National Wildlife Refuge · Red River Valley · Red River Valley; core valley wetland and grassland complex
Verified coordinates from the source record. Still confirm the current entrance and road status before travelling.
April to May peak spring migration; September to October fall flights
Peak months in the record: Apr, May, Sep, Oct
Pick any day of the coming week for sunrise, sunset, the low-light windows and the forecast at Kellys Slough NWR.
Observation platform (a well-known birding hotspot); refuge roads for vehicle birding.
Free
Surrounding farmland means spring flooding can close roads; hunting on adjacent lands in fall.
The notes on this page come from the guide's fixed records and can age. These links open what the managing agency publishes right now — always the last word on access.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (National Wildlife Refuge)
Agency pages are found by searching the place name, so the search may list nearby units too — no page here is a stored link to a specific trailhead or gate.
No access check recorded for this place yet. Once you have confirmed the current rules with USFWS, mark it here so you can see how fresh your information is.
This only records that you checked. It never changes the guide's access notes and is not a statement from any agency.
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).
Waterfowl
Tap for recent sightings, where to go and today's light →
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.
Illustration, not a field photograph · Real photos on All About Birds
Raptors
Tap for recent sightings, where to go and today's light →
The tailrace below Garrison Dam concentrates fishing eagles in late fall through winter; it is the single most reliable ND eagle photography site.
Illustration, not a field photograph · Real photos on All About Birds
These are historical public posts collected as supporting evidence. They are not live sightings and do not guarantee current bird activity. Photos are not copied here — each entry links to the original post.
2026-07-30 — Bald Eagle
Adult on hay bale (place-tagged)
Kellys Slough NWR · Kellys Slough NWR
Open source poston Instagram (opens in a new tab; older posts may have been removed by their author)