Skip to main content
nd.gov - The Official Portal for North Dakota State Government
Graphic of bird singing on letter

Wildlife Notes

Wild Turkeys in North Dakota

Did you know that turkeys are not native to North Dakota? They were originally stocked in the 1930s and 40s. Learn more in this week's NDO Webcast with upland game biologist RJ Gross.

Aquatic Invertebrates Survey

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department manages our state's fish and wildlife, including those species like aquatic invertebrates that often go unnoticed. Learn more in this week’s NDO News.

Crayfish in North Dakota

Did you know that North Dakota has 2 species of crayfish? Learn more in this week’s NDO News with fisheries biologist Mike Johnson. 

Hudsonian godwits resting in wetland

Hudsonian godwits

Unlike marbled godwits, which breed in North Dakota, Hudsonian godwits can only be seen in the state during their spring migration. 

Ducks swimming at sunset

Wetlands

Breeding waterfowl depend on the prairie pothole region. Find out why.

Sage grouse male displaying

Disappearing Sage Grouse

Sage grouse are disappearing from North Dakota. Learn more in this NDO webcast (2024).

Bald eagle adult

Bald Eagle Populations in North Dakota (2024)

Once an endangered species, bald eagle populations are increasing in North Dakota. Learn more in this NDO news video (2024)

Pheasant rooster in grass

Ring-necked Pheasant Behavior

During breeding season, male ring-necked pheasants will defend a territory against other males. Conflicts sometimes get a little heated...

Long-billed curlew

Long-Billed Curlews

Long-billed curlews are one of the 13 shorebird species known to nest in North Dakota. Learn more about these neat little birds here.

Bluegill under water

Bluegill Spawn

Bluegill spawn late May and June when water temperatures near 22 C (71.6F). Large males build nests in colonies where they spawn and protect eggs. Some smaller males will mimic females to fertilize eggs instead of nest building and defense.

White-tailed doe (left), mule deer doe (right)

North Dakota Deer Species

North Dakota is home to two deer species, whitetail and mule deer. Learn more about their similarities and differences in this video.

River otter caught on trailcam

River Otters in North Dakota

River otters can be found in certain river corridors in North Dakota. Learn more about this species in this short video.

Rattlesnake

Prairie Rattlesnakes

Contrary to popular rumor, there are prairie rattlesnakes east of the Missouri River in North Dakota. Learn about one population in this video.

Yucca moth

Yucca Moths

Did you know that yucca moths are the yucca plant's only pollinator? Learn more here!

Tick waving front legs looking for dinner

Ticks

Ticks sit on the tips of vegetation with legs outstretched waiting for dinner to wander by. Learn more about one of North Dakota's least favorite insects here.

Black terns displaying fish flight courting

Black Tern Fish Flight

Black terns (Chlidonias niger) can be found across North Dakota during their breeding season. These birds do a courtship display called a Fish Flight. During a Fish Flight a male tern will catch and carry a fish or other larger food item in an attempt to attract a female. If he finds an interested female, he’ll feed her the item.
Coot chick with pare t

American Coots in North Dakota

American coots are a fairly common water bird in North Dakota. Check out this short video to learn more.

Richardson's ground squirrel

North Dakota Ground Squirrels

So is that ground squirrel you see in the North Dakota countryside a Flickertail or a Franklin's?

Wild turkey

Wild Turkey in North Dakota

Wild turkey, a popular upland game species in North Dakota, are not native to the state. Learn more in this Wildlife Notes post.

Ten-Petal Blazing Star

Ten-Petal Blazing Star

If you want to see one of the state’s most impressive wildflowers in full bloom, you need to know not only where to look, but when.

Weasel with white winter coat

Winter Camouflage

Did you know that North Dakota's two hare (white-tailed jackrabbits and snowshoe hares) and three weasel (long-tailed, short-tailed and least) species turn white in the winter.

Moose with bad case of winter ticks

Winter Ticks and Moose

Stories about ghost moose are being told with increased frequency across the southern portion of moose range in North America. Winter ticks are the cause.

Killdeer chicks

Newly Hatched Killdeer Chicks

Newly hatched killdeer chicks, while not the most graceful of creatures, are arguably one of the most adorable. These chicks were filmed in a gravel area right outside of one of the Department's offices.

Bison in badlands

Bison in North Dakota

Watch this short video for some facts on bison in North Dakota.

Eastern kingbird

Eastern Kingbird and Chitin Pellets

Eastern kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus), which can be found across North Dakota in the summer, feed primarily on insects during the breeding season. Like owls and some other birds, eastern kingbirds regurgitate pellets of indigestible prey parts, in this case insect chitin. Here is a series of photographs demonstrating this behavior (because we knew everyone would appreciate this visual to start your day out right!)

Sagebrush lizard

Sagebrush Lizards Escape Mechanism

Did you know that sagebrush lizards (found in the North Dakota badlands) can drop their tail to distract an attacking predator? They escape while the predator goes after their still twitching tail. Later their tail grows back.

Spotted towhee

Spring in North Dakota

Sights and sounds of spring advancing across our North Dakota

Sharp-tailed grouse

Sharp-Tailed Grouse and Snow Caves

One strategy sharp-tailed grouse use to survive winter is to burrow into the snow. Find out more in this post.

Plains gartersnake

Plains Gartersnake

Plains gartersnakes can be found across North Dakota and can be identified by three stripes, with the middle stripe often being bright orange or yellow. 

molt stages in black terns

Molting

All birds molt - shedding their old, weathered feathers with new ones. Some birds molt once per year, others two or three times per year. Sometimes the molt process is simultaneous, such as with waterfowl when they lose all of the primary feathers at once, leaving them flightless for 3-4 weeks. You’ve probably seen them this time of year in a wetland doing a breast-stroke swim to escape to cover.

Burrowing Owls

Burrowing Owls

Burrowing owls nest underground. Learn more in this Wildlife Notes post.

Canada geese on ice sleeping

The Sandman Goes Wild

For humans, sleeping involves closing their eyes and drifting away into a state of rest for the mind and body. In the safety and warmth of their home, this is typically accomplished in about eight hours. For teenagers, sometimes it takes much longer.

White-tailed deer walking through deep snow

White-Tailed Deer Movements

On the northern Great Plains, seasonal movements of white-tailed deer are highly variable. Find out more in this Wildlife Notes post.

Sharptail in grass

Sharp-tailed Grouse or Fire Bird

To the Lakota, the sharp-tailed grouse was called “Cansiyo” or the “Fire Bird”, because of its need for fire to keep the grasslands open. Learn more about this iconic bird in the Wildlife Notes post.

western prairie fringed orchid

Western Prairie Fringed Orchid

The western prairie fringed orchid is North Dakota's only federally listed plant under the Endangered Species Act.

Mountain lion

Mountain Lion vs. Canine Tracks

How do you tell the difference between mountain lion and coyote tracks? Watch this short video for some tips.

Red-Eyed Vireo on limb

Red-Eyed Vireo

Red-eyed vireos typically sing high in tree canopies in short little bursts of 2-4 syllables, altering back and forth between ascending and descending tones so it sounds like a 90's Valley Girl on the phone saying, "Hello?" "Where are you?" "That's cool" "I'm up here." "Totally."

Kneeling cow moose

Kneeling Moose

Moose are tall, gangly creatures that normally eat from the trees. When a food source is on the ground things get challenging. Learn more in this post.

Red-bellied snake

Red-Bellied Snakes

Red-bellied snakes can be found in the eastern half of North Dakota and are the state's smallest snake reaching lengths of only 8-10 inches. 

Pintails

Birds of a Feather

Did you know a hummingbird has about 1,000 feathers on its body, whereas a Northern pintail has nearly 15,000? Feathers vary in structure and function. Check out this cool interactive learning tool, All About Feathers.

Otolith

Aging Fish

Have you ever wondered how a bony fish can be aged? Biologists count the growth sections of their otoliths. Learn more in this post.

Plains spadefoot held in hand

Plains Spadefoot

The plains spadefoot (Spea bombifrons) is the most easily recognized toad in North Dakota. Its skin is smooth like that of a frog, and it has a distinct vertical pupil like that of a cat. Its color varies from a light cream, to gray or brown, and may have small orange spots.

Whooping cranes flying

Whooping Crane Migration

The whooping cranes that make their way through North Dakota each spring are part of a population of about 500 birds that are on their way from their wintering grounds at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to their nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada, a distance of about 2,500 miles.

Channel catfish

Catfish Taste Receptors

Channel catfish are aptly nicknamed swimming tongues. Find out why in this Wildlife News post

Elk bugling

Elk Bugling

Department Upland Game Management Supervisor Jesse Kolar took this awesome video of a bull elk bugling in the badlands (Fall 2019).

Canada geese sitting in bald eagle nest

Canada Geese and Tree Nests

Did you know that Canada geese will sometimes appropriate old nests of tree nesting birds like eagles? How do the goslings get down from these nests? Find out here. 

Northern Hawk Owl in tree

Northern Hawk Owl

The northern hawk owl is a unique looking creature that can occasionally be found in North Dakota in the winter. 

Monarch butterfly crawling up leaf

Mimicry in the Wild

Is it a monarch butterfly or a viceroy? Viceroy, along with many other species, use mimicry to aide survival. Find out more in this post.

Pike with leopard coloration

Leopard Pike?

What is a leopard pike? Find out here!

American Bittern head from underneath

American Bittern Eyes

Did you know that the eyes on an American Bittern are set in their face so they can easily focus downward? Bittern eat a wide variety of prey like fish, insects, small reptiles and mammals which they use stalking behaviors to capture.