Eurasian wigeon, or Euros for short, are a species of European waterfowl found breeding in the northern Paleartice regions before migrating throughout Europe and parts of Asia. A close cousin to the American wigeon, these football-shaped birds feature a chestnut-colored head and a distinct white crown.
For many, Euros are a bucket list bird, with a handful being shot each year in the PNW. Historically, these birds were a rarity, likely from lost birds making their way from Russia. Yet every year, more and more Euros are harvested in the PNW. Whether it’s improvements in technology, better scouting, or an influx in Euros, we’ve been fortunate enough to harvest a handful in recent years. If you’re thinking of toughing it out and trying your luck at a Euro wigeon, there is no better time than now.
First of Many
A pair of wigeon banked hard into the decoys. Both were backlit by the morning sun. Both were drakes, their football-shaped bodies and blocky heads leaving no doubt. I raised and shot the first one as it hovered over a line of Big Al’s wigeon silhouette decoys. The other turned to the sky. Sunlight glistened off the body, and I hollered, “Storm!” Dad dropped it with one shot.
“I think that was a storm wigeon,” I said to Dad as Kona, my male pudelpointer, swam to retrieve it. “It’s head looked awfully white,” Dad smiled. With anticipation, we watched as Kona brought the bird to the blind. It was just a stud drake American wigeon with more white than normal.
Turning to Echo, my female pudelpointer, who I’d turned loose to get my bird, I’ll never forget the feeling that rushed through my body. There she sat, a foot from me, quiet, bird in mouth, looking for me to take it. She had no idea she was holding a prized American-Eurasian wigeon hybrid. It was December 2021, my 45th year of duck hunting. It was the first Euro-flavored wigeon I’d ever shot. It was spectacular.
Repeated Success
Almost a month to the day later, in the same area, I hunted one afternoon from a one-man panel blind over a dozen Final Approach wigeon decoys. Wigeon were the goal. I’d been seeing some drake Eurasian wigeon when scouting. I also caught a couple on trail camera.
Pintail and teal worked the decoys, but I didn’t shoot. The only way to kill a Euro is by shooting wigeon, specifically, drakes. I figured about one in every 1,000 wigeon held a Eurasian drake that year. Shoot only drakes and the chances of shooting a Euro double. When a flock of wigeon short-stopped my decoys, I looked at them through binoculars. There was a Euro drake with the group of less than a dozen birds. It was windy and spitting rain. When the small flock swam against the backside of a pond, I made a move. The birds jumped a bit farther than I’d hoped, but I managed to drop the Euro. Kona was on it. That was the only Euro I’ve identified prior to pulling the trigger.
The following season, I was hunting with my buddy, Austin Crowson. This kid keeps me going. I love hunting with him and he loves hunting wigeon. We set up in a flooded field where Crowson had been seeing about 10,000 wigeon feeding the previous three days. “There’s a stud Euro in there,” he told me when making plans to hunt it. “I want you to shoot that thing,” he said.
The drake I’d gotten with Kona was a juvenile bird. I didn’t care, figuring it was likely the only Euro I’d ever shoot. Crowson and I planned to shoot only drake wigeon that day. We set out three dozen floating decoys and 12 dozen Big Al’s wigeon silhouettes. These decoys are money when it comes to pulling in wigeon. Tucked into our layout blinds, we waited. Then, the wigeon began to pour in. We were halfway through our limit when a big flock circled overhead. “Did you hear that,” Crowson piped. “There’s a Euro in that flock!”
I didn’t hear it. Too many years of hunting without ear protection and listening to ‘80s hair bands cranked to full volume are to thank for that. The flock left, as did our hopes of shooting a Euro. A few minutes later, a flock of 10 wigeon came in. This time, I heard the high, one-pitched note of a calling Eurasian. The flock circled once but the lighting was wrong to identify the Euro.
“Let’s take ‘em this time around,” Crowson whispered, both of us working our wigeon whistles extra hard. “Shoot the bottom one!” Crowson hollered as we simultaneously raised to shoot. I did. It fell. Crowson dropped two more drakes.
Crowson ran to the bird he told me to shoot. “You got it, you shot the Euro,” He shouted. Crowson picked it out of the flock just as they began to touch down. You know you have a good hunting partner when they call out a prized bird for you to shoot. Then again, Crowson had already shot 14 Eurasian wigeon in his young lifetime. He did shoot a spectacular shoveler that day, so we both went home with birds for the wall.
I shot a hen Eurasian that season, and Crowson dropped a dandy drake on another hunt together. The following season, I picked up two more drake Euros, and my dad shot his first one ever, a monster drake that took our breath away. Pretty exciting for an 83-year-old, lifelong waterfowl hunter.
Scouting is Key
This season the wigeon were late in coming. But the last three weeks were good. I run Moultrie Mobile cellular trail cameras for wigeon with the intent of locating Eurasian wigeon drakes. As the birds showed up, I picked up four Euro drakes on trial cameras. One was a stud with a dark head I hunted one day by myself. Crowson hunted another spot the same morning, also solo.
Where Crowson hunted he’d picked up about 8,000 wigeon on trail camera. He also runs a large number of Moultrie Mobile trail cameras for ducks. Though he couldn’t see a Euro on camera, he could hear one. We run all Moultrie Mobile trail cameras on video mode, for a video clip reveals so much more than a photo (for more trail camera tips, click HERE). In less than an hour of getting the clip, Crowson was scouting it. From afar, he picked out a nice Eurasian drake. That’s where he hunted.
I shot all drakes on the icy, foggy morning. All had green and white heads. Crowson texted me a photo of three drakes he’d killed. One was a Eurasian, the 15th of his life. He had no idea what it was when he shot it. There’s no doubt Eurasian wigeon numbers are increasing in the part of the Pacific Flyway we hunt in western Oregon. This year, I’d estimate one in about every 300 wigeon we saw was a Eurasian. That translates to a 1:100 ratio. I’ll take those odds any day.
The more Eurasian wigeon I see, the more I observe them flocking with their own kind. Last season I watched three Eurasian drakes feed together on the edge of a massive flock of American wigeon. I’ll never forget the sight of two more red-headed drakes swooping into view and landing next to the others. Four hens were also there, and two more drakes, 50 yards away. That got me thinking.
The Devils in the Decoys
I picked up a six-pack of the Final Approach Live Eurasian wigeon decoys. Those are the ones Dad’s solo stud Euro was landing in when he dropped it. I also set out to get some quality photos of live Euros in nearby parks and refuges once the season closed last year. I sent a few images to Big Al, and this past season, he printed some Eurasian widgeon silhouettes for us to test drive. They impressed me.
Live Eurasian Wigeon Decoys
Crowson shot his Euro over a spread of five dozen Big Al’s wigeon silhouettes, which included four Eurasians lumped together. I ran the Eurasian silhouettes in my spread and shot another hybrid over them this year, though it wasn’t as spectacular as the first one. Still, these species-specific decoys seem to have pulling power.
Crowson and I hunted together each of the final three days this past season. Our mission was to get a Eurasian wigeon. We’d been picking up a drake Euro grazing on grass in front of one of our cellular trail cameras. On the third to last morning, we clearly heard Eurasian wigeon calling before shooting light on a pond behind where we had set up. The flock flew out the opposite direction, so we never saw it. Later that morning, a flock flew over us. The fog was thick. Again, we clearly heard the high shrill of a calling Eurasian wigeon, but we couldn’t pick it out in the low-hanging fog.
On the final afternoon of the last day, a dandy Eurasian wigeon flew over us. It was out of range but shined bright in the afternoon sun. We were both content. A chance was all we sought. Simply laying eyes on one of these gems is often reward enough. Thus goes the addicting saga of hunting Eurasian wigeon over decoys. It’s a game of chance, but the odds are shifting in our favor with each passing season as more Euros seem to be making their way into our area.
A Promising Future
While I’ve taken six Eurasian wigeon–including two hybrids–they’ve all come in the last four years. That’s an average of 1.5 Euros a season, which is far better than the previous 45 years of hunting, where I didn’t shoot a single one. It’s odds like this, and the fact I’m seeing more Eurasian wigeon on trail camera and when scouting, that already has me excited for next season.
Note: Scott Haugen is a full-time freelance writer and photographer. Follow his adventures on Instagram and Facebook.