American Wigeon
(Anas americana)

Overview

Summary

© Tony Battiste
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The American Wigeon’s breeding range is centred in western Canada. The national population has experienced a moderate decline since the 1970s mainly during the prolonged periods of drought on the Prairies in the 1980s. In the 1990s, however, habitat conditions in western North America improved and the population recovered somewhat. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Wetland water levels in the Prairies are a determining factor in the success of breeding populations in western and central portions of the continent. In the Canadian Prairies, the expansion of agriculture has significantly reduced the habitat for many waterfowl species. In the United States, the loss and degradation of habitat on staging and wintering areas represent a serious problem for the American Wigeon (Mini et al. 2014).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Canadian Wildlife Service Waterfowl Committee. 2014. Population Status of Migratory Game Birds in Canada: November 2014. CWS Migratory Birds Regulatory Report Number 44. Canadian Wildlife Service Waterfowl Committee. 2014. Population Status of Migratory Game Birds in Canada: November 2014. CWS Migratory Birds Regulatory Report Number 44. (Link)
• Mini, A. E., E. R. Harrington, E. Rucker and B. D. Dugger. 2014. American Wigeon (Anas americana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Mini, A. E., E. R. Harrington, E. Rucker and B. D. Dugger. 2014. American Wigeon (Anas americana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)