2022 Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest
Patrick T. Isakson
The winning photograph in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2022 Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest is an upland game bird not native to the state.
Yet, after nearly a century since its introduction to this neck of the Northern Plains, the Hungarian partridge feels as if it’s been here since the beginning.
Huns, also commonly referred to as gray partridge by ornithologists, are native to northern Europe.
While stockings were made intermittently in North Dakota years ago, biologists say the bulk of this upland game bird’s ancestors apparently dispersed into the state in the 1920s from the Canadian prairies.
Travis Anderson of Grand Forks photographed the winning contest entry near Union in Cavalier County, lending credence to the understanding that Hungarian partridge, like native sharp-tailed grouse, can be found in every county in North Dakota.
2022 Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest Winners
Overall Winner
Photographer
Travis Anderson, Grand Forks
Pictured
Hungarian Partridge (Photo taken near Union, ND )
Game Winner
Photographer
Ron Hieb, Bismarck
Pictured
White-tailed Deer (Photo taken at Heart River in Morton County, ND)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
Travis Anderson, Grand Forks
Pictured
Mallard (Photo taken near Grand Forks)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
Bruce Hagen, Devils Lake
Pictured
Hungarian Partridge (Photo taken near Penn)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
Tom Krebs, Regent
Pictured
Pronghorn (Photo taken in Hettinger County)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
Jill Edinger, Carrington
Pictured
Elk (Photo taken at White Horse Hill NGP, near Devils Lake)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
Cindy Nagle, Fargo
Pictured
Sage Grouse (Photo taken near Rhame)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
David Schultz, Minot
Pictured
Moose cow and calf (Photo taken near Grano)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
Matthew Sorum, Fargo
Pictured
Raccoons (Photo taken near Fargo)
Game Runner-Up
Photographer
Lugene Gerber, Bismarck
Pictured
Mink (Photo taken in Burleigh County)
Nongame Winner
Photographer
Matthew Sorum, Fargo
Pictured
Snowy Owl (Photo taken near Fargo)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Tom Lidahl, Fargo
Pictured
White-breasted Nuthatch (Photo taken near Fargo)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Dale Rehder, West Fargo
Pictured
Red-necked Grebe (Photo taken near Eckelson)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Beth Nielsen Bismarck
Pictured
Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Photo taken near Medora)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Mike Saunders, Fargo
Pictured
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Photo taken near Stirum)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Mike Saunders, Fargo
Pictured
Western Grebes (Photo taken at Kraft Slough, near Grand Forks)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Annie Goldade-Laughlin, Breckenridge, MN
Pictured
Great Horned Owl (Photo taken near Fargo)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Michael Ranum, Bismarck
Pictured
American Bison (Photo taken in Theodore Roosevelt National Park)
Nongame Runner-Up
Photographer
Lisa Buchweitz, Langdon
Pictured
Horned Grebe (Photo taken in Cavalier County)
Plants and Insects Winner
Photographer
Katherine Plessner, Verona
Pictured
Goat’s Beard (Photo taken near Verona)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
Amanda Egenes, Killdeer
Pictured
Purple Coneflower (Photo taken in Killdeer Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Dunn County)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
Dale Rehder, West Fargo
Pictured
Ten Petal Blazing Star (Photo taken in Theodore Roosevelt National Park)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
Lori Schettler, Watford City
Pictured
Prickly Pear Cactus (Photo taken in McKenzie County)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
Sharron Watson, Buxton
Pictured
Yellow Garden Spider (Photo taken Rural Buxton)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
DeVane Webster, Bismarck
Pictured
Sulfur Butterfly (Photo taken in Sheridan County)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
Mike Saunders, Fargo
Pictured
Yellow Coneflower (Photo taken in Sheyenne National Grasslands)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
Rita Frovarp, West Fargo
Pictured
Monarch Butterfly (Photo taken in West Fargo)
Plants and Insects Runner-Up
Photographer
Mark Broden, Grand Forks
Pictured
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Purple Coneflower (Photo taken near Grand Forks)