All 30 species in the guide. Windows come from the source records — a month match means the species is possible then, not that it is present today.
Filter by month — showing September
Month filter: September
Migration timing changes with weather, ice-out, water levels, and food conditions. Verify current access and recent observations before traveling.
21 birds
Shorebirds
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Elegant wading birds; shoot low at saline shorelines at dawn for mirror reflections.
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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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