WhenToBird

Mareca americana · Anatidae

When Do American Wigeons Arrive in Washington?

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

American Wigeons are winter birds in Washington: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by mid September, peak in the second week of November (23% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakNov 8-14the second week of November
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: the second week of November. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 23% of Washington checklists.

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

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 22% of 41928 checklistsJan 8-14: 22% of 31152 checklistsJan 15-21: 22% of 31753 checklistsJan 22-31: 21% of 42530 checklistsFeb 1-7: 20% of 29739 checklistsFeb 8-14: 18% of 32746 checklistsFeb 15-21: 17% of 40328 checklistsFeb 22-28: 20% of 28432 checklistsMar 1-7: 20% of 30758 checklistsMar 8-14: 21% of 29368 checklistsMar 15-21: 20% of 32580 checklistsMar 22-31: 18% of 45614 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 33997 checklistsApr 8-14: 13% of 34729 checklistsApr 15-21: 11% of 38474 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.7% of 52185 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.7% of 44236 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.8% of 48708 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.8% of 41742 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.2% of 57082 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.4% of 39193 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 36042 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.8% of 34003 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 39711 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 31949 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 29086 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 28045 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 38275 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 28846 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 28036 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.5% of 27614 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.4% of 40356 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.9% of 31214 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.1% of 27795 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.8% of 29677 checklistsSep 22-30: 12% of 35241 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 28605 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 28655 checklistsOct 15-21: 20% of 24643 checklistsOct 22-31: 22% of 34874 checklistsNov 1-7: 23% of 25658 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 25700 checklistsNov 15-21: 23% of 24331 checklistsNov 22-30: 22% of 32784 checklistsDec 1-7: 22% of 24099 checklistsDec 8-14: 21% of 23339 checklistsDec 15-21: 19% of 27666 checklistsDec 22-31: 21% of 42130 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 Washington 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 Washington

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Benton CountyBest early December · 487 checklists that week, 23,565 in all47%
  2. Skamania CountyBest early December · 122 checklists that week, 10,140 in all41%
  3. Franklin CountyBest late December · 239 checklists that week, 7,970 in all39%
  4. Thurston CountyBest early November · 1082 checklists that week, 68,352 in all37%
  5. Wahkiakum CountyBest mid December · 53 checklists that week, 5,618 in all35%
  6. Garfield CountyBest mid March · 44 checklists that week, 1,130 in all35%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Miller CreekKing County, best early November · 20 checklists that week, 836 in all100%
  2. Percival CoveThurston County, best late October · 30 checklists that week, 1,098 in all100%
  3. Hylebos WaterwayPierce County, best late October · 21 checklists that week, 226 in all100%
  4. Walla Walla Point ParkChelan County, best mid October · 78 checklists that week, 2,889 in all100%
  5. Kah Tai Lagoon Nature ParkJefferson County, best late October · 69 checklists that week, 2,811 in all99%

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

Best time of day

In Washington, the American Wigeon is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (15% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (796) to judge1 am: too few checklists (776) to judge2 am: too few checklists (709) to judge3 am: too few checklists (901) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3221) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16576) to judge6 am: 6.7% of 56744 checklists7 am: 9.9% of 133294 checklists8 am: 12% of 184196 checklists9 am: 12% of 186303 checklists10 am: 13% of 177063 checklists11 am: 14% of 154936 checklists12 pm: 14% of 138061 checklists1 pm: 14% of 127449 checklists2 pm: 15% of 121511 checklists3 pm: 14% of 107793 checklists4 pm: 11% of 82862 checklists5 pm: 8.0% of 57183 checklists6 pm: 4.9% of 39886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (26969) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (12427) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3658) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1500) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (834) 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
January22%22%22%21%
February20%18%17%20%
March20%21%20%18%
April15%13%11%8.7%
May5.7%3.8%2.8%2.2%
June1.4%1.1%0.8%0.6%
July0.4%0.4%0.4%0.4%
August0.5%0.7%1.5%3.4%
September5.9%8.1%9.8%12%
October14%17%20%22%
November23%23%23%22%
December22%21%19%21%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: arrives late August, 1 week later than Washington
  • Idaho: arrives early August, 2 weeks earlier than Washington
  • Montana: arrives mid March, 20 weeks earlier than Washington
  • Nevada: arrives mid August, in the same week than Washington

Common questions

When do American Wigeons arrive in Washington?
American Wigeons are winter birds in Washington: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by mid September, peak in the second week of November (23% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do American Wigeons leave Washington?
Most American Wigeons have left Washington by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late May.
When is the best time to see a American Wigeon in Washington?
The American Wigeon is reported most often in the second week of November, on about 23% of Washington checklists.
Where in Washington are American Wigeons seen most often?
By county, Benton County, Skamania County, and Franklin County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Wigeon (counties with at least 200 checklists).