21 of 30 birds have a September migration window, and 36 of 41 public places list September as a peak month. Seasonal matches are planning guidance, not confirmed live sightings.
Planning month: September
Migration timing changes with weather, ice-out, water levels, and food conditions. Verify current access and recent observations before traveling.
See places, live eBird reports and public-land boundaries for the day you are shooting.
Shorebirds
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Elegant wading birds; shoot low at saline shorelines at dawn for mirror reflections.
Illustration, not a field photograph · Real photos on All About Birds
Pelicans
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Photograph the colony only from established distant viewpoints; do not approach nesting islands. Synchronized cooperative fishing groups on lakes make spectacular flight and feeding shots.
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Raptors
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The tailrace below Garrison Dam concentrates fishing eagles in late fall through winter; it is the single most reliable ND eagle photography site.
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Songbirds
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Males arrive before leaves fully open; early May cottonwoods along the Missouri River bottoms are prime. Oranges and nectar feeders bring them to eye level.
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Other
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Buoyant, swallow-like flight over marshes; track birds hawking insects. Late May marsh edges at golden hour.
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Songbirds
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Display flights over native prairie in late May; males sing a bubbling song in fluttering flight. Photograph against big sky.
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Waterfowl
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Backlit dawn takeoffs from river roosts near Bismarck give clean sky backgrounds minutes from home.
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Spread-wing drying poses on snags and rocks make dramatic silhouettes; colonies are sensitive, so shoot from the water at distance.
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Other
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Huge wheeling flocks over marshes at dawn; in breeding plumage (black hood, rosy breast) they are among the prettiest gulls.
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Waterfowl
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The most accessible duck subject; drake portraits in small potholes with vegetation reflections.
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Raptors
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Low coursing flight over cattails at golden hour; gray 'ghost' males are a prize subject.
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Waterfowl
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Spring courtship flights over potholes at dawn; drake neck-stretch displays photograph well in soft side light.
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Waterfowl
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Groups of shovelers spinning in feeding circles make great motion-blur and reflection shots.
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Waterfowl
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Pick Ross's out of snow goose flocks for comparison portraits; smaller bill, rounder head.
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Cranes
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Dawn fly-outs from shallow roosts are the classic shot; fall staging birds are more approachable and linger for weeks.
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Waterfowl
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Work flooded fields and pothole lakes at dawn and dusk for massive lift-offs; 'tornado' departures are the signature shot. Late March to early April concentrations can number in the hundreds of thousands.
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Raptors
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Watch for September kettles of circling birds riding thermals; perched birds on hay bales photograph well in evening light.
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Cranes
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A rare, luck-based sighting. Five feet tall, white with black wingtips, neck extended in flight (pelicans tuck their necks; don't confuse). Do not disturb; report date, time, location, activity, and leg bands to USFWS Lostwood (701-848-2466), Long Lake (701-387-4397), or ND Game and Fish (701-328-6300).
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Shorebirds
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Photogenic spinning feeding behavior; get low at pothole edges for close-ups of birds whirling in shallow water.
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Songbirds
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Willow thickets at eye level in morning light. In mid-May, Tennessee, Magnolia, Blackburnian, American Redstart, and Blackpoll warblers move through in the same week.
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Songbirds
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Dawn song posts on cattails; males sing with head thrown back. Get there at first light for the best poses and light.
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Ranked by peak-season timing plus recent eBird activity near each place. Distances are from Bismarck, the default starting point.
These are observations submitted by birders and are not reviewed before appearing here. A report is not a guarantee that the bird is still present, and a sighting location is not a public-access guarantee.
Recent sightings data from eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Sunrise, sunset and sun direction: calculated on your device from the location's coordinates.
Prairie Pothole Region
April to October prime; spring waterfowl migration; May warbler movement; fall waterfowl
Top birds: Northern Shoveler, Franklin's Gull, Yellow Warbler
Free
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall waterfowl peaks; shorebirds late summer
Top birds: Sandhill Crane, Tundra Swan, Bobolink
Free
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall migration; winter eagles where water stays open
Top birds: American White Pelican, Franklin's Gull
Free day use
Missouri Coteau
Spring and fall migration; summer breeding marsh birds
Top birds: American Avocet, Mallard
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Prairie Pothole Region
Spring and fall migration
Top birds: American White Pelican, Black Tern
Free
Missouri River Corridor
May songbird migration; spring and fall waterfowl
Top birds: Yellow Warbler, Swainson's Hawk
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Missouri River Corridor
May migration; year-round (close to Bismarck)
Top birds: Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Missouri River Corridor
Spring through fall
Top birds: Double-crested Cormorant, Mallard
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Missouri River Corridor
December to March: the state's premier cold-weather waterfowl and eagle site, because the water below the dam stays open. Also spring and fall migration.
Top birds: Bald Eagle, Canada Goose
Free day use
Devils Lake Basin
Spring and fall migration
Top birds: Franklin's Gull, Canada Goose
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Prairie Pothole Region
April to May spring migration; fall waterfowl
Top birds: Canada Goose, Swainson's Hawk
Free
Red River Valley
May to June breeding songbirds; September fall migration
Top birds: Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Souris River Loop
April to May for spring migration and grouse lekking; September to November for snow geese and waterfowl buildup
Top birds: Snow Goose, Northern Harrier
Free
Red River Valley
April to May peak spring migration; September to October fall flights
Top birds: Snow Goose, Bald Eagle
Free
Devils Lake Basin
Spring and fall migration
Top birds: Yellow-headed Blackbird, Mallard
Free
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall migration; summer breeding riparian birds
Top birds: Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole
Free
Prairie Pothole Region
May for terns, egrets, and sparrows; spring and fall for waterfowl
Top birds: Black Tern, Northern Shoveler
Free
Prairie Pothole Region
April to June for spring breeding-pair season; September to November for fall migration
Top birds: Snow Goose, Ross's Goose
Free
Red River Valley
Spring and fall migration
Top birds: American White Pelican, Franklin's Gull
Free day use
Souris River Loop
May to June for breeding warblers; September for fall migrants
Top birds: Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall migration; winter eagle viewing
Top birds: Bald Eagle, American White Pelican
Free
Missouri River Corridor
Year-round; spring migration and summer breeding songbirds; fall waterfowl
Top birds: Yellow Warbler, Canada Goose
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Prairie Pothole Region
April to May spring migration; September to October fall migration
Top birds: Canada Goose, Mallard
Free
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall migration; summer lake season
Top birds: Franklin's Gull, Yellow Warbler
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Missouri River Corridor
May for songbird migration; spring and fall for waterfowl
Top birds: Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole
Free; overnight camping prohibited
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall migration; May songbirds
Top birds: Baltimore Oriole, Bald Eagle
Free
Prairie Pothole Region
April to May for spring migration and lekking; fall waterfowl
Top birds: Canada Goose, Northern Harrier
Free
Prairie Pothole Region
April to May for sandhill cranes, grouse, and early waterfowl; late summer for shorebirds on exposed mudflats; fall for waterfowl and crane migration
Top birds: Sandhill Crane, Whooping Crane, American Avocet, Wilson's Phalarope
Free; special-use permit may be needed for temporary blinds
Missouri River Corridor
May for neotropical migrants; spring and fall waterfowl; winter eagles near open water
Top birds: Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler, Bald Eagle
Free
Prairie Pothole Region
March to May spring migration (ibis and stilt window in April); fall waterfowl
Top birds: Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Bald Eagle, Yellow-headed Blackbird
Free
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall migration; summer riparian breeding
Top birds: Canada Goose, Yellow Warbler
Free
Red River Valley
April to May and September to October migration peaks; June to July for grassland songbirds and broods
Top birds: Snow Goose, Northern Shoveler, Franklin's Gull, Bobolink
Free
Missouri River Corridor
Spring and fall migration; summer riparian breeding birds
Top birds: Baltimore Oriole, Northern Harrier
Free; overnight camping prohibited
Red River Valley
May for peak warbler migration; September fall movement
Top birds: Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole
ND state park vehicle permit: $7 daily / $35 annual
Souris River Loop
April to May and September to October for peak waterfowl; April for sharp-tailed grouse lekking
Top birds: Snow Goose, Canada Goose
Free; blind reservations through refuge HQ
Devils Lake Basin
May to October; the Vista Loop is open from World Migratory Bird Day (2nd Saturday in May) through National Wildlife Refuge Week (2nd week in October)
Top birds: Bald Eagle, Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler
Free; no hunting permitted on the preserve by statute
The largest counts submitted to eBird in North Dakota in the last 7 days — the movements worth driving for.
Photograph a large flock from a distance and never flush it: a panicked lift-off costs the birds energy they need for migration.
These are observations submitted by birders and are not reviewed before appearing here. A report is not a guarantee that the bird is still present, and a sighting location is not a public-access guarantee.
Recent sightings data from eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
When the leaves came out this spring in each part of North Dakota, measured by the national phenology network. Bare branches mean open sightlines; full leaf means shade and cover.
Nobody publishes an open fall-colour peak map, so these are the dates volunteers recorded coloured leaves in North Dakota — a handful of plants at a handful of sites, not a statewide peak. Use the official reports below for the wider picture.
Leaf-out and leaf-colour timing: USA National Phenology Network (usanpn.org).
Live observation
Recent sightings data from eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
These are observations submitted by birders and are not reviewed before appearing here. A report is not a guarantee that the bird is still present, and a sighting location is not a public-access guarantee.
Pick today, tomorrow or any day of the coming week for light and weather at Bismarck, then open the map for that day.
Working out this week's days…
Based on Bismarck, the default starting point. Tap “Use my location” above to work the times out where you actually are.
BirdCast uses weather-radar data to measure nocturnal migration: how many birds are crossing a region, how intense the movement is, and the direction, speed and altitude they are flying, along with the migrants expected on a given night. Big overnight movements often mean new birds on the ground to photograph the next morning.
Live intensity, direction and expected-migrant figures are not shown here: BirdCast publishes them on its own maps and there is no feed this app is allowed to read. Open a link below for tonight's real numbers.
Migration information: BirdCast (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Colorado State University and UMass Amherst).
