The Blue-winged Teal is a small, fast-flying dabbling duck that seems always to be in a hurry. The drake in breeding plumage is unmistakable at close range — a slate-gray head crossed by a bold white crescent in front of the eye — while both sexes flash a chalky powder-blue patch on the forewing that gives the species its name and is best seen when the birds burst into flight. They twist and turn in tight, erratic flocks low over the marsh.
Blue-winged Teal favor shallow, weedy wetlands where they dabble at the surface for seeds and small invertebrates. They are among the latest ducks to arrive in spring and among the first to depart in fall, wintering as far south as Central and South America — one of the longest migrations of any North American duck. In Michigan they breed in marshes and wet meadows and pass through in good numbers during migration.
A surface-feeding dabbler that strains seeds, aquatic plants, and small invertebrates — insects, snails, and crustaceans — from shallow water and mud. Protein-rich animal food becomes especially important for females before and during egg-laying.
It is a panel of powder-blue feathers on the leading edge of the wing, shared by both sexes and most visible in flight. It gives the Blue-winged Teal its name and helps separate it from the Green-winged Teal.
Blue-winged Teal are long-distance migrants that winter far south, some reaching South America. They begin moving in late summer, making them among the earliest ducks to depart Michigan.
Look for a small duck with a slate-gray head marked by a bold white crescent just in front of the eye, and a speckled brown body. In flight both sexes show the diagnostic blue forewing.
Males molt into a drab, female-like eclipse plumage in midsummer and are flightless for a few weeks, which is why August birds look uniformly brown. The blue wing patch stays visible in flight at every age.
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