Wigeon

 

The wigeon (Anas penelope) is a duck that is present all the year round throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland but it only breeds in northern Scotland and the Northern Pennines of England. The main breeding area of the species is a wide Arctic and sub-Arctic belt that includes Iceland and Norway.

It measures up to 18 inches (48 cm) in length.

Male wigeons have a grey back and sides, chestnut head and chest with a pale crown, white underparts, and dark grey wings with white shoulders and green wing patches.

Females are more uniformly brown.

Wigeons fly in formations of hundreds, forming irregular lines, when moving along estuaries or mud-flats.

Male birds make a loud and musical whee-oo sound, whereas females emit a purring growl.

The typical habitat of wigeons is fresh water that is shallow and still, although they also nest by rivers and on coastal marshlands. When available, islands are often chosen for breeding as they afford protection against predatory mammals.

They are somewhat unusual among ducks in that they often graze on grass like geese, although they also feed in water and occasionally up-end in more conventional duck fashion.

The nest is a shallow hollow, lined with leaves, grass and down and sited on the ground beneath overhanging tussocks or shrubs. 7 to 9 eggs are incubated by the duck for 3 to 3 ½ weeks.

© John Welford