American Wigeon - "White Cheeked"

While taking some shots of various ducks at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, I noticed an American Wigeon with a rather white face. It was among a feeding frenzy caused by a visitor tossing feed into the water. It really stood out from the rest of the ducks.

I did a web search on "white cheeked" American Wigeons and found that it is a rare morph. One site stated that it occurs in about 1 out of every 500 birds. Not that rare considering the number one can see around here doing the winter. Based on some of the pictures I saw, some cases are not as extreme as this bird's coloration, so I suppose it may not always be as apparent.

A typical male American Wigeon taken earlier in the day at Westmoreland Park, cheeks heavily covered in small dark specks.

Ducks in Flight - Northern Pintail, American & Eurasian Wigeon

On Dec. 18th I was watching the ducks in the main pond off the overlook of the visitor center at TRNWR when a Bald Eagle swooped in and flushed many of the ducks. I took a few pictures of the ducks in flight and got this one of some Northern Pintails, American Wigeons and a Eurasian Wigeon. I thought it was an interesting mix in one picture.

American Wigeon

A male American Wigeon seen at Westmoreland Park in Portland on Nov 22. This was one of the many American Wigeons that were hosting the two Eurasian Wigeons.

American Wigeon

Having done most of my birding as a grade-schooler in rural Minnesota, I find that there are a fair number of birds here in Oregon that I have never seen before in person. This American Wigeon is one such bird. I got several pictures of males like the one in this image, but no females. I assume there may have been some, but I wasn't aware of them. Female ducks tend to be plainer looking than their male counter parts and attack less attention (Hmmm, maybe that's intentional). Now that I know what the female looks like, next time I'm at the Rhododendron Garden, I'll be looking for one.