Written by Peter Pearsall/Photos by Peter Pearsall

The American wigeon (Mareca americana) is a medium-sized dabbling duck commonly found in a variety of wetland habitats, including marshes, ponds, lakes, and estuaries across North America. Large flocks of these gregarious ducks enliven Malheur Refuge’s wetlands with their breezy whistling during spring and fall migration. 

Adult males have a mottled chestnut-colored head with a green stripe extending from the eye to the back of the head. A crown of white above the green stripe gives rise to one of this species’ nicknames: “baldpate”. Hens have mottled brown plumage, providing effective camouflage while nesting. Both males and females have a distinctive pale blue bill with a black tip. 

These ducks are primarily herbivorous, feeding on aquatic plants, grasses, seeds, and agricultural crops such as grains and grasses. They are dabblers, often tipping forward in shallow water to forage. Wigeons often form large flocks during migration and wintering periods, congregating with other species of dabbling ducks as well as American coots. Sometimes the rusty-headed Eurasian Wigeon turns up as a rarity in these flocks. 

American wigeons undertake medium- to long-distance migrations between their breeding grounds in northern North America and their wintering areas in more southern regions of the U.S and into Mexico. At Malheur Refuge, American wigeons typically arrive by mid-February, reaching their peak in mid-April. By mid-May, the majority of these birds have moved on to breeding areas further north. 

Those that remain to breed at the Refuge have begun building nests in dense vegetation near water bodies by late May. Clutches usually consist of 6 to 12 eggs, which hatch after an incubation period of about 24 to 25 days.