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American Wigeon

Status Uncommon in summer, rare in winter. Breeds, but was considered rare in the nineteenth century (Blakiston and Bland 1857, and others) but has increased markedly since about 1950 in Nova Scotia, as elsewhere in eastern North America (Palmer 1976). Some of the Nova Scotian breeding population could have originated as escapees from the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park during the 1950s and 1960s. First spring arrivals (where wintering birds have not been noted) may arrive in March (average 2 April, earliest 8 March). They are most frequently found in summer in the Amherst area and around the Debert sanctuary, but scattered pairs occur more widely. Peak fall numbers occur in September and October (an estimated 500 were seen in the Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary on 19 September 1978). They are occasional on Christmas Bird Counts around the province, and rare but regular later in winter. Several have overwintered among waterfowl fed by the public at Sullivan's Pond, Dartmouth.

Description Length: 46-56 cm. Adult male: Crown and forehead white; sides of head from eye to nape glossy green; cheeks and throat gray, finely streaked with black; breast and sides reddish brown; belly white; back brown, barred with fine black lines; prominent white patch on forewing; speculum green, bordered with black. Adult female: Similar but lacks white crown and green facial patch of the male; much smaller white area in the wing; speculum mainly black, with or without green.

Breeding Nest: Composed of dry coarse vegetable matter, with the usual lining of down. Placed on the ground, usually near water. Eggs: 8-12; buffy white. The first breeding record was of a brood of six seen following the female at Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary on 25 August 1957 (Bartlett 1960). Nests and broods have been noted annually in the Amherst region since the mid-1960s and have been discovered in the Debert sanctuary and elsewhere in the province.

Range Breeds mainly from Alaska to Manitoba (locally further eastward), south to northeastern California, northern Colorado, and Nebraska. Winters from southern Alaska, Ohio and southern New England to the West Indies and Central America.

Remarks The characteristic field marks of the male are a shiny white crown that contrasts with a dark green cheek patch, a pale gray neck, and a conspicuous white patch on each flank near the base of the tail. The female, on the other hand, is nondescript and might be confused with the female Gadwall.

It is a wary bird, quick to take alarm. Its flock formations are usually compact and the whistling sound made by the wings can be heard for a considerable distance. Its food, which it obtains by tipping, is made up almost wholly of vegetable matter, but it ranks far below average as a table bird.

In some parts of its range it is known to wildfowlers as a "poacher" or "baldpate." Its well-known habit of waiting on the surface to snatch wild celery and other aquatic plant food from the mouths of other duck species as they emerge from foraging in deep waters explains the origin of the first of these nicknames. The second name obviously refers to the white crown displayed by the drake.