Minnesotawinter wildlife
Where is migrating and wintering wildlife in season in Minnesota now?
No official report has come in for winter wildlife yet this season.
Checked Sep 30.
Your guide to Minnesota
Plan from a town
Frost dates and what's in season nearby
Each place's usual timing in Minnesota
- Litchfield Wetland District: Mallards in fall migration
fall (July-November)
- Litchfield Wetland District: Blue-winged teal at their most abundant
fall (August-September)
- Rice Lake Refuge: Fall migratory birds
September and October are the best months for fall migratory birds
- Rydell Refuge: Fall migration of waterfowl and songbirds
September and October
- Sherburne Refuge: Fall migratory birds
September and October are the best months for fall migratory birds
- Rice Lake Refuge: Staging ring-necked ducks on Rice Lake
Mid-October is usually the best time to view the largest number of staging ring-necked ducks on Rice Lake
- Sherburne Refuge: Staging sandhill cranes
The last two weeks of October are usually the best weeks to view the largest number of staging sandhill cranes
- Rydell Refuge: Resident winter wildlife
From December to February
- Minnesota Valley Refuge
Season: December - March
- Sherburne Refuge: Winter courtship: drumming woodpeckers, courting great horned owls and bald eagles
January (woodpeckers drumming) and February (great horned owls calling, bald eagles courting)
- Each place's usual timing from its own source: a peak only where the source names one (not a forecast)
Places by state
Minnesota
- Litchfield Wetland DistrictIn its usual window
Usually September and March
- Rice Lake RefugeIn its usual window
Usually September and March
- Rydell RefugeIn its usual window
Usually September and March
- Sherburne RefugeIn its usual window
Usually September and March
- Minnesota Valley RefugeStarts in ~2 months
Local timing: December - March
Official reports
- Sep 30Park ServiceSeasons of wildlife and featured species: mallard, blue-winged teal, grassland birdsSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Litchfield Wetland Management District: Species in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceDirections, fees, points of interest, the office boardwalk, rules and office hoursSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Litchfield Wetland Management District: Visit Us in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceSeasons of wildlife (winter, spring and fall, summer) and featured speciesSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Valley NWR: Species in a new tab)
Show all 11
- Sep 30Park ServiceVisitor tips with the best months, what to do, restrooms, hours of the refuge and wildlife driveSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rice Lake NWR: Visit Us in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceSeasons of wildlife and featured species: ring-necked ducks, trumpeter swans, golden-winged warblers, wild riceSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rice Lake NWR: Species in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceSeasons of wildlife: winter residents, spring migration, summer families, fall migrationSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rydell NWR: Species in a new tab)
- Sep 30Park ServiceDirections, fees, restrooms, trails and hoursSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rydell NWR: Visit Us in a new tab)
- Sep 28Park ServiceJune–August prairie wildflowers; native flowers in the prairie at Rapids Lake in summer; trails and seasonsSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge: Visit Us in a new tab)
- Sep 28Park ServiceFees, hours, the March–August wildlife sanctuary, Wildlife Drive vehicle season, restrooms, what to bringSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sherburne NWR: Visit Us in a new tab)
- Sep 28Park ServiceMonth-by-month nature calendar: pasque flowers in April, native blossoms in May, wild lupine and wild rose in June, summer and fall prairie flowersSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sherburne NWR: Species (Seasons of Wildlife) in a new tab)
- Sep 28Park ServiceEvery refuge trail with its trailhead, length and season, including the lupine note on the Prairie TrailSource (opens U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sherburne NWR: Trails in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Where can I see winter wildlife in Minnesota?
We track 5 places: Litchfield Wetland District, Minnesota Valley Refuge (its season: December - March), Rice Lake Refuge, Rydell Refuge and Sherburne Refuge.
How do you track winter wildlife?
Each place moves through 4 stages: Birds arriving, Numbers building, Peak numbers and Birds departing. Every stage we show comes from a dated report with its source, and every forecast lists its sources.