The Blue-winged Teal breeds throughout much of Canada, with its core breeding range located in the Prairie Potholes region. While its population has been significantly increasing since the early 1990s, the number of breeding pairs in southern Ontario and Quebec has shown a slow decline over the last two decades, following more dramatic declines between the early 1970s and the mid-1990s. Agricultural development and habitat destruction in eastern Canada are possible reasons for the species’ population decline. Consequently, restrictive regulations have been implemented in Quebec, although the harvest across Canada has remained relatively stable since the 1980s. Generally, fewer Blue-winged Teals are harvested in Canada compared to Green-winged Teals. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
The population status of the Blue-winged Teal is greatly influenced by wetland conditions on the Prairie breeding grounds. In eastern Canada, the intensification of agriculture and the increased destruction of favourable habitat in recent decades are thought to be the main factors responsible for the decline of the Blue-winged Teal in Quebec and Ontario (Ross 2010, Brousseau and Lepage 2013).
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:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
