American Wigeon Gallery

Mareca americana


eBird describes the American Wigeon like this:  Breeding males have obvious white blaze on forehead and broad green slash behind eye. Females are plainer brown with rusty sides. Females are very difficult to distinguish from female Eurasian Wigeon; note colder grayish-brown head on American that contrasts with warmer orangey sides. Also look for brighter white, not gray, underwings in flight, but this can be difficult to judge, especially at a distance. Widespread and common in North America, occasionally wintering as far south as northern South America. Typically in flocks on lakes and wetlands, often grazing in nearby fields. Regular vagrant to Europe.  The website All About Birds offers this additional descriptive information about this bird:  Quiet lakes and wetlands come alive with the breezy whistle of the American Wigeon, a dabbling duck with pizzazz. Breeding males have a green eye patch and a conspicuous white crown, earning them the nickname “baldpate.” Females are brushed in warm browns with a gray-brown head and a smudge around the eye. Noisy groups congregate during fall and winter, plucking plants with their short gooselike bill from wetlands and fields or nibbling plants from the water’s surface. Despite being common their populations are declining.

I saw my first American Wigeon on the morning of Sunday, January 7, 2024, at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve near Huntington Beach, California.  I was in California to tour some Frank Lloyd Wright structures and to accompany Brent Paul on a couple of his safaris.  Bolsa Chica has a very nice boardwalk and walking trails, and it was from this boardwalk that I saw and photographed a pair of American Wigeon. 

AMERICAN WIGEON AT BOLSA CHICA, JANUARY 7, 2024.
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE PAIR OF AMERICAN WIGEON THAT I WATCHED.


Cool Facts About the American Wigeon From All About Birds:

  • The rusty-headed Eurasian Wigeon turns up as a rarity in flocks of American Wigeons on occasion, but the American Wigeon also turns up in Europe in flocks of Eurasian Wigeon.
  • American Wigeons eat a higher proportion of plant matter than any other dabbling duck thanks to their short gooselike bill. The shortness of the bill helps exert more force at the tip so they can pluck vegetation from fields and lawns with ease.
  • After breeding, successful males and unsuccessful females head north to large lakes where they spend around 35 flightless days growing new feathers before heading south. Successful females and juveniles don’t move to molt; they stay in their breeding areas to grow new feathers.
  • The American Wigeon is also known as “baldpate” because the white stripe resembles a bald man’s head.
  • The oldest American Wigeon reported was at least 21 years and 4 months old. It was originally banded in Washington State in 1952 and shot in Nebraska in 1973.