In 2024 I decided my trip would be to the great plains of western North Dakota and southern Saskatchewan. Why those 2 jurisdictions? In ND, although I already had a pretty good list with 206 species, I had recently dropped below my goal of seeing at least half of the species on the official state list. With the official ND state list recently increasing to 417, I needed at least 209 to exceed that threshold. In fact, ND was now my only state in the Lower 48 below that threshold, so there was an additional incentive to adding birds to my ND list. As for adjacent SK, my province list was just 48 based on just 1 hour of birding time in 2018. So I had huge potential for additional “ticks” in that province.
Given that SK is actually only adjacent to the western portion of ND, I decided that Minot in northwestern ND would be a good starting off point for the trip. (Even though I had more state bird potential in the eastern part of the state.) I came up with an itinerary of 3 days in western ND, 9 days across the southern tier of SK, then a final day for late migrants in western ND. Based on the potential timing of migrants and arrivals of breeding birds in the region I decided to fly into Minot on May 23rd, and fly out on June 4th. With the general outline of the trip completed, I reached out to my good friend David Donsker who goes with me on many of these trips, and he agreed to join me.
Now came the hard work of the detailed planning of the trip. For ND, my research was focused on those specific target species that I still needed for my list, with data mostly coming from the eBird database. And in the last couple weeks before the trip, I especially relied on eBird Needs Alerts though I still had to separate sightings in the western ND counties from those in the rest of the state. With all that research I came up with a list of more than 35 new ND species that I had a realistic chance of finding, but my chances of seeing almost all of them were quite low. As a result, I expected to find just 7 additions to my ND list, though I hoped for perhaps 9 or 10.
My research for SK was quite different. There I focused on the best hotspots to bird, trying to find those spots with the greatest birding potential over the widest range of habitats. But SK is a huge province (nearly the size of Texas), so I had to limit my birding to the southern portion of the province. Again, the eBird database was my key resource. Plus, as my trip neared, I reached out to Stan Shadick who runs a SK birding tour company who gave me great advice to help fine-tune my itinerary. That final itinerary included visits to Chaplin and Reed Lakes for shorebirds, Grasslands National Park for a diverse set of grasslands species, 2 days at Cypress Hills Provincial Park for woodland birds including several species more likely seen farther west, 2 days at Duck Mountain Provincial Park for boreal species, and a day in the southeast corner of the state for more southern species. I wasn’t sure how many new species to expect, but conservatively hoped for at least 100 additions to my SK list.
To quote John Denver – “My bags are packed; I’m ready to go…”
This blog post summarizes the ND portion of our trip. See my other blog posts for summaries of the SK portion.
May 23 – Arrival in Minot, Birding East of Minot
With a mid-afternoon arrival into Minot there would only be time for some brief birding that afternoon. And given that it just started raining, we figured we’d focus on some shorebird spots. Recent eBird reports included a nice location with 4 of my targets in Towner east of Minot, so that’s where we headed. Along the way we stopped at one of the many prairie potholes in the area that had a few shorebirds and found several Spotted Sands and 1 Solitary Sandpiper (ND – new state bird #1). Interestingly the Solitary, one of our first shorebirds of the trip, would also be our only one for the trip. My state bird map for Solitary Sandpiper is inserted below. The blue shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range. The 6 cross-hatched states are those in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it. And the brown states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity.
A few minutes later we arrived at the Towner spot where the targets had been reported and found what looked like good habitat, but only found a couple White-rumps and Semi Sands – and none of my targets. That was a bit disappointing, but I still added one new bird to my list in that first partial day.
May 24 – Minot and Northern ND
The original plan for the 24th was to spend the early morning hours at the Minot Oak Park hoping for migrant passerines. Then we would head to the Minot Sewage Lagoons for shorebirds, and then head west and south making several stops in route to Bismarck. But we awoke to a driving rain storm (sometimes mixed with snow), strong winds, and only 40 degrees. So we changed our plans to first bird the Minot Sewage Lagoons, hoping to be able to stay at least a little dry. Here’s a picture of one of the 6 lagoons, each reported to be 160 acres in size.
There wasn’t a lot of shorebird habitat, but the best was in the corners of the enormous impoundments. The first corner we came to had several Sanderlings in nice breeding plumage (ND #2), the first of 8 we had at the lagoons. We looked out into the vast expanse of the lagoons and saw hundreds of Red-necked Phalaropes swimming about (we estimated 1,500 for the eBird checklist, likely a huge underestimate). We then turned our attention to the gravel road in front of us and noticed flocks of swallows sitting on the road and the low fencing trying to get out of the weather. There were a number of Eastern Kingbirds there as well, and an Empidonax that cooperatively stayed in the open long enough for us to ID it as an Alder Flycatcher (ND #3). The only other target shorebird we came upon was a group of 3 Greater Yellowlegs, which turned out to be the only ones of the trip for this lingering early migrant (ND #4). ND was the last of the continental 49 states where I still needed Greater Yellowlegs.
Although I didn’t need any of the regular waterfowl for my list, we couldn’t help but scan the impoundments and marvel at the numbers of ducks there. Most every expected dabbler and diver was there, dominated by an estimated 750 Shovelers.
We felt like we had birded the lagoons pretty well just as the rain began to abate. Instead of heading to Minot Oak Park we started our drive to the west to hit the other shorebird spots I had lined up. In retrospect perhaps we should have headed to Oak Park since there was a considerable fallout of passerines reported nearby that day.
Our first stop was at an apparent Ferruginous Hawk nest right along Highway 2 to the west. But before we got there we spotted a small Accipter flying along the road, which ducked into the brush perhaps in search of a meal – it was a Sharp-shinned (ND #5) – that was lucky. A few minutes later we arrived at the coordinates for the nest and there it was – an enormous mound of sticks in a tree just off the highway. But there were no obvious birds on the nest – had the young already fledged? And just then an adult Ferruginous flew in and landed just a short distance away (ND #6). While watching the hawk a Gray Partridge flew by – not new for my list but always good to see. ND was my last state for Ferruginous Hawk in its regular range.
Our next 2 stops were lakes with good recent shorebird reports. However, with all the rain that morning we couldn’t access Wassaic Lake due to impassable muddy roads. Luckily roads were better into Causeway Lake, and we pulled in instantly seeing good numbers of shorebirds and waterfowl. Just then the ducks took off as a Golden Eagle passed by (ND #7). I wasn’t expecting that one! We were just one full day into the ND portion of the trip and already had as many new ND birds as I had expected for the entire trip. This was looking good!
Now back to the shorebirds - we had good numbers of Stilt Sandpipers and Semi Sands and the only Dunlins of the trip, and then finally spotted a lone Ruddy Turnstone on a nearby island (ND #8). It’s great to see this species as an inland migrant, though like many of the Arctic-nesting shorebirds I still need it in a number of central US states.
We were then on to one of my most anticipated stops of the trip – Little Knife Cabins in New Town. In route we spotted yet another gigantic Ferruginous Hawk nest, this time with one of the birds on the nest. The attraction in Little Knife Cabins was the home of Peder Stenslie with nesting Saw-whet Owls, and feeders with Pine Siskins and Red Crossbills. With a bit of research, I found Peder’s contact information, and he invited us to his yard to see his birds. After just a short wait Pine Siskins came into his feeder (ND #9) right on cue. But the Crossbills hadn’t been around for a while and were a no show. Then he took us on a short walk to visit the nest box, and there was an owlet at the opening of the box (ND #10) – too cute! That was the first juvenile Saw-whet I’ve ever seen.
Our last stops of the day were near the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River. We first headed to the tailrace area where birds often gather to feed on the fish that come down the spillway. There we had an estimated 75 Forster’s Terns, 75 Ring-bills, 150 Cormorants, and 25 Pelicans. But our targets here were the rarer Caspian Tern and Herring Gull. But despite our best efforts the only Terns were Forster’s. As for Herring Gull, I was principally looking for a larger, darker immature bird, but again with no luck. But then I noticed a larger adult gull amongst the Ring-bills. Luckily it kept circling among the gull flock and we both picked it up several times – it was a Herring Gull, surprisingly an adult (ND #11). Only 5 more states to go to complete my statebird map for this species.
Next we were onto the boat ramp, where we had more of the regular species, including a large resting flock of birds on a distant island. And our last stop was at the Downstream Marsh Trail with its recent Yellowlegs report. But we only found Spotted Sand and Snipe, though the adjacent woodlands were full of Least Flycatchers and Yellow Warblers.
Although we came up empty on our last 2 stops, we were happy to have added 10 new ND birds in our first full day of birding. Especially since we were challenged by the rainy and windy conditions to start the day.
May 25 – Bismarck and Southern ND
Our plan for the 25th was to start the day in 1 or more Bismarck town parks hoping for migrant passerines, then visit several wetlands for waterbirds as we made our way back north to Minot. Our first stop was at General Sibley Park, where several of my passerine targets had been reported recently. But the migrants that day were sparse – we found just 8 Swainson’s Thrushes, 1 Tennessee, and 2 Blackpolls. Perhaps the passerine highlight was listening to Black-headed and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks singing nearly side by side. It was a great opportunity to compare and contrast their very similar songs.
We eventually made our way to the boat ramp where you could launch your boat into the backwaters and expansive marshes of the Missouri River.
I scanned the marsh hoping to find my target Kingfisher, and noticed a hovering bird far in the distance. At first I thought it was going to be a Kingfisher, but then I realized it was too small- it was a Least Tern! (ND #12). It was later joined by a second bird which eventually flew right by us. I sure didn’t expect that one. Although Least Terns nest on the Missouri River in small numbers, there had only been one report in the area so far this year, and that was some 4 miles upriver. ND was my 13th inland state where I’ve seen this species as a breeder.
Since there were few migrants in the park, we decided to pass on other passerine sites and instead switch gears to start visiting wetlands spots. Our first stop was McKenzie Slough where several shorebird targets had been reported. As we headed east on US 10 in route to McKenzie David and I both simultaneously spotted a large wader in the corn field right next to the road. Although we only saw it for a couple seconds while driving by, we instantly knew we had a Sandhill Crane (ND #13). In fact, David thought there might have been 3 birds. Yet another unexpected bird with only a couple sightings in the area that month and none in the last 3 weeks.
A few minutes later we made it to McKenzie Slough, featuring extensive cattail marshes and large impoundments.
We had a nice collection of marsh birds including Virginia Rail and 3 Soras, and numerous Marsh Wrens. Waders featured a flock of White-faced Ibis and a Black-crowned Night-heron. And in addition to the regular dabblers and divers, we spotted a flock of 5 lingering Snow Geese. Though we spotted no shorebirds so nothing new for my list.
Our next stop was Horsehead Lake which is home to an isolated colony of Snowy Egrets. We headed east on I-94 from McKenzie, and then started north on 30th Avenue to make our way toward Horsehead. We hadn’t gone a half mile on the gravel road when a mid-sized white wader flew across the road right in front of us. The yellow slippers on the black legs were the clincher that we had our target Snowy Egret (ND #14). It was surprising to see one so far south as we were still more than 7 miles south of the closest earlier Snowy sightings. I still need this species in a number of other inland states near the northern edge of its range.
As we continued north on 30th Avenue we passed by a homestead surrounded by a large number of mature trees. We heard several Least Flycatchers calling so we decided to stop. We had hardly gotten out of the car when we noticed a Common Nighthawk pass low overhead, joined by at least 7 others feeding in the area (ND #15). We also had Eastern Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo and Swainson’s Thrush at this brief stop.
Eventually we made our way to the southern end of Horsehead Lake and found a spot full of waders, including 2 Snowy’s, 6 Great Egrets, and 5 Black-crowned Night-herons. As we continued north along the western edge of the lake we made several stops looking for a Trumpeter Swan that had been reported there recently. But all the large white birds were White Pelicans. Interestingly there were literally hundreds of Eastern Kingbirds along the way, with lesser numbers of Western Kingbirds mixed in, mostly perched low along the barbed wire fencing. An amazing site!
We arrived at the eBird hotspot at the northwest corner of the lake (aptly named Horsehead Lake – Northwest), with a smaller body of water to the west, and the main body of the lake to the east. The smaller lake was full of Terns, with an estimated 150 Blacks and 100 Forster’s. I scanned a small sand bar that was full of roosting terns and spotted a darker-winged Common Tern in the group that really stood out amongst the extremely pale Forster’s.
Then I turned my attention to this small unassuming island next to the road to the east that was perhaps a couple hundred feet long and 50 feet wide.
And then we noticed a small group of white geese at the north end of the island. They were mostly hidden in the vegetation so it took some time to get good looks at them. I wondered in jest whether there might be any Ross’s mixed in. And then the second goose I looked at raised its head to show its small blue-based bill with no grin patch – it was indeed a Ross’s. Finally, I got good views at all the birds and counted 9 Snows and 2 Ross’s. Amazing!
But it wasn’t over yet. I turned back to the island where the Common Tern was roosting initially, and found a Hudsonian Godwit. Then just a couple feet away we spotted a basic-plumaged Dowitcher that cooperated long enough to allow us to ID it as a Short-billed (ND #17). I just need it in 4 more states in its regular range.
What a stop! We ended up with 13 species of shorebirds during our 90-minute stop, though none of them stayed long. And what a way to end our day. With a good collection of both woodland birds and wetlands species we had a nice tally of 114 species for the day – 6 of which were additions to my ND state list.
May 26 – Minot, Buffalo Pound PP SK
The plan for the morning was to make stops for woodland birds in Minot and then one last stop near the border. Then we would cross over into SK in the afternoon to begin the SK portion of the trip.
Our first stop was at Minot Oak Park, which is a wooded downtown park that often had reports of migrant passerines and also Kingfishers. In past years this has also been the best spot in the area for breeding Yellow-throated Vireos, but there had been no reports yet this year. We had planned to visit this spot 2 days earlier but got rained out. So we were anxious to finally get to bird this local hotspot.
We pulled into the parking lot just after dawn and had the park to ourselves. And just minutes after we got out of the car we heard a nearby Belted Kingfisher (ND #18). That was easy! I’ve now seen this species in each of the 49 continental states and DC.
What a great start! Now we just needed to find those Vireos. But despite a slow 90-minute walk through the park we had just 3 species of migrants – Swainson’s Thrush, and Tennessee and Blackpoll Warblers. And no Yellow-throated Vireos. But just as we got back to our car, I heard a Mourning Warbler singing from low in the nearby brush (ND #19). Although it sang off and on for at least 10 minutes we got just brief fleeting glimpses of this skulking bird. I still need this species in many states where it is an elusive migrant.
Here’s a picture of the river in the background where we had the Kingfisher, and the brush in the foreground where we had the Mourning Warbler. We should have just stayed at the car…
Our last ND stop of the day was at Wildwood Park in the northwest corner of ND near the Canadian border. I didn’t know much about this site, and in had only a few checklists in eBird, but the spring checklists included a fair number of passerine migrants. Sure doesn’t look like much based on the entrance sign. (BTW – that’s a Vesper Sparrow singing on top of the smaller white sign.)
But once we drove in past the sign the road left the cultivated farmland and descended into a small river valley that was heavily wooded and had thick underbrush. It was actually quite good landbird habitat. Our best bird during our 90-minute stay was a cooperative Gray-cheeked Thrush (ND #21) mixed in with a group of 6 Swainson’s Thrushes foraging on the ground. We also had a singing Eastern Wood-Pewee and a singing Yellow-throated Vireo – both being a bit west of their regular range. Our only migrant warblers were 2 Tennessee’s. Unfortunately, we never did have any decent spring migrant fallouts on our trip.
As we packed up and headed toward the Canadian border I continued to be amazed that I was able to add 21 new birds to my ND state list. Especially after only expecting perhaps 7 new ones. And we still had about a half day of birding in ND on June 4th after we returned from SK to try to add a few more.
May 26 PM through June 3 – Southern SK
See my SK posts on my blog for summaries of our 9 days of birding in southern SK.
June 4 – Minot and PM Departure
With a 3 PM flight out of Minot, my original plan was to focus our June 4th birding on late arriving nesters to western ND, namely Indigo Bunting, Dickcissel, and Nelson’s Sparrow. A review of eBird reports on the morning of the 4th showed that Dickcissels hadn’t yet arrived in the area. And there was just one report of Indigo Buntings, but at Oak Park so they were likely migrants and not local nesters. Though I’d have to keep my eyes (and ears) open in case we ran into a migrant bird. But on a more positive note, there were 3 reports of Nelson’s Sparrows on the 3rd, just 30 minutes east of Minot. And the best report was of a Yellow Rail an hour east of Minot. There was also a Red-bellied Woodpecker on the 3rd at the Bison Plant Nature Trail in Minot. That’s a species typically only seen in the southeastern corner of the state. That gave me plenty of targets for a morning of birding.
My first stop was to try for the Yellow Rail. Unfortunately, it had gotten quite windy overnight, and the winds were sustained at 15-25 mph when I arrived early morning at the marsh. Although that made it tough to hear the soft call of the Yellow Rail, the habitat sure looked great.
I never came up with a Yellow Rail, though I heard Marsh Wrens and a Sora in the wetter sections of the marsh, Sedge Wrens in drier sections, and a pair of Wilson’s Snipe apparently in courtship.
But the best highlights weren’t from the marsh at all, but instead from a narrow strip of woodlands along the southern edge of the marsh. Here I heard 2 Veery’s, 2 Northern Waterthrushes, and a Black-billed Cuckoo that called off-and on the whole time I was there (ND #22). A nice consolation.
Then I was onto the 59th Street Wetlands where 3 Nelson’s Sparrow had been reported the day before. I pulled up to the drier eastern edge of the marsh and almost instantly heard a Nelson’s calling (ND #23). I ended up hearing 3 birds at this end and a 4th at the other drier end of the marsh. Those were the first inland (nelsoni) Nelson’s Sparrows I’ve found on their breeding grounds in the US, though I’ve seen inland Nelson’s in migration and on their wintering grounds in several states.
But the best was yet to come. While looking over the marsh I was shocked to see a Mockingbird flying by low over the vegetation. I watched it for nearly 30 seconds, clearly seeing the large white wing patches and white outer tail feathers. It had a slow wingbeat unlike the whirr of wings of a flying Shrike, and it lacked the black mask of a Shrike (ND #24). Ironically the rarest bird of the trip turned out to be a common year-round resident back home. ND is the 6th state where I’ve seen Mockingbird as a rarity.
My last stop was at Bison Plant Nature Trail where the Red-bellied Woodpecker was reported the previous day. There I ran into Ron Martin, co-author of the “Birding North Dakota” field guide. They were his reports of Yellow Rail and Nelson’s Sparrows from the day before that I was chasing. He mentioned that earlier in the morning he had had the Red-bellied near the trailhead. I went back to that area and wandered around for a while finding a nice singing Lazuli Bunting. Its song is very similar to an Indigo, so it got me excited for a bit until I spotted it. Then I ran into a small foraging flock and thought maybe the Red-bellied might join them. Sure enough, within a few minutes I heard the Red-bellied Woodpecker calling a short distance away (ND #25).
Summary
What a great way to end my trip, with the last 2 additions being rarities. I expected 7 new birds for my ND list, hoped for 9, and added a whopping 25! I guess I shouldn’t have been so pessimistic about my chances. I had a total of 159 species on my ND checklists. My eBird trip report for the ND portion of the trip can be found at - ebird.org/tripreport/250883
That brings my ND state list to 230, a respectable total for just 3 short trips to ND over the years. That should keep me safely above my goal of half of the official ND state list for quite a while. And once again my state lists for all the Lower 48 are higher than half of each state’s official list.
Here is a link for my eBird trip report for the 222 species we found on the entire trip - ebird.org/tripreport/246436 The Canadian portion of the trip is summarized in other posts on my blog.
