WhenToBird

Mareca penelope · Anatidae

When Do Eurasian Wigeons Arrive in Alaska?

Adult male Eurasian Wigeon
Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Eurasian Wigeons arrive in Alaska in mid September, peak in mid April (2.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Most gone byJun 1-7early June

Best: mid April. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by early June. Peak: on about 2.9% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.7% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.7% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.5% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.6% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.6% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.8% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.9% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.9% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.2% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.6% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.9% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.3% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.1% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.1% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.0% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.3% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.3% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.6% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.9% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.9% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.6% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.7% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Aleutians West Census AreaBest mid October · 27 checklists that week, 6,087 in all18%
  2. Kodiak Island BoroughBest late April · 413 checklists that week, 11,483 in all15%
  3. Kenai Peninsula BoroughBest the second week of April · 727 checklists that week, 49,772 in all8.6%
  4. Bristol Bay BoroughBest early May · 51 checklists that week, 980 in all4.4%
  5. Haines BoroughBest early May · 23 checklists that week, 1,690 in all3.7%
  6. Aleutians East BoroughBest the second week of November · 12 checklists that week, 1,634 in all3.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Homer Visitor Center Administrative SiteKenai Peninsula Borough, best late March · 22 checklists that week, 1,195 in all70%
  2. Lake OrbinKodiak Island Borough, best late April · 54 checklists that week, 432 in all43%
  3. Kalsin PondKodiak Island Borough, best the second week of April · 32 checklists that week, 798 in all40%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Eurasian Wigeon is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 0.3% of 9751 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 17236 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 24936 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 30139 checklists10 am: 0.8% of 30866 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 0.8% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 0.9% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 0.9% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 0.8% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January0.7%0.7%0.5%0.6%
February0.6%0.8%0.8%0.9%
March0.7%0.9%1.2%1.6%
April1.9%2.3%3.1%3.1%
May2.0%1.3%1.0%0.8%
June0.4%0.3%0.2%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
August0.1%0%0%0.1%
September0.2%0.2%0.4%0.8%
October0.6%0.9%0.7%0.9%
November0.6%0.6%0.5%0.4%
December0.4%0.7%0.4%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives mid October, 4 weeks later than Alaska
  • Oregon: arrives mid October, 4 weeks later than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives early March, 22 weeks later than Alaska
  • California: arrives late October, 5 weeks later than Alaska

Common questions

When do Eurasian Wigeons arrive in Alaska?
Eurasian Wigeons arrive in Alaska in mid September, peak in mid April (2.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.
When do Eurasian Wigeons leave Alaska?
Most Eurasian Wigeons have left Alaska by early June, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Eurasian Wigeon in Alaska?
The Eurasian Wigeon is reported most often in mid April, on about 2.9% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Eurasian Wigeons seen most often?
By county, Aleutians West Census Area, Kodiak Island Borough, and Kenai Peninsula Borough have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eurasian Wigeon (counties with at least 200 checklists).