The World’s Largest Colony Of White Pelicans Have Returned To North Dakota For Nesting Season
North Dakota is known for being an excellent place for birds. Whether you’re an avid hunter or a bird watcher, you’ll find thousands of birds on the prairie. Pheasants, waterfowl, raptors, and plenty of songbirds call this place home. But did you know that the Peace Garden State is also the nesting ground of the world’s largest colony of white pelicans? One particular lake here has thousands upon thousands of big, beautiful pelicans, and it’s certainly a sight to see when they return in the spring. Check out the pelican refuge in North Dakota that holds this title.
Every year, thousands of white pelicans travel to a specific lake in North Dakota that serves as their summer nesting grounds. They begin to arrive from their wintering grounds, usually the southern coasts of the US and as far as South America, in April.
Throughout May and June, up to 30,000 pelicans nest and lay eggs along the edges of the water at Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see hundreds of white dots that are pelicans and their nests.
Throughout the rest of summer, the pelicans raise their young until they are old enough to fly and leave to the wintering grounds and repeat the process all over again.
You can visit Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge for yourself and see this amazing sight in person. There are tons of other birds beyond pelicans here, too.
When visiting, you'll likely spot birds like the eye-catching and elegant ibis, tall and majestic herons, grebes, loons, and even non-bird animals like deer and badgers. It's like a natural zoo that you can see up close and in person.
You can visit the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge yourself. It is open every day from sunrise to sunset. There are hiking trails, driving routes, and places to park to see the incredible sights. Learn more about the refuge here. Have you seen the white pelicans in North Dakota before?
Did you know that there are more wildlife refuges in ND than there are in any other state? Here is another awesome wildlife refuge in North Dakota you can explore.
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Address: Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Tappen, ND 58487, USA
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Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
