WhenToBird

Mareca americana · Anatidae

When Do American Wigeons Arrive in Nevada?

Adult American Wigeon
Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

American Wigeons are winter birds in Nevada: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by early October, peak in late November (15% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byOct 1-7early October
PeakNov 22-30late November
Most gone byApr 8-14the second week of April

Best: late November. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by the second week of April. Peak: on about 15% of Nevada checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 14% of 5121 checklistsJan 8-14: 14% of 3908 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 4000 checklistsJan 22-31: 14% of 4991 checklistsFeb 1-7: 14% of 3377 checklistsFeb 8-14: 12% of 3747 checklistsFeb 15-21: 10% of 4852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 11% of 3712 checklistsMar 1-7: 13% of 3745 checklistsMar 8-14: 12% of 3763 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 4188 checklistsMar 22-31: 12% of 6027 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.9% of 4679 checklistsApr 8-14: 8.3% of 4609 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.3% of 4709 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.7% of 6984 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.3% of 5702 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.5% of 5928 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.1% of 5353 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 7352 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 4360 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 4183 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.7% of 3751 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.8% of 4126 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.6% of 3231 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 3024 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.8% of 2967 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 4212 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.0% of 2828 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 3036 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 3076 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.7% of 4345 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.3% of 3369 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.6% of 3728 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.8% of 3535 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.9% of 5028 checklistsOct 1-7: 8.0% of 3976 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.0% of 3781 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.9% of 3577 checklistsOct 22-31: 12% of 4986 checklistsNov 1-7: 12% of 3592 checklistsNov 8-14: 14% of 3685 checklistsNov 15-21: 16% of 3399 checklistsNov 22-30: 15% of 4544 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 3162 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 3191 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 3615 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 5101 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Nevada that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Nevada

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nye CountyBest the second week of November · 370 checklists that week, 17,872 in all23%
  2. Clark CountyBest mid November · 1514 checklists that week, 80,458 in all20%
  3. Lincoln CountyBest mid November · 79 checklists that week, 3,842 in all19%
  4. Lyon CountyBest the second week of February · 49 checklists that week, 3,229 in all19%
  5. Pershing CountyBest late December · 13 checklists that week, 1,407 in all19%
  6. Storey CountyBest early November · 35 checklists that week, 1,593 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Robert B. Griffith Water ProjectClark County, best the second week of December · 29 checklists that week, 2,177 in all93%
  2. Sunset Park Recreation CenterClark County, best the second week of March · 45 checklists that week, 1,997 in all86%
  3. Robert B. Griffith Water Project (east)Clark County, best mid December · 21 checklists that week, 433 in all85%
  4. Tahoe-Carson SpeedwayCarson City, best the second week of November · 23 checklists that week, 285 in all74%
  5. Cornerstone ParkClark County, best late October · 26 checklists that week, 1,000 in all72%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Nevada, the American Wigeon is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (9.6% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (114) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (71) to judge3 am: too few checklists (108) to judge4 am: too few checklists (459) to judge5 am: 2.1% of 4313 checklists6 am: 7.7% of 17070 checklists7 am: 11% of 27389 checklists8 am: 8.2% of 24858 checklists9 am: 7.4% of 22012 checklists10 am: 7.5% of 19284 checklists11 am: 7.6% of 15592 checklists12 pm: 7.3% of 12432 checklists1 pm: 7.8% of 11386 checklists2 pm: 7.6% of 11262 checklists3 pm: 7.3% of 10721 checklists4 pm: 5.4% of 9090 checklists5 pm: 4.2% of 6397 checklists6 pm: 2.5% of 5012 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3026) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (905) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (271) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (164) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (120) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January14%14%14%14%
February14%12%10%11%
March13%12%13%12%
April9.9%8.3%5.3%3.7%
May2.3%1.5%1.1%1.0%
June0.6%0.6%0.7%0.8%
July0.6%0.6%0.8%1.0%
August1.0%0.9%1.1%1.7%
September3.3%3.6%3.8%5.9%
October8.0%8.0%9.9%12%
November12%14%16%15%
December14%14%12%12%

Neighboring states

  • California: arrives the second week of September, 3 weeks later than Nevada
  • Utah: arrives early September, 2 weeks later than Nevada
  • Idaho: arrives early August, 2 weeks earlier than Nevada
  • Arizona: arrives late August, 1 week later than Nevada

Common questions

When do American Wigeons arrive in Nevada?
American Wigeons are winter birds in Nevada: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by early October, peak in late November (15% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.
When do American Wigeons leave Nevada?
Most American Wigeons have left Nevada by the second week of April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a American Wigeon in Nevada?
The American Wigeon is reported most often in late November, on about 15% of Nevada checklists.
Where in Nevada are American Wigeons seen most often?
By county, Nye County, Clark County, and Lincoln County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Wigeon (counties with at least 200 checklists).