The area from Montevideo to Ortonville and north into Big Stone County and south into Lac Qui Parle County is one of Minnesota’s premier birding regions. This area has two state parks and one national wildlife refuge plus numerous wildlife management and waterfowl production areas covering hundreds of acres, all of them accessible to birders. Every birder in the state has heard of the concentrations of shorebirds and waterfowl found at Salt Lake; many have made annual spring trips there in April. Lac Qui Parle Lake supports some of the largest concentrations of geese in the state, while nearby Marsh Lake is home to Minnesota’s largest breeding colony of American White Pelican. Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge, known nationwide for concentrations of water birds, is one of the few refuges in the system that manages portions of its water area just for shorebirds, making it a birding paradise. Some of the largest wildlife management areas in the state are found in this region, giving birders thousands of acres to explore. Big Stone Lake along with many smaller lakes, marshes, prairies and numerous shallow wetlands makes Big Stone County another paradise for both birds and birders. Thielke Lake is known for its Western Grebe colony. Clark’s Grebe are also found here. Many of the birds rare to Minnesota have been recorded in this region: White-faced Ibis, Clark’s Grebe, Smith’s Longspur, Lark Bunting, Least Tern, Lazuli Bunting, and California Gull just to name a few.

Prairie Waters Region North Loop
Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge, located in one of the best birding areas in Minnesota, straddles the Minnesota River in Lac Qui Parle and Big Stone Counties. These two counties come closest to being “western” of any counties in Minnesota. The refuge has a list of over 250 avian species, making it one of the most productive places to observe birds in the Minnesota River valley. Breeding Upland Sandpiper and Clay-colored, Savannah, Grasshopper and Henslow’s Sparrow, a rare species in Minnesota, breed on the refuge grasslands. Willow Flycatcher are also a common sighting during the breeding season. The refuge also contains prairie, woodlands, marshes and expanses of open water as well as mud flats. The refuge auto tour route is a great place to find migrants such as thrushes, warblers and flycatchers. Adjoining the south side of the refuge is the Plover Prairie Preserve and segments of the Lac Qui Parle Wildlife Management Area. Reintroduction of Greater Prairie-Chicken is taking place on these prairie grasslands. The program has been successful to date, the chickens reproducing and increasing in number. Big Stone State Park, situated along Big Stone Lake, contains a variety of grassland and woodland habitats. Nearly 100 avian species were recorded here during a recent fall survey. Big Stone County, itself, is full of lakes, marshes and grassland areas. One of the best birding lakes is Thielke Lake, known for its colony of nesting Western Grebe. This colony also contains a few Clark’s Grebe and is probably the most reliable place in Minnesota to find this species. This lake is another good spot for scoping shorebirds, ducks, gulls and terns. White-faced Ibis are occasionally seen in the wetlands surrounding the lake, especially in late summer.

Prairie Waters Region South Loop
This region’s best known birding destination is Salt Lake Wildlife Management Area. Spring trips by the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union and other birding organizations to this area lake have produced very impressive bird lists, especially waterfowl and shorebirds. An alkaline lake, Salt Lake is unique in Minnesota and is known for its concentrations of shorebirds such as American Avocet, godwits, plovers, sandpipers and phalaropes. Eared Grebe are commonly sighted among the ducks and geese that congregate here during spring and fall migration. Smith’s Longspurs can be seen in late April. Each fall, well over 100,000 Canada Geese gather at Lac Qui Parle Lake, part of Lac Qui Parle Wildlife Management Area. Just to the north, Marsh Lake has a colony of over 500 breeding pairs of American White Pelicans. Double-crested Cormorant can be found swimming and diving among the pelicans. Ducks, gulls and terns congregate on both lakes and in the surrounding wildlife management areas along with large numbers of shorebirds during low water years. Lac Qui Parle State Park is an excellent place for passerine migration in both spring and fall. Recently, over 100 species were recorded during a fall bird inventory, including a Yellow-breasted Chat and Northern Saw-whet Owl. Both Bald and Golden Eagle can be found in this region during fall and occasionally in winter, depending on the availability of open water.