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Discover Nature (Missouri Department of Conservation)

Discover Nature: Blue-Winged Teal Migration

KBIA | By Kyle Felling
Published September 19, 2018 at 1:38 PM CDT
A flock of blue-winged teal fly over standing water with green grass and trees growing on land in the background.
Blue-winged teal fly over a Missouri wetland in late summer. Watch for these small migratory ducks this week as they head south for their wintering grounds as far away as Argentina.

This week on Discover Nature, watch for a swift-flying migratory duck traveling through Missouri from the north. 

 

Blue-winged teal breed all across North America, and they leave their summer homes early, from as far north as Alaska, to overwinter along the Gulf of Mexico, and as far south as Argentina. 

 

Adult males – called drakes – are small, each with a dark gray head and a white crescent between the eye and bill. A light blue patch adorns the forewing just above a greenish patch of feathers called a speculum. 

 

Females – or hens – are brown and also sport a blue wing patch, but lack the green speculum below. 

 

Find blue-winged teal foraging on aquatic vegetation such as sedges, seeds, and small invertebrates in shallow water; they rarely dive underwater. 

 

Teal generally stay in Missouri only briefly, so the best time to find them usually occurs when cold fronts bring winds favorable for migration. 

 

Learn more about blue-winged teal and other migratory waterfowl with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s online field guide. 

 

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation. 
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Kyle Felling
Kyle Felling’s work at KBIA spans more than three decades. In 2025, he became KBIA and KMUC's Station Manager. He began volunteering at the station while he was a Political Science student at the University of Missouri. After being hired as a full-time announcer, he served as the long-time local host of NPR’s All Things Considered on KBIA, and was Music Director for a number of years. Starting in 2010, Kyle became KBIA’s Program Director, overseeing on-air programming and operations while training and supervising the station’s on-air staff. During that period, KBIA regularly ranked among the top stations in the Columbia market, and among the most listened to stations in the country. He was instrumental in the launch of KBIA’s sister station, Classical 90.5 FM in 2015, and helped to build it into a strong community resource for classical music. Kyle has also worked as an instructor in the MU School of Journalism, training the next generation of journalists and strategic communicators. In his spare time, he enjoys playing competitive pinball, reading comic books and Joan Didion, watching the Kansas City Chiefs, and listening to Bruce Springsteen and the legendary E Street Band.
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