Critter News

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

Ohio, Mississippi, North Dakota, Idaho and South Dakota are at the bottom. It's their first annual "humane state" report. California and New Jersey came out on top.

South Dakota 100

South Dakota Humane North Dakota Idaho 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2019

My profile page identifies the states that I have not eBirded, including Nebraska, North Dakota, Michigan, Mississippi, and Vermont. I don’t think I have added any new species, but I did add Alaska, Kansas, and Oklahoma to the group state list. Ten years seems like a good time to look forward as well.

Puerto Rico 146

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan Washington 146

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

California is blessed with 51 NWRs and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), second only to North Dakota with 77. I usually stop at the two refuges that have easily accessed auto tour routes, the Sacramento NWR and Colusa NWR. You can check your state’s refuges here , listed by state.

Wildlife 158

Wildlife San Francisco Sacramento North Dakota 158

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

These Piping Plovers were photographed at White Lake, North Dakota. Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota. Certain flocks of birds really grab your attention. You may be happy to have a flock of chickadees visit your backyard, but it is difficult to ignore hundreds of American White Pelicans streaming by.

North Dakota 161

North Dakota LACS Oakland Falcons 161

Critter News

DECEMBER 26, 2008

And the worst: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, South Dakota, Wyoming You can check out the whole report on their web site.

Animal Legal Defense Fund 100

Animal Legal Defense Fund Animal Protection South Dakota Protection 100

Critter News

JANUARY 30, 2009

Wildlife conservationists say the freeze will delay and possibly prevent the removal of gray wolves from the federal endangered species list in Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and also in portions of Washington, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

Obama 100

Obama Wolves South Dakota North Dakota 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2011

.&# If my caller had said “I want to see ducks, or sparrows, or grassland birds&# I would have suggested another event to him—the Potholes & Prairie Birding Festival in Carrington, North Dakota which is held in June each year.

North Dakota 145

North Dakota Birds Ohio West Virginia 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

If you want to see Vesper Sparrows a look at the eBird map shows that you could do worse than the junction of North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, which looks like the Vesper Sparrow epicenter.

Sparrows 165

Sparrows North Dakota United States Downers 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2016

Well, no one comes on a field trip at Space Coast trying to see a Carolina Wren except for someone from North Dakota where, from what I can see in eBird , there have been three records of Carolina Wren ever. No one comes on a field trip at Space Coast trying to see a Carolina Wren !

North Dakota 120

North Dakota Birds Florida Wildlife 120

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2012

White Lake, North Dakota. I know part of the experience of birding is taking in the beauty of the outdoors, but (call me crazy) I’m actually in it for the birds. This Spotted Sandpiper (and American Avocet ) carved out a living next to a salt mine. Is this such a terrible way to live?

San Francisco 209

San Francisco Birds North Dakota Oakland 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2013

This is one of many Black Terns flying low over a bridge at Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota. Does that sound so bad? All photos today were taken from inside or next to vehicles. Why limit ourselves to the U.S.?

LACS 134

LACS North Dakota Costa Rica Birds 134

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2011

This sighting came at the end of five days at the Potholes & Prairie Birding Festival in Jamestown, North Dakota. And when I found I could not fly out of Fargo, North Dakota on Sunday (nothing affordable available) I picked a Monday afternoon flight and promptly set my sights on breaking this birding curse.

Connecticut 171

Connecticut North Dakota Ohio Owls 171

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2011

Furthermore, with the rapid expansion of oil and gas development in the norther tier states like North Dakota, birds like Sprague’s Pipit and Baird’s Sparrow become more at risk. Here in Colorado many species are affected, but perhaps none more than our beautiful Mountain Plovers and Ferruginous Hawks.

Prairie Dogs 163

Prairie Dogs Colorado North Dakota Soreing 163

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2012

It can be argued that birding North Dakota is cheap, but there’s not a major airport nearby, you’ll still have quite a drive to the birds once you land. And really, the day I get tired of seeing Green Jays is the day I need to hang up my binoculars.

Texas 217

Texas Birds North Dakota South America 217

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2011

I was at a birding festival in North Dakota in June and it was a chilly morning. Sometimes high elevations will catch you off guard, sometimes there’s a record cold snap. Don’t let frigid fingers spoil your fun. The woman next to me was grumbling about being cold and I said that is why I always pack a pair. ” 3.

Birds 259

Birds North Dakota Florida Soreing 259

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2011

I imagine these explorers had the same reaction as the Lewis and Clark expedition as they moved from the tallgrass prairies of North Dakota and Montana into the northern Rockies of western Montana. The Native Americans had already been experiencing this poetic mountain range for generations.

Colorado 135

Colorado North Dakota Montana Owls 135

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Photographed at White Lake, North Dakota. I highly recommend attempting this tactic of bird identification sometime, preferably on a boat crowded with other birders… In parts of the U.S., Piping Plovers begin their fall migration as early as July and can arrive on their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast in August.

San Francisco 160

San Francisco North Dakota California Albatross 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2011

Photographed near Lostwood, North Dakota. I see from the poor guesses from last month’s quizzes (i.e., none), I see I will really need to whip you all into birding shape. The above birds should be a cinch! From last month , Quiz #1 was from this bird: A drake Gadwall. As you can see…it is larger than a Least Sandpiper.

Grizzly Bear 167

Grizzly Bear North Dakota Downers Bears 167

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

For some reason Felonious Jive shared Seagull Steve’s Best Bird of the Year: One of the reasons Seagull Steve went to North Dakota last summer was to spend some time with Baird’s Sparrows. They may be drab, but their pleasant ringing song and close relationship to the prairie make for a very interesting bird.

2011 181

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 181

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

The Service proposes opening the following refuges to sport fishing for the first time: North Dakota. The Refuge has also become a place where people can experience and learn about wildlife and the places they call home, whether through self-guided discovery or by participating in one of our many educational programs.

Fish 143

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 143

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Birders in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, West Virginia, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Maryland, and Virginia are all enjoying Snowy Owls , but none as much as the North Carolina birders, who are enjoying their first and second Snowy Owls in thirteen (..)

Owls 278

Owls North Carolina Rhode Island New Hampshire 278

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2014

But the turkey vultures would certainly leave the places we saw them – Montana, North Dakota, Illinois and Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio and eventually New York – and head south. The only bird we saw in every state was the Turkey Vulture. No vast kettles, yet, only ones and twos.

North Dakota 170

North Dakota New York Turkey Pennsylvania 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2018

Other states, such as North Dakota and Arkansas, were also gray, but those seemed less troublesome, since I have never visited either state. But I had spent years in Ann Arbor attending law school at the University of Michigan, albeit before I started birding.

District of Columbia 124

District of Columbia Puerto Rico Michigan Colorado 124

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

After those five, there are relative handful with over 100 species: North Carolina (172), Michigan (159), Arizona (155), Washington (144), North Dakota (141!), California (297) is next, followed by Florida (227), Oregon (209), and New Jersey (199).

Rhode Island 114

Rhode Island United States West Virginia Puerto Rico 114

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

In June, I visited North Dakota for the first time. Like any birder visiting a new place, I had a target species list I was hoping to seek out during the one day I had available between business commitments.

Species 175

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 175

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

The Bibliography is extremely brief, citing five books (two used as sources for the maps and measurements, three cited as sources for further information on hybrids, one by a co-author) and one government article (a North Dakota article on Franklin’s Gull).

North America 200

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 200

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2011

While I had heard Yellow Rails in North Dakota in 2010, to see this Ohio Review Species fly, not once but twice, right in front of me was an incredible experience. This was a moment of pure birding serendipity, and I will never forget it.

2011 161

2011 Birds Ohio North Dakota 161

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus, photographed above by Ken Behrens, flies nonstop from staging areas in North Dakota to Chesapeake Bay and eastern North Carolina, a fact indicated by both arrows and text. Some maps are quite busy.

Ducks 231

Ducks Groups Species North America 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2022

North Dakota. South Dakota. As a popular game bird, the Ring-necked Pheasant seems to have such high importance in the US that there are several papers just discussing the species in individual US states. Examples: California. Connecticut. New Jersey. Rhode Island. Washington. Wisconsin.

Rhode Island 147

Rhode Island Research South Dakota North Dakota 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Texas and North Dakota together account for 88% of the total yearly kill of sandhill cranes. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting. It is, however, an excellent way to alienate nonconsumptive wildlife enthusiasts, and further polarize the camps.

2011 245

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 245

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2019

Baird’s Sparrow, North Dakota. I viewed this Life Bird on my New Jersey Audubon North Dakota trip; it was not an easy bird to find, and a challenging one to photograph. John James Audubon first heard the sparrow in July, 1944, on a buffalo hunt in North Dakota. Another sparrow!

2018 155

2018 New Jersey Michigan North Dakota 155

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

However, 12 states, namely, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming and Wisconsin [Imagine, The Dairy State doesn't protect a woman's right to nurse!],

Animal 40

Animal Meat Cows District of Columbia 40

Animal Ethics

JULY 15, 2009

Paying sharpshooters and using helicopters cannot possibly be less expensive than allowing North Dakota hunters to volunteer their time, at no cost, and to take the animal carcasses out of the park themselves—exactly the kind of solution Teddy Roosevelt would have wanted.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York North Dakota Culling 40

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2018

Donna was first amongst beats to reach North Dakota and brought the number of Lower 48s to 32, adding Sharp-tailed Grouse , Sprague’s Pipit and LeConte’s Sparrow to the life list. Redgannet continues his quest to bring colour to the profile map (one pixel at a time), by visiting The Seychelles (this time, on purpose!).

2018 101

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 101