The Blue-winged Teal is Arizona’s smallest dabbling duck and one of its most abundant migrants. Adults measure about 13–15 inches in length and are easily recognized by the male’s white facial crescent and the bright blue patch on the shoulder, which flashes in flight.
In Arizona, Blue-winged Teals pass through in large numbers each spring (March–April) and fall (September–October), stopping to refuel in shallow marshes, irrigation ponds, and flooded agricultural fields. Smaller numbers overwinter in the state—particularly along the lower Colorado River and at refuges such as the Cienega de Santa Clara—where they feed by “dabbling” for seeds of pondweeds, sedges, and other aquatic plants, as well as insects and small crustaceans. Though their primary breeding range lies much farther north, a handful of nesting attempts have been documented in Arizona’s higher-elevation meadows.
