 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
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Atlas Results
Blue-winged Teal were observed in 1,655 atlas squares across the province. South of the boreal fringes they were common and found wherever wetlands and suitable upland nesting exists. In the boreal regions, Blue-winged Teal were more scarce, with multiple sightings along the Churchill River east of Missinipe and the MacFarlane River south of Lake Athabasca. As with most waterfowl, breeding was easy to confirm with plenty of downy young spotted resulting in breeding confirmations in 313 squares.
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
Blue-winged Teal males may spend only 4 months in this province before dashing south toward South America. Soon after arrival in Saskatchewan, pairs will pick a wetland area that the male defends against intruders into late incubation. Despite an abundance of predators, the Blue-winged Teal population is growing quickly. Blue-wings breed from east-central Alaska to southwestern Newfoundland, south to northeastern California and across to Louisiana. The species winters farther south than any other duck, through Central America and the West Indies to central Peru and central Argentina.
The relatively small size of the Blue-winged Teal allows it to exploit small shallow waters, ditches, dugouts, or potholes, which would not attract the larger dabbling ducks. Pair density in the Cumberland Marshes was highest along lake shorelines that had a broken band of giant [common] reed-grass onshore (Goodman 1974).
The Blue-winged Teal is common in the grasslands, parklands, and Cumberland Delta, uncommon in the rest of the southern boreal region, and rare and local in the northern boreal region (Smith 1996). Densities of breeding birds in good habitat can be high: 26.6 pairs/ km of shoreline at Leech marsh near Yorkton in 1973 (Schmidt 1973).
Original text by Ross D. Dickson. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Blue-winged Teal in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Blue-winged Teal in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=BWTE&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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