrum. While bigger than teal or Ruddy Ducks, they’re smaller than most dabbling ducks like Gadwall or Mallard. One of their most endearing traits is that birds give a distinct nasal whistle. It just sounds like they’re having fun. If there’s a group of wigeon around, you’ll usually hear them before you see them.
Female American Wigeon are less distinct. The head is gray, the body brown, and the flanks are rusty in tone. Like males, the tail is longer and slightly pointed. Also like males, the bill is small.
Identifying female ducks can be tricky, but a couple of things help. First, learning the shape of a duck can really narrow down the choices. Female wigeon really are shaped differently than other species. Second, when trying to learn, look for the males which are usually nearby. It’s not a guarantee, but often there will be males of a species present as well, which can give you a clue which females are likely present.
A Grazer of Grass
One of the things that makes wigeon unique is that they eat grass. Of course, lots of ducks do that, diving or bobbing under the water’s surface to reach that green goodness. Wigeon have refined the process though. They’ll happily munch away on grass or other vegetation that’s on land in addition to eating aquatic plants. What entrepreneurial ducks they are!
Common in Taylor County
American Wigeon nest in the “prairie pothole” region of the northern Great Plains and through most of Canada and Alaska. By October, they migrate to the southern half of America and into Mexico for the winter.
In Taylor County, the species is one of our most common ducks. They can be found on virtually any lake or pond, regardless of the size. They’re equally at home on larger bodies of water like Kirby Lake and Lake Abilene as they are on the small muddy stock tanks one finds driving the back roads.
If you ever see a group of ducks walking out of the water to graze on the grass nearby, there’s a good chance they’re wigeon.
All Articles About Ducks and Geese
- Introduction to Our Waterfowl – The Two Kinds of Ducks
- Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – The Ducks that Whistle
- Snow Goose – Day 71: Literally, a Wild Goose Chase
- Ross’s Goose – Day 306: The Littlest White Goose of All
- Greater White-fronted Goose – Day 294
- Brant – An Arctic Goose of Ocean Shores
- Cackling Goose – Day 27: Why Yes Officer, Let Me Find the Goose in the Scope
- Canada Goose – A Day with Dirty Geese
- Trumpeter Swan – Wanted in Winter: A Big White Swan
- Tundra Swan – Wanted in Winter: A Big White Swan
- Wood Duck – Staring Too Long May Cause Blindness
- Blue-winged Teal – The Migrant Duck
- Cinnamon Teal – Day 65: Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice
- Northern Shoveler – The Duck with the Massive Bill
- Gadwall – Look Closer to Appreciate the Beauty
- Eurasian Wigeon – Hoping for an Old World Duck
- American Wigeon – The Duck That Eats Like a Goat
- Mallard – Does It Live Here or Not?
- Brewer’s Duck – Day 295: When a New Bird Doesn’t Count
- Mexican Duck – Almost a Mallard
- Mottled Duck – Almost a Mallard
- Redhead – The Kind of Redheads You Can Google at Work
- Ring-necked Duck – The Most Common Diving Duck
- Greater Scaup – Day 301: Big Ones and Little Ones and 300 Birds
- Lesser Scaup – Day 301: Big Ones and Little Ones and 300 Birds
- Surf Scoter – An Ocean Duck on the Lake
- White-winged Scoter – The Other Ocean Ducks
- Black Scoter – The Other Ocean Ducks
- Long-tailed Duck – A Duck with Pizazz
- Bufflehead – Now That’s a Sexy Duck
- Common Goldeneye – I Keep Digging, but I Haven’t Struck Gold Yet
- Hooded Merganser: Feisty and Gorgeous
- Common Merganser – A Fish Eating Duck at Kirby Lake
- Red-breasted Merganser – Day 55: The Merganser Hat Trick
- Ruddy Duck – The Rockstar
