American Wigeon

Mareca americana

This species is found regularly each spring, however, numbers can vary from year-to-year and it is typically never as common as the Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope). It is regularly outnumbered by a 2:1 margin and only rarely outnumbers its Asian counterpart. Like many other species of waterfowl, American Wigeons tend to peak in numbers in mid-late May (around May 25th) with a steady decline in sightings through the month of June, and most birds are gone by June 10th. Summer arrivals are quite unusual, as are lingering individuals into early July. Fall migrants typically begin to appear during September, though they can start to appear as early as mid-August. They can then be found regularly through to mid-October and beyond with a peak in numbers near the end of September.

Photo by Sulli Gibson
Photo by Cory Gregory