European wigeon

I came across a great video of these ducks. They are very much like our wigeon except for a few shades of rust and a different voice. They migrate from northern Europe all the way to Morocco.

The birds in the video are obviously in need of water and a rest in migration for this woman to get so close to them. You can hear the difference in their call. Here in France we call them "siffleurs" which mean whistlers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD6rTTclZlg

Pete

Cool video.

About ten years ago, my wife and I were at a local pond in the spring and I saw what looked like a widgeon, but the coloration didn't look right. It was with about thirty birds that were American Widgeon. Looked it up and found it to be a European Widgeon. Sucker was a long way from Europe. This sighting was in NW Oregon

My Dad and I shot a few in Spain when I was a kid. Not a lot, but few.

Seen 4 or 5 in my birding travels.

My brother shot one last year on a duck hunt here on the Chincoteague bay. We didn’t know what it was! Went and retrieved it, thought it was a hybrid widgeon of some sort. I’ll dig up a picture, and also post pic after we get it back from taxidermist. Taxi said he has done 3 in his lifetime from our area .

John

Shot 1/1 young female Oct. 1983 and got one in a 'rat floater late Oct. a few years ago also young female. Some speculation a few now breeding North America recent decades - been regularly wintering St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada for maybe 30 year now along with tufted ducks (Eurasian equivalent of ring necked duck). Easiest way (except for cost) to prove N.A. breeding for both species is to satellite collar in St. John's to see where there they go in spring. Most likely speculated source for Newfoundland ducks, of both species, is Iceland where they both breed.

They can do isotopes of the feathers and work back to what river drainage system they molted from, is a much faster way and less invasive.

I was talking duck hunting with an Irish guy and we agreed wigeon are great eating, both kinds.
He blew me away when he told me they have no limit, can bait ducks, no shooting hours etc etc.
I told him we'd get thrown in jail hunting like that!
He said he shot 27 one day but that was a while ago when he knew a lot of elders that loved to eat duck.

Thats A lot of birds!!!

They shoot a good number of them on the Pacific flyway these days, alot more than when I was hunting there.

They are a good looking bird, but like all ducks I figure their table quality depends on diet. I used to shoot widgeon that had been feeding on grass and living in brackish water. They were horrible. But the same birds after a month in the rice fields ate as well as a hen pintail.

Alot of bird hunting in Europe is done without limits or very generous limits. Waterfowl populations in north America are immense compared to Europe.


Pete