Wildlife watching
At Windom Wetland Management District
Spring migration in southwest Minnesota is a spectacle to behold. If you time it right, you can see thousands of Canada geese, snow geese and greater white-fronted geese fill up the sky as they follow the snow lines north. The prairie potholes of the district also provide excellent stopover areas for 18 species of migratory waterfowl such as mallards, northern shovelers, northern pintails, gadwall, wood ducks, ring-necked ducks and hooded mergansers.
High quality wetlands can host more than 25 species of shorebirds as they rest and feed during their journey to their breeding grounds.
Summer is the best time to explore the prairies for grassland birds. Listen for the melodic tinkling of the bobolink and the buzzy song of the grasshopper sparrow.
Wetlands are alive with sound during the summer months. Listen for the rattle of the marsh wren, the welcoming song of red-winged blackbirds and the whinny of the sora rails. Summertime is also a great time to look for newly hatched ducklings. You might even catch a glimpse of trumpeter swan cygnets, a once rare occurrence in Minnesota.
Resident wildlife such as white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, bald eagles and ring-necked pheasants can occasionally be spotted on waterfowl production areas and national wildlife refuges within the district.
