Midwinter Waterfowl Survey Numbers

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey in early January indicated about 135,000 Canada geese and 9,500 mallards in the state.

Mason Ryckman, department migratory game bird biologist, said numbers were pretty similar to years when Lake Sakakawea is still open, besides the record-breaking number of 300,000-plus Canada geese in 2024. 

“Unlike last year when Lake Sakakawea was completely frozen at the time of the survey, this year a portion of the lake remained relatively ice free from Garrison Dam to the mouth of the little Missouri River,” Ryckman said. “We were able to count 39,000-plus Canada geese on the lake this year. We would have probably overwintered more waterfowl if we didn’t receive the snow we did in late November and early December. It likely pushed birds south of the border due to not having access to waste grain in ag fields. However, the snow didn’t last long, which helped the birds that did stay until the time of the survey.”

During the 2026 survey, an estimated 109,112 Canada geese were observed on the Missouri River and Lake Sakakawea, another 16,894 on Nelson Lake in Oliver County, and an additional 8,500-plus geese in other parts of the state. Ryckman said Game and Fish staff and partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recorded the additional 9,500 mallards across the state.

The 10-year average (2017-26) for the midwinter survey in North Dakota is 115,950 Canada geese and 13,400 mallards. The survey helps biologists gauge wintering distribution of waterfowl in North Dakota, and other states throughout the Central Flyway.