Wigeon  (Anas penelope)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Threats

The wigeon is not an especially threatened species; the UK breeding population has numbered at least 300 pairs for nearly thirty years. There have been local declines, thought to have been caused by acidification of upland lakes and loss of nesting habitat through afforestation.

Conservation

There are two Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for breeding wigeon supporting some 80 pairs, about 27% of the UK breeding population. The bulk of the world’s wigeon breed in Scandinavia and Russia. The largest concentrations of the birds in Britain occur during winter with the arrival of migrants from northern Europe and Asia. Estimates suggest that over 300,000 wigeon over winter in the UK, this figure is thought to represent fewer than 18% of the world population. There are 38 SPAs throughout Britain designated for wintering wigeon. Of these, by far the largest numbers are found on the Ribble and Alt Estuaries in Lancashire and the Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire.

There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway.
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
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