26 Ducks in Michigan

This is a listing of 26 ducks you can find in Michigan. Some are seen year-round, some are seasonal, and some are rarities just passing through.

Like the rest of the bird world, male ducks (Drakes) show off their beautiful plumage in the breeding season. Females are called Hens and are plain, brown-feathered waterfowl.

Ducks can be found throughout Michigan, and can be divided into groups by their feeding habits:

Dabbling Ducks are mainly found in fresh water and can be identified as dabblers by their habit of tipping their heads down and butts up when they feed in shallow waters. If their asses are in the air; they are dabbling ducks. Dabbling Ducks are the proverbial puddle ducks found in small ponds.

Diving ducks will get all of themselves wet at the same time. You can find these ducks in freshwater, saltwater, and brackish water, on lakes, streams, bays, and inlets.

Sea ducks are diving ducks. They can stay underwater for long periods. Most live on the open ocean or offshore islands during the summer and come into the coastal or open waters in winter (and that water may be fresh or brackish.)

For more birdwatching in Michigan see our articles on backyard birds, woodpeckers, hawks, and owls.

Dabbling Ducks

1. American Black Duck

American Black duck male and female pair

Scientific Name: Anas rubripes                                  Size: 23 inches

American Black Duck resemble female Mallards, but they are slightly smaller and their feathers and eye stripes are darker than those found on the female Mallard. They have grayish bills and orange legs and feet. 

These ducks show a purple-blue speculum. They are year-round residents in Michigan.

Since American Black Ducks cross easily with the Mallard, there are many hybrids. And like Mallards, American Black Ducks quack. They are ground nesters and seed eaters but they also like some animal proteins mixed in.

Interesting Facts & Notes

The American Black Duck was the model for Daffy Duck (he’s black, but they’re not).

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2. Mallard

Mallard ducks both male and female

Scientific Name: Anas platyrhynchos      Size: 23 inches

The most common ducks in Michigan and up and down the East Coast.

Male Mallards have distinctive iridescent green heads, white neck rings, brown breasts, and pale bodies while the females are all brown. Both have bright orange feet.

Mallards have a blue wing patch, called a speculum, seen in flight but occasionally can be observed when the ducks go about their other doings.

These are the quintessential dabbling ducks. 

Genetically, Mallards can cross with other wild duck species (like American Black Duck and Muscovy), and with ducks such as Domestic Mallards, Domestic Muscovy, Pekin, and other domesticated breeds. 

These hybrids may look like a Mallard, something resembling a Mallard – or nothing like a Mallard.

Interesting Facts & Notes

!!! Going down to the local pond to feed the ducks? No bread, please! Bread has absolutely no nutritional value for waterfowl, and causes a disease known as “Angel Wing”, which prevents the birds from flying and makes them a “sitting duck” for predators.

Bring them cracked corn or commercial duck feed instead. The waterfowl will thank you.

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3. Wood Duck

Wood duck male and female

Scientific Name: Aix sponsa          Size: 18.5 inches

Striking, small, compact ducks, seen in pairs or solo, but seldom in big flocks. They are usually found on quiet lakes, ponds, and streams.

In Michigan, Wood Ducks are usually year-round residents.

Male Wood Ducks are beautifully colored, with an iridescent green head, cinnamon body, red eyes, bold white markings, and a slightly domed head. Female Wood Ducks are brown with distinctive white eyeliner markings on their face. Both have a slightly longer tail.

Wood Ducks use tree cavities and man-made nest boxes above the ground to secure their young from predators.

Interesting Facts & Notes

When they are ready to leave the nest, young Wood Ducks take a leap of faith – they jump out of their nest, hit the ground, and go off in search of water.

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4. American Wigeon

Scientific Name: Mareca americana         Size: 20 inches

A squat duck with a pinkish-brown body and a small bill.

Males have a white or buffy stripe on their foreheads and an iridescent green splash starting behind the eye. The female has a dull gray head. While the female American Wigeons have a husky-sounding quack, the males whistle. This is a duck you will hear before you see it.

Interesting Facts & Notes

An old name for the American Wigeon was “Baldpate” because it was thought that the white stripe on the males resembled an old man’s bald head.

If you see an American Wigeon with a rufous head and a buff-colored forehead stripe, it may be a cousin from across the ocean, the Eurasian Wigeon. Eurasian Wigeons turn up as rare winter visitors among the groups of their American Wigeon relatives.

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5. Eurasian Wigeon

Eurasian male and female ducks

Scientific Name: Anas Penelope                Size: 20 inches

The drake has a rufous head with a buff-colored stripe starting at the forehead. The breast is light rufous and the sides and belly are light gray in breeding plumage. The breast turns light brown in the non-breeding season.

Female Eurasian Wigeons look like their American Wigeon sisters, so this identification isn’t easy. The Eurasians tend to have a warmer brown on their heads and a gray underwing when seen in flight.

This duck species is often found mixed in with American Wigeon.

Interesting Facts & Notes

American and Eurasian Wigeons hybridize easily, so consider this if you see something that resembles a combination of the two species.

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6. Gadwall

Gadwall duck pair

Scientific Name: Anas strepera                  Size: 20 inches

A stocky duck with a rather subdued gray-brown plumage and yellow feet. Gadwalls are usually found in Michigan during migration.

The male has black feathers on its rump in the breeding season. If you see a dull brown duck with a black butt, it has to be a male Gadwall.

If you find the ducks with the black butts, the less flashy brown females near them are likely female Gadwalls.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Gregarious ducks, Gadwall hang out with other duck species, especially American Wigeon. You can pick them out by the male’s black rump.

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7. Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail duck pair

Scientific Name: Anas acuta                        Size: 21 inches

A slender, elegant dabbling duck with a very long tail and neck and a sleek, clean look. 

If ducks attended formal affairs, they would dress like a Northern Pintail. All they would need to add is a bow tie for the male and a string of pearls for the female.

The male has a brown head with a black bill, a long white neck and breast, and a gray body while the female is dull buffy brown with a gray bill. Northern Pintails have a bronze or dark brown speculum that shows when on the wing.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Northern Pintails are called “Greyhound of the Air” due to their long, slender, streamlined flight profile.

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8. Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler ducks

Scientific Name: Anas clypeata                                  Size: 19 inches

Large dabbling duck with an unmistakable long, spoon-shaped bill.

The males have an iridescent green head, while the chest, breast, and rump is white with a chestnut side and belly. Female Northern Shovelers are speckled brown.    

The characteristic feature of the Northern Shoveler is its spoon-shaped bill, which is dark gray (black in breeding season) in the male and olive and light orange in the female. Shovelers use their broad bills to filter seeds, invertebrates, aquatic insects, and small mollusks and crustaceans from the mud.

Interesting Facts & Notes

No other dabbling duck has a bill as long as a Northern Shoveler. 

Northern Shovelers also work together, swimming in circles to stir up any seeds and weeds that will float to the surface, and then eating what arises.

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9. Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged duck male and female

Scientific Name: Anas discors                     Size: 15.5 inches

A small, slender duck with beautiful male breeding plumage. In Michigan, they are only seen during spring and fall migration. Look for them in shallow water, close to the shoreline.

The males have a distinctive white crescent on their face, dark blue head, dark bill, and white hip patch on a dark mottled brown body; the mottled brown female has a dark eye stripe and a white patch on her face close to the bill.

When in flight, they can be identified by their sky-pale blue secondary feathers and iridescent green speculum. Their flight profile is small, slender, and fast.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Blue-winged Teals prefer shallow marshy ponds and mudflats and like to be close to edges, where they can pick out seeds and other vegetation.

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10. Green-winged Teal

green-winged teal duck

Scientific Name: Anas crecca                      Size: 14 inches

Mostly seen during spring and fall migration, and occasionally during the rest of the year, this beautiful duck is the smallest of the dabbling ducks and has a short neck and slender, short bill. Green-winged Teal can be easily identified in all plumages by size (did I mention these ducks are small?)

The breeding male sports a rufous head with a bright iridescent green splash starting at the eye. He has a white vertical bar on his shoulder against a light grayish body and a pinkish-brown breast.

Females look like little female Mallards, with grey legs and feet, a darker head, and a dark eye line.

In flight, Green-winged Teal shows a green speculum. They are fast flyers with quick wingbeats.

Interesting Facts & Notes

The Green-winged Teal is a small duck. Even in a large mixed flock, the Green-winged Teal is the tiniest duck on the pond.

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Diving Ducks

11. Ring-necked Duck

ring-neck duck pair

Scientific Name: Aythya collatis                 Size: 17 inches

A medium-sized diving duck found in freshwater; the Ring-necked Duck is one of the common migrants in Michigan, seen in fall and winter.

The male has a black head with a noticeable “bump” towards the top, a black back and rump, a light gray body, and a white vertical splash between the body and the breast. A white stripe is between his head and a light gray bill with a black tip.

There is a ring around the Ring-necked Duck, but it is brown and difficult to see from a distance.

The female’s back is a medium-gray over a light brown body. She has a white eye ring and a white spot between her head; her bill is the same as the male.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Ring-necked Ducks look a lot like Lesser and Greater Scaup. See Interesting Facts & Notes on the Greater Scaup to find tips on telling these birds apart from each other.

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12. Lesser Scaup

lesser scaup ducks

Scientific Name: Aythya affinis                   Size: 16.5 inches

Lesser Scaup are diving ducks found on freshwater ponds, lakes, and bays. In Michigan, Lesser Scaups are seen during migration.

The male has a black head (which may show a purplish iridescence in certain light), neck, and breast like the Ring-necked Duck, but his back is light gray barring, a larger proportion of white body, and a larger black rear. He has a blue bill but no white strip between the bill and his head.

The female, however, has a white crescent around her bill, a dark-brown head, neck, and breast, with a brown-gray body and a darker brown back. The Lesser Scaup has a sort of square-top head.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Identification tips for all three similar-looking birds can be found in the Interesting Facts & Notes section under Greater Scaup.

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13. Greater Scaup

greater scaup ducks

Scientific Name: Aythya marila                  Size: 18 inches

These diving ducks are found on saltwater bays and lakes and are often found in large numbers. Greater Scaups are seen in Michigan during winter months.

The male has a black head (which may show a greenish iridescence in certain light), neck, and breast, like the Ring-necked Duck and Lesser Scaup, but his back has light gray barring on top of a white body and a larger black rump. He has a blue bill but no white strip between the bill and his head.

The female has a white crescent around her bill, a dark-brown head, neck, and breast, a brown-gray body, and a darker brown back.

If this sounds similar to the duck listed above, it is. There is not much difference between Lesser and Greater Scaup, so it’s hard to tell them apart.

Greater Scaup have rounded heads; from certain angles, it almost looks like they are slouching. Even this doesn’t help much when trying to make an identification, but hopefully, our Interesting Facts & Notes will help.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup and sometimes Greater Scaup can be found on the same body of water (sometimes in large flocks), making their identification difficult. These are probably the most confusing species of ducks you’ll have to identify.

Male Ring-necked Ducks have a black back, black tips on their bills, and a white stripe between their faces and their bills. The females have white eye rings.

In good light, the male Lesser Scaup has a light gray back, no black tip on the bill, and a squarish black head with a purplish iridescence. The female Lesser Scaup has no white eye ring.

The Greater Scaup has a rounded black head with green iridescence and a slightly lighter gray back than the Lesser Scaup. The female has a lighter brown back.

Usually, Greater Scaup is greater in salt water, Lesser Scaup is greater than Greater Scaup in fresh water, and Ring-necked is greater than Lesser and Greater Scaup in fresh water. 

Are you still confused? Don’t feel bad – even the seasoned birder has difficulty with this group, especially with the two Scaup species. 

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14. Ruddy Duck

ruddy ducks male and female

Scientific Name: Oxyura jamaicensis                        Size: 15 inches

Small, stocky, large-headed duck with a stiff, cocked-up tail. Ruddy Ducks are year-round residents of Michigan.

Male Ruddy Ducks have a black cap on their heads, white cheeks, rufous bodies, and blue bills in full breeding plumage; non-breeding males still have distinctive white cheeks and black caps over a brownish-gray body.

Female Ruddy Ducks look like the non-breeding males but with a brown cap and a white cheek and have a brown horizontal stripe across it.

Their tails are stiff and spiky and they stand up when swimming. Their small, compact silhouette looks like a rubber duck, and they float like rubber ducks in a tub.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Serious night feeders, Ruddy Duck can often be found napping with their heads tucked in and tails sticking up during the day.

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15. Canvasback

Canvasback duck

Scientific Name: Aythya valisineria                           Size: 21 inches

A large duck with a distinctive sloping head, long, tapering black bill, red eye, and a long neck. Canvasbacks are winter visitors to Michigan.

The male Canvasback has a chestnut-red head and neck and black breast on a white body in full breeding plumage (light grayish brown in non-breeding season) while female heads are light brown in the breeding season.

The Canvasback has a prominent sloping head that stands out among the diving ducks, except for the Eiders.

Interesting Facts & Notes

The Canvasback is one of the largest diving ducks and has a memorable silhouette, making it stand out when viewed in bad lighting.

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16. Redhead

Redhead ducks

Scientific Name: Aythya americana          Size: 19 to 20 inches

The Redhead is a beautiful, eye-catching diving duck. Seeing one in full sunlight shows just how stunning their plumage is, and makes them easy to spot among big mixed flocks.

The male Redhead has a bright rufous head, a blue bill with a black tip, a gray body with a slightly rounded back, and a black chest and rump.

The female Redhead is a duller brown with a bluish-gray bill, with the same rounded head and body as the male. 

Interesting Facts & Notes

Redheads are social and are usually found on lakes and bays in the company of other duck species like Ring-neck Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, and Canvasback.

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17. Bufflehead

bufflehead ducks

Scientific Name: Bucephala albeola                                        Size: 13 to 16 inches

The Bufflehead is a small diving duck found in both fresh and saltwater during the winter months.

Male Buffleheads have a large white patch on the back of their head, white body, and black back. The female is mostly grey and black with a white splash on the cheek

They stay together in small groups and are often seen cruising along in a flotilla.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Buffleheads appear like the proverbial rubber duck, bobbing up and down on the water. Notice that when they dive, there is always a single sentinel or a group that stays on top to look for signs of danger relative to the size of the group that’s underwater. 

This can make them hard to count when doing a survey or even your own – 10 on top and 8 went down but now 2 came up and 5 went down??? Frustrating, but they are fun to watch! 

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Mergansers

Mergansers are diving ducks with long, thin bills for holding fish. There are three species of Mergansers found throughout Michigan. 

If you see any of these birds in Spring, you may be lucky enough to see the Merganser Dance. Males of all three species line up to impress the girls by bobbing heads, extending their necks, rising out of the water, flapping wings, snapping their bills, and making weird grunting sounds.

18. Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser ducks
Hooded Mangerser duck pair

Scientific Name: Lophodytes cucullatus                  Size: 18 inches

Small Mergansers with long, slender bills are affectionately called “Hoodies” by birders. Mostly found on ponds and bays, especially if they have woods around them.

Male Hooded Mergansers have a cinnamon body, black head and back, and the distinctive black-and-white hood that, when closed, is somewhat rectangular in shape and rounded when opened.

The female has a long tail, a dark gray body, and a head with ample frosted brown feathers trailing behind its head.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Female Mergansers always look like they’ve had a bad hair day, wet or dry. The female “Hoodies” appear to have had a moderate day compared to their other Merganser sisters.

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19. Common Merganser

Common merganser ducks

Scientific Name: Mergus merganser         Size: 25 inches

Large Merganser with long, slender orange bills. They glide on the water with a clean, regal appearance. In Michigan, they are year-round residents but are often seen more in fall and winter.

The males have a white body, sleek iridescent green head, and black back. Females are gray with a cinnamon head. Their head feathers form a short crest. They can have that same “bad hair day” look of all the female Mergansers, but they never seem to appear as disheveled as the Hoodies and Red-breasted females do.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Common Mergansers can have big broods and often adopt other chicks found without mothers. They will line up behind the mother or get up on her back for a free ride.

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20. Red-breasted Merganser

Scientific Name: Mergus serrator              Size: 23 inches

The largest Merganser. Red-breasted Mergansers, also known as Sawbills, are seen in Michigan during winter months.

Both Red-breasted Mergansers have long, slim serrated bills. The male bill is red while the female’s bill is orange.

Red-breasted Mergansers have the worst hair days in the Merganser family. While the males can look like they’ve just gotten out of bed, the females look like they’ve just driven cross country in a convertible. It gets worse when they get wet.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Red-breasted Mergansers need to eat seventeen fish a day on average. That means they have to dive between 250-300 times every day to meet their nutritional requirements.

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Sea Ducks

While you would normally expect to find these ducks floating on the ocean, they do find their way into sheltered bays, estuaries, brackish waters, and large lakes in the interior.

21. Common Goldeneye

Scientific Name: Bucephela clangula                       Size: 18.5 inches

Diving ducks with noticeable golden eyes and white cheek patches. They are seen on both fresh and saltwater during Michigan winters.

Male Common Goldeneyes have a white body, black rump, greenish-black iridescent heads, and a white spot beneath their eyes.

The female Common Goldeneye has a light gray body, dark butt, and brown head.

Common Goldeneyes have a broad white wing patch noticeable in flight.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Common Goldeneye’s wings make a metallic whistling sound when in flight.

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22. Long-tailed Duck

Long-tail duck pair

Scientific Name: Clangula hymalis                     Size: 20.5 inches

Whether diving, flying, or hanging out on the water, Long-tailed Ducks always look like they are having fun. What’s a little cold when you’re watching these happy-go-lucky beautiful little ducks?

For the most part, Long-tailed Ducks are black or brown with white patches and markings. The male Long-tailed Duck is strikingly patterned, changing plumage throughout the year. 

Breeding plumage drakes have white heads, necks, and chests and a black patch on their cheeks. Females are mostly brown with white patches.

Long-tailed Ducks are great divers. They are fast on the wing and fly lower on the water than most other ducks.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Yodel-Ay-Hee-Hoo!!

These ducks are so much fun to watch! Long-tailed Ducks dive into the water like little daredevils. And they yodel! You may not be able to see them, but you can hear them loud and clear.

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23. Harlequin Duck

Harlequin ducks

Scientific Name: Histrionicus histrionicus              Size: 16.5 inches

A compact, small-billed duck that could easily vie for the title of the most beautiful duck, Harlequins love rocky coasts, jetties, and anywhere you can find rough, turbulent waters. They are a recent winter visitor to the state, so I’m listing them in this part of the article to make Michiganders aware of their presence. These beautiful ducks will hopefully make Michigan another stop on their winter wanderings.

Male Harlequins stand out in the duck world – no other duck looks like them. The bodies are slate-blue, the sides and flanks are chestnut, and white stripes frame each color. Add white spots on the face and neck, and you have one fabulous duck.

Females are brown with white spots on the face and behind the eye.

Harlequin Ducks make squeaking noises when they are together, which is why they are sometimes called the “Sea Mouse”.

These birds love rough water. They can be found around jetties, rocky coasts, and fast-moving rivers. They pay a price for all this white-water frolicking, though.

Interesting Facts & Notes

If Harlequin Ducks were humans, they would be an orthopedist’s favorite patients. Harlequins are frequently found with broken bones from being pushed around in the rough waters they inhabit. As evidenced by museum specimens and X-rays, many have had healed fractures.

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24. Black Scoter        

Scientific Name: Melanitta nigra                Size: 19 inches

The Black Scoter is the smallest and most compact of the Scoter family. In Michigan, they can be found only during winter months.

They are dark sea ducks with short bills found floating in rafts on the open salt water.

Males have yellow-orange bills and are all black; females are dark with whitish patches on the face and cheeks.

Interesting Facts & Notes

Black Scoters are vocal. They make a whistling sound that carries far over the water.

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25. White-winged Scoter

Scientific Name: Melanitta fusca                                           Size: 21 inches

The largest of the Scoters, White-winged Scoters are usually found in rafts floating along with other members of the Scoter family. Seasonal visitors to Michigan, White-winged Scoters are found in winter months.

White-winged Scoters have a long bill and somewhat concave head. Males are black on top over a dark brown body, with a distinctive white “comma” below their eyes. The bills are orange and slightly puffed close to the head.

Female White-winged Scoters are dark brownish-black. Like the other female Scoters, they have two white patches on the face, one behind the eye and the other on the face between the eyes.

The white speculum on both sexes is an easy identification mark, not only when on the wing, but also when diving or sitting in the water.

Interesting Facts & Notes

White-winged Scoters are usually found in mixed rafts along with Black Scoters. The male White-winged Scoter’s eye comma stands out, so if you count all the black ducks with white eye markings, the rest of the male Scoters in the group must be Black Scoters. (This tip is courtesy of a waterfowl census-taker).

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26. Surf Scoter

Scientific Name: Melanitta perspicillata                  Size: 20 inches

Surf Scoters like to be where the breaking waves are, which is why they are the Scoter found closest to shore. They are also the Scoter species easiest to identify. Look for them in winter months on the Great Lakes.

Surf Scoter males are all black with a white patch on the forehead and a larger one on the nape of the neck. They have heavy triangular, multi-colored, bulbous bills that stand out among the sea ducks. 

Male Surf Scoter bills appear orange from afar but are black, white, red, and yellow. They are wider and puffier at the top and taper towards the tip, making their heads wedge-like.

The female Surf Scoter has two white patches on her face, one in the front being long and narrow while the other sits behind and beneath the eye. 

Interesting Facts & Notes

An old name for the Surf Scoter used to be “Skunk Head”.

First-winter males do not have the large, protruding bill of mature adults.

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Rare ducks in Michigan

If you see a species of duck that appears to be a Ring-billed Duck but has a long feather growing from the back of its head, that’s a Tufted Duck, a rare visitor to Michigan. You’ll probably need a scope to make positive IDs on the Tufted Duck because those extra head feathers could be very long and easily visible or a very short curl.

The Eurasian Wigeon is rare, but not as rare as the Eurasian Green-winged Teal. Eurasian Teal showed up in Michigan in 2021 and again in 2022. Like the Eurasian Wigeons, they are usually found with their American cousins. To identify Eurasian Teal from Green-winged Teal, look for a white horizontal stripe above the scapular. How much of it you can see depends on the individual bird – sometimes you see the whole stripe and sometimes just a hint of it. The Eurasian also lacks the white vertical stripe of the Green-winged Teal.

Oh, and they hybridize just like American Wigeon and European Wigeon, so you’ll have to consider that. Take a photo if you can and show it to someone in a local Audubon or birding group.

Fun Facts – Where’s the White?

White seems to be a color that most waterfowl have in common. This method of identifying species of waterfowl by where the white is comes from the Cornell Bird Lab.

It works like this –   do you see white on the duck you’re observing? It’s in different areas on different duck species 

  • White-winged Scoters have a white comma under their eye and a distinctive white speculum that can be seen in flight and when resting on the waves (and females have white face patches). 
  • Surf Scoters have a white patch on their foreheads and the back of their necks in addition to their huge bills (face patches on females apply here too). 
  • Black Scoter males have no white, and females have face patches.

Using the white markings, you can identify each Scoter species by seeing where the white is: a comma under the eye is a White-winged, forehead and neck patches are Surf, and no white is a Black Scoter. Eventually, you will become familiar with the shapes and locations of the face patches on the females, and become an expert Scoter spotter.

Where to find Ducks in Michigan

The best places to find ducks in Michigan are ponds, lakes, bays, beaches, and the Great Lakes. 

Favorite spots are anywhere on lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, wetlands, beaches, and shorelines.

Most of the ducks mentioned here are winter visitors to Michigan. Mallards, Wood Ducks, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, and Ruddy ducks are year-round residents, along with all 3 Merganser species, while Blue-winged Teal are only seen during Spring and Fall migrations. 

National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) are awesome places for bird watchers and hunters to search for ducks.

There are 7 National Wildlife Refuges in Michigan. These areas are prime viewing locations for migratory waterfowl:

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Michigan Islands NWR

Harbor Island NWR Seney NWR

Huron NWR Shiawassee NWR

Michigan Wetland Management District

Michigan Islands NWR consists of 8 islands in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Shiawassee NWR comprises 2 islands in Thunder Bay (Alpena MI) and 2 islands in Saginaw Bay (Saginaw MI).

*** If you want to visit one of the National Wildlife Refuges in Michigan, please consider purchasing a Federal Duck Stamp. ***

The $25 fee gets you a beautiful commemorative stamp featuring paintings of waterfowl. It provides the network of National Wildlife Refuges with funds to maintain and preserve valuable wetland habitats like freshwater marshes.

Showing your Federal Duck Stamp covers any entrance/parking fees at most National Wildlife Refuges.

In addition to the NWRs, there are preserves and local wildlife management areas that are awesome places to bird. 

Conclusion

Whatever state you find yourself in, the local Audubon Society is also a good place to find where the ducks are being seen. The Michigan Audubon has great information on bird watching in the Great Lakes State.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this little guide to the ducks you will find in Michigan. All you need to start is a decent pair of binoculars and a good location. Get out there are see all the wonderful ducks found in Michigan.

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