BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

North Dakota Breeding Birds

208 species recorded across 51 survey routes, 1967 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

North Dakota Bird Population TrendsNotable signalsLong-arc shifts the engine flags automatically — sustained declines or increases large enough to stand out from year-to-year noise.Full methodology →

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Lark Bunting has collapsed in North Dakota: down 99% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Canada Goose has surged in North Dakota: up 704× on the route-weighted index since 1975.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Baird's Sparrow has collapsed in North Dakota: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Wilson's Snipe has surged in North Dakota: up 35× on the route-weighted index since 1971.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Short-eared Owl has collapsed in North Dakota: down 94% on the route-weighted index since 1972.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Eared Grebe has surged in North Dakota: up 35× on the route-weighted index since 1970.

How Bird Guilds Are Faring in North DakotaGuild trendA mean-index aggregate across the species in this group — the structural direction of the guild, with individual-species noise smoothed out.Full methodology →

-48%

Grassland birds

18 species
+1%

Birds of prey

15 species
+31%

Wetland birds

28 species
+56%

Generalists

12 species
+88%

Forest birds

43 species
+89%

Aerial insectivores

18 species
+103%

Shorebirds

8 species
+321%

Waterfowl

16 species
+487%

Game birds

4 species

North Dakota Bird Survey Routes

Browse North Dakota Birds By FamilyTrendPercent change in the route-weighted abundance index between a smoothed baseline window and the most recent one. It tracks direction, not absolute population.Full methodology →

Each species links to its trend in North Dakota.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle +402%Cooper's Hawk +11%Ferruginous Hawk +4%Golden Eagle -33%Northern Harrier -18%Red-tailed Hawk +210%Sharp-shinned Hawk +57%Swainson's Hawk +114%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -32%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -53%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon -39%Blue-winged Teal +173%Bufflehead 11×Canada Goose 704×Canvasback +254%Gadwall +267%Green-winged Teal +160%Hooded Merganser 11×Lesser Scaup +927%Mallard +317%Northern Pintail +26%Northern Shoveler +500%Redhead +755%Ring-necked Duck +443%Ruddy Duck +240%Wood Duck +518%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -46%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern +104%Black-crowned Night Heron +11%Great Blue Heron +224%Great Egret +363%Western Cattle-Egret +734%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +173%

Longspurs & Snow Buntings Calcariidae

Chestnut-collared Longspur -82%Thick-billed Longspur -82%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk +92%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak +352%Blue Grosbeak +146%Dickcissel -53%Indigo Bunting +10%Lazuli Bunting -66%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +242%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +149%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer +73%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Eurasian Collared-Dove 16×Mourning Dove +70%Rock Pigeon +327%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -38%Black-billed Magpie -33%Blue Jay +207%Common Raven +578%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -68%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -21%Merlin +169%Prairie Falcon -52%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +5%House Finch -30%Pine Siskin +118%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -0%Barn Swallow +2%Cliff Swallow +203%Northern Rough-winged Swallow +109%Purple Martin +241%Tree Swallow +952%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole +5%Bobolink +24%Brewer's Blackbird +207%Brown-headed Cowbird +82%Bullock's Oriole +36%Common Grackle +477%Orchard Oriole +798%Red-winged Blackbird +72%Western Meadowlark -38%Yellow-headed Blackbird +410%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -76%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -68%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern +69%California Gull +59%Common Tern +174%Forster's Tern 11×Franklin's Gull +452%Ring-billed Gull +855%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -44%Gray Catbird +42%

Wagtails & Pipits Motacillidae

Sprague's Pipit -86%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee -13%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +356%Black-and-white Warbler +925%Common Yellowthroat +63%Ovenbird -53%Yellow Warbler +240%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Baird's Sparrow -95%Chipping Sparrow +616%Clay-colored Sparrow +34%Field Sparrow -49%Grasshopper Sparrow -34%Lark Bunting -99%Lark Sparrow +348%LeConte's Sparrow -78%Nelson's Sparrow +289%Savannah Sparrow -16%Song Sparrow +256%Spotted Towhee -58%Swamp Sparrow +708%Vesper Sparrow +27%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -33%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican +250%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +686%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Gray Partridge +189%Ring-necked Pheasant 11×Sharp-tailed Grouse +12%Wild Turkey +476%

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +129%Hairy Woodpecker +190%Pileated Woodpecker +275%Red-headed Woodpecker -30%Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 13×

Grebes Podicipedidae

Eared Grebe 35×Horned Grebe -32%Pied-billed Grebe +143%Red-necked Grebe 26×Western Grebe +149%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -32%Sora +231%Virginia Rail +123%Yellow Rail +3%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet +317%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew +24%Marbled Godwit +51%Spotted Sandpiper +380%Upland Sandpiper +143%Willet +101%Wilson's Phalarope +47%Wilson's Snipe 35×

Nuthatches Sittidae

White-breasted Nuthatch +300%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl -70%Great Horned Owl -7%Short-eared Owl -94%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +20%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis +238%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +1%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Marsh Wren +924%Northern House Wren +98%Rock Wren +142%Sedge Wren +568%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +257%Eastern Bluebird +28%Mountain Bluebird +317%Veery +9%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Alder Flycatcher -1%Eastern Kingbird +70%Eastern Phoebe +78%Eastern Wood-Pewee +161%Great Crested Flycatcher +202%Least Flycatcher +257%Say's Phoebe +385%Western Kingbird +55%Western Wood-Pewee +2%Willow Flycatcher +171%

Vireos Vireonidae

Red-eyed Vireo +428%Warbling Vireo +333%Yellow-throated Vireo +191%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22.