Located in the Central Flyway, Waubay NWR provides a safe place for migrating birds to feed and rest. The Refuge includes 4650 acres of marsh, prairie, and forest habitat. Surrounded by open prairie, Waubay NWR offers a unique glimpse at eastern deciduous forests. Basswood, hop-horn beam, American elm, wild grape, jack-in-the-pulpit, trillium, and Dutchman's breeches are plant species normally seen only in the Eastern United States. Eastern forest birds at the western fringe of their range at Waubay NWR include eastern wood pewees, rose-breasted grosbeaks, Baltimore orioles, orchard orioles. Ranges of western and eastern kingbirds overlap on the refuge.
Use the links on the top of the page to view and print the various checklists of species seen here at the Refuge and in the District. The nature sites option lists various websites devoted to conservation, bird identification, etc...
Other Refuge Wildlife - Blue-winged teal are
the most abundant duck species on the Refuge and the WMD. Other common species
include mallards, gadwalls, redheads, and northern shovelers. American white
pelicans and double-crested cormorants are common Refuge visitors. They nest in
large nearby nesting colonies.
The forest around Refuge Headquarters is a haven for a variety of songbirds. Yellow warblers and song sparrows are abundant. Rose-breasted grosbeaks, brown thrashers, gray catbirds, and black-billed cuckoos also can be seen here.
White-tailed deer are the most common mammal seen on the Refuge. Around the Headquarters, fox squirrels and cottontail rabbits are usually seen. A total of 55 mammals can be found in the six county Waubay Wetland Management District.
Return of the Giants - Giant Canada
geese are the largest Canada goose subspecies, with a wingspan up to 70 inches
and tipping the scales at 15 pounds. These huge birds were eliminated from
northeastern South Dakota in the early 1900s by hunting and egg collection. The
only birds that remained were in private flocks. In 1937, giant Canada geese
were introduced to the Refuge from a private flock donation. Young birds from
this flock were allowed to fly free, re-establishing a wild nesting population.
Now, the giant Canada geese are firmly reestablished on the Refuge and
throughout the region, completing a real wildlife restoration success story.
Giant
Canada Goose Enclosure in 1937
