| Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope Linnaeus |
| North America, data, information, distribution |
| Notes on the Eurasian Wigeon in North America. |
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| Click HERE to view more detailed Eurasian Wigeon distribution maps. |
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| Click HERE to view the Eurasian Wigeon image gallery. |
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| In North America, the Eurasian Wigeon is a rare wintering
species, with two distinct populations. Along the Atlantic, there
are likely only a few hundred birds. Most of these winter near the
coast from Massachusetts south to Chesapeake Bay. This population
apparently breeds in Iceland. In migration they are often found near
the Great Lakes and along the St. Lawrence River. Migration routes
are largely unknown. A few birds have been found in summer in
various parts of eastern Canada.
In the west, there are probably several thousand birds occurring in North America. The main wintering concentration seems to be in the Fraser Delta of British Columbia and the adjacent plain in northwestern Washington. Eurasian Wigeon are frequently reported as far south as the Imperial Valley and San Diego in California. During spring migration, individuals probably follow one of two routes. The first is coastal, and the second is one similar to the interior loop of the Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), moving from central California, northeast through Oregon, eastern Washington and Idaho, then across the Rockies, down the Mackenzie River, then west along the arctic slope to Siberia. Due to the lack of observers, these routes are not documented, but seem reasonable from the data available. Here is a crude map showing the hypothetical routes. Blue polygons = main wintering areas, red dots = spring migration observation locations 2002, green lines = possible migration routes. |
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| Click HERE to view more detailed Eurasian Wigeon distribution maps. |
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| Click HERE to view the Eurasian Wigeon image gallery. |
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