Birds of Sherburne NWR

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge contains over 30,700 acres of oak savanna, wetland, and big woods habitats. The Refuge offers many good birding opportunities throughout the spring, summer, and fall on the Prairie's Edge Wildlife Drive, and the Mahnomen and Blue Hill Hiking Trails.

Along the Wildlife Drive you will find a variety of habitats and their associated birds. In wetlands, shorebirds frequent the pool edges and migrating waterfowl are plentiful in the spring and fall. Nesting wetland birds remain through the summer season. Migrating and resident birds associated with woodland edges can be observed in the scattered patches of trees along the Drive and on the Woodland Trail. In addition, fields of native prairie grasses and wildflowers provide habitat and viewing opportunities for grassland birds.

The habitats along the Mahnomen and Blue Hill Hiking Trails are predominantly upland, but also provide limited opportunity to view wetland species. Upland birds on these trails range from grassland birds, such as the eastern meadowlark and grasshopper and savanna sparrows, to the deeper forest birds such as the ovenbird and yellow-throated vireo. The Blue Hill Trail offers elevational differences as it rises nearly 200 feet above its flat surroundings. The elevation change attracts a variety of spring migrants to this wooded knoll. For a list of birds seen on the refuge, see the Bird Checklist created in PDF format.

Visiting birders are encouraged to document and share their rare or unusual sightings with refuge staff via E-mail: sherburne@fws.gov