North Dakota Waterfowl Season: Tips, Updates, and Whooping Crane Sightings

2023-09-29 06:00:00

BISMARCK TRIBUNE STAFF

Last Saturday marked the start of North Dakota’s waterfowl season for resident hunters.

State wildlife officials are expecting another good fall duck flight. The Game and Fish Department’s annual summer brood survey indicated that hunters can expect a flight 23% above last year’s.

The estimated number of Canada geese in North Dakota during a May 2023 survey was down 23% from the 2022 estimate, but last year’s number was a record.

Nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl in North Dakota this Saturday. The season for swans also opens that day.

Hunters can refer to the North Dakota 2023-24 Hunting and Trapping Guide at bit.ly/450r5I0 for further details on the waterfowl season.

Whooping cranes

Whooping cranes are making their fall migration, and anyone who spots one of the endangered birds is asked to report the sighting so the birds can be tracked.

Hunters also are urged to use caution and identify birds to prevent shooting at the endangered whooping cranes, which can be mistaken for other white birds including snow geese, according to Game and Fish.

The whooping cranes that travel through North Dakota are part of a population of about 500 birds on their way from nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to wintering grounds in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, a distance of about 2,500 miles, according to Game and Fish.

Whooping cranes stand about 5 feet tall and have a wingspan of about 7 feet from tip to tip. The birds are bright white with black wingtips that are visible only when the wings are outspread. Whooping cranes usually migrate singly, or in groups of two to three birds, and may be associated with sandhill cranes.

Anyone sighting whoopers should not disturb them, but record the date, time, location and the birds’ activity. Observers also should look for and report colored identification bands, which may be on one or both legs.

Whooping crane sightings should be reported to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices at Lostwood, 701-848-2466; Audubon, 701-442-5474; Game and Fish headquarters in Bismarck, 701-328-6300; or to local game wardens across the state.