Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Breeding Range. (Fig. 19). Uncommon throughout the Prairie Pothole Region and in the Turtle Mountains; uncommon and local in the Southwestern Slope Region and in the northern third of the Agassiz Lake Plain Region; apparently either rare or absent in the southern two-thirds of the Agassiz Lake Plain Region.
Breeding Habitat. The majority of breeding American Wigeon were found on seasonal and semipermanent ponds and lakes that range in salinity from fresh to brackish. To a lesser extent they also occurred on shallow river impoundments, on stock ponds, and on pools of intermittent streams.
Nesting. Breeding season: Late May to late September; peak, early June to mid-August. Extreme egg dates (25 nests): May 31 [1901] in Nelson County (Bent 1901) to July 13 [1915] in Ward County (Woodruff 1923). Of all nests with eggs that were recorded, 12 percent were found in late May, 82 percent in June, and 6 percent in July. Extreme dates of dependent young (96 broods): June 26 [1917] in Burke County (H. C. Oberholser) to September 21 [1972] in Stutsman County (P. F. Springer). Of all broods that were recorded, 1 percent was observed in late June, 51 percent in July, 44 percent in August, and 4 percent in September.
American Wigeon nests were found in a considerable variety of habitats. The great majority were found in native prairie (including thickets of low shrubs), retired cropland, hayfields, weedy field borders, and other similar situations.
Indicated clutch size (14 nests): 7 to 11 eggs; mean, 8.2 eggs.
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| Figure 19. Breeding Range of American Widgeon. |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/bbofnd/species/1370.htm
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Menlo Park, CA [caww54]
