Birding at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge
The Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge offers spectacular wildlife
viewing! Whether you visit to watch the courtship rituals of Western
Grebes, feeding rafts of White Pelicans, or to listen to the calls of Snow Geese,
wildlife at its best awaits you on Sand Lake. Hundreds of thousands of
waterfowl and other migratory birds rest and feed on Sand Lake during the spring and fall migrations.
Sand Lake also hosts the world's largest nesting colony of Franklin's Gulls. From May to September, a wide variety of birds and mammals abound in this prairie marsh ecosystem.
Birding Check List - Click here for the online version of the Sand Lake NWR bird check list or here for a printable PDF version. Click here for bird check lists covering other South Dakota locations.
Visit eBird for current, public observations of birds spotted at the Sand Lake NWR.
Click here to download a brochure featuring South Dakota Glacial Lakes and Prairies Birding Trail (1.36 MB) of northeastern South Dakota.
