Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wlidlife Service / Submitted photoAmerican wigeon

American wigeon

Scientific name: Anas americana

Characteristics: A midsized waterfowl species that averages 19 inches in length; both sexes have a light blue bill with a black tip. Males and females have different plumages; females have white bellies, brownish chests and dark spotting on their face. Their grayish shoulder patches differ from the male’s large white shoulder patch visible in flight. Males also have white bellies with brown chests and flanks. The male’s dark spotted face has a greenish ear patch that extends down the back of the head and a white forehead and cap.

Breeding: Found in marshes, wetlands and other shallow waters. Builds a grass-lined nest close to the water’s edge. The female incubates the six to 12 eggs for about 24 days. The young are able to swim soon after hatching.

Range: From Alaska and northern Canadian provinces south to the Great Lakes region and Western U.S. Winters in coastal areas along both coasts and throughout its breeding range.

Habitat: Found in lakes, rivers, ponds, coastal estuaries, irrigated fields and other bodies of water.

Food: Forages for seeds, aquatic invertebrates, mollusks and vegetation. The birds may swim near other ducks and geese, stealing aquatic plants brought up by those species.

Comments: Wigeons are close relatives of mallards and are also dabbling or puddle ducks like the mallards. These ducks feed underwater by tipping their tails into the air and thrusting their heads underwater, or by waddling on land in search of food. Able to take off vertically from any location, these ducks do not run across the water to get airborne. Also known as a “baldpate” after their whitish foreheads. The Eurasian wigeon may also be found in low numbers in the region, often mixing in with flocks of American wigeons. A group or flock of ducks is also known as a “brace” or “raft.”

Current viewing: Along the Deschutes River, Hatfield and Redmond ponds, stock ponds throughout the region, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and other locations.

— Damian Fagan is an East Cascades Audubon Society volunteer and COCC Community Learning instructor. He can be reached at damian.fagan@hotmail.com.

Sources: Oregon Department of Wildlife Resources and “The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds” by John Terres