What to look for in nature in North Dakota this March

When do snow geese, Canada geese and ducks arrive in North Dakota in March?

• Snow geese at Tewaukon and across the southeast

  Mid-March to mid-April, depending on the thaw · Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge in the southeast, and the wetlands and stubble fields of the Prairie Pothole country

  A Prairie Public Dakota Datebook piece by Jack Dura describes snow geese reaching Lake Tewaukon in mid-March after a journey of more than 3,000 miles from Texas toward Nunavut, with flocks at times totaling over seven hundred thousand birds, a cloud of white swirling and swimming on the water. The Fish and Wildlife Service has photographed the same event: in 2016 the geese began arriving at the refuge on March 10 and built to a peak above 750,000. Those are big years, not promises, so treat them as the top of the range. A Grand Forks Herald column by a Game and Fish biologist adds that snow geese seldom move into the state before mid-March, and that Canada geese beat them by several weeks. Snow geese do not nest in North Dakota; the state is a corridor, and Game and Fish calls them abundant during migration. Look for the dark “blue” morph with its white head among the white birds, and for smaller Ross’s geese with stubbier bills.

  The Fish and Wildlife Service says Tewaukon restricts visitor access during peak migration to protect the birds, so check with the refuge before driving out and watch from a pullout rather than walking toward a flock.

• Canada geese and the first ducks

  Mid-March through mid-May · Open water at river bends, spillways, sewage lagoons and the first thawed corners of sloughs

  Canada geese come first. The same Herald column describes a Canada goose seen on February 7 in a recent year, weeks ahead of the snow geese, and the calendar puts the main spring flight of Canada geese and ducks from mid-March. Look for them wherever water is open: river stretches, spillways and the first thawed edge of a pothole. Each new pair is one more sign that the ice is giving way. Write down the date and the air temperature beside each first, and you will see how closely arrivals follow the thaw.

• What comes next: swans and cranes

  Tundra swans are common in spring; sandhill cranes begin in early April, with most through by the end of the month · Shallow wetlands, stubble fields and refuges such as Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge

  Game and Fish describes the tundra swan as common in spring and fall migration and a non-breeder in North Dakota, a white bird with a black bill and a yellow spot before the eye, up to 85 inches across the wings. For sandhill cranes, a Game and Fish magazine story says the first wave arrives in early April and the bulk have passed through by the end of April. Hearing the rolling trill overhead is often the first sign. The Fish and Wildlife Service says Long Lake refuge is known for the calls of cranes carrying across its rolling prairie. If you see either bird in March, report it to eBird, because an early record is useful.

Where can you watch sharp-tailed grouse dance in North Dakota?

• The lek on the hilltop

  Dawn and dusk, from mid-March; busiest later in spring · Elevated, short-grass hilltops in native prairie, including refuge lands such as Upper Souris

  Game and Fish explains that a lek is a dancing ground, generally used year after year, and that the males choose places with low grass and an easy view of the surroundings so they can spot predators. The display marks territory and advertises the site to females. At Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, the refuge describes males with tails erect, wings spread and neck air sacs inflated, twisting and beating a rhythm on cold bare hilltops.

• Using a blind

  Refuge reservations by phone or email; dates and fees not yet posted for 2027 · Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, near Foxholm in north-central North Dakota

  The refuge sets up viewing blinds near its leks and takes reservations on weekdays by phone at 701-468-5467 or by email to uppersouris@fws.gov. Each blind takes up to four people, fewer with a lot of camera gear. Arrive in the dark, stay quiet, and do not get out of the blind until the birds have left. No 2027 season window was posted when this page was written in October, so ask the refuge when blinds will open.

• Greater prairie-chickens in the east

  Peak display later, late April to June · The Red River Valley and the Sheyenne National Grassland

  Game and Fish places the greater prairie-chicken’s main range in the Red River Valley and notes that it counts birds on leks in Grand Forks County and the Sheyenne National Grassland. Its hunting season is closed indefinitely and the population has fallen by more than half since 1970. March is early for the show, but this is the month to ask local birders where leks have been and to plan an April or May morning.

Which birds are arriving or leaving North Dakota in March?

• Western meadowlarks

  Return from mid-March to early April · Fence lines, pastures and roadsides statewide

  Game and Fish describes the western meadowlark, the state bird, as present in North Dakota mainly from March to early November, and its natural history calendar says meadowlarks return from mid-March to early April. The first one sings from a fence post, often on a day with snow still in the ditches. The bird is also in trouble: Game and Fish reports the population has dropped 42 percent since 1970, though North Dakota still holds 7.3 percent of the world’s breeding birds. Log your first song in eBird or Journey North.

• Snow buntings heading north

  Leaving from early March to early April · Open farm fields and gravel roads

  The flocks that swirled up from the roadsides in winter thin out through the month. The calendar lists their departure as early March to early April, and Prairie Public reports that males go first and return to the breeding grounds around April, with females following. The same source says their numbers have fallen about 40 percent between 1970 and 2014. See how many flocks you can still find on March 1 and on March 31.

• Bald eagles on eggs

  Eggs are laid through mid-March; hatching late March to mid-April · Nests in big cottonwoods, shelterbelts and trees out in pastures, often miles from water

  A Game and Fish magazine article counts nearly 350 active bald eagle nests in 47 of North Dakota’s 53 counties, up from a handful in the 1970s and 1980s. Eggs are laid from late February to mid-March and incubation lasts 30 to 35 days, so young hatch from late March into April. Some nests that have been used for more than fifteen years reach nine feet across, and a bird sitting low in one is incubating. The department advises staying far back, since a walker can make an eagle leave the eggs. Report nests with a bird present on the Game and Fish website.

• Snowy owls on their way out

  May be found until early May · Open fields, grain bins and fence posts in the north and east

  Snowy owls overwinter in North Dakota, according to the calendar, and linger until early May. A pale bird on a power pole in March may be one of the last. Treat it as a guest: do not approach, and look from the car.

Which North Dakota animals wake up or have young in March?

• Richardson’s ground squirrels

  Late March through early April, males first · Pastures, road edges and short-grass fields, mainly in the eastern half of the state

  The Game and Fish natural history calendar lists the late-March emergence of Richardson’s ground squirrels, small ground-dwelling squirrels of short grass. The first ones to appear are males, and a lone squirrel on a patch of bare ground with snow all around can look like a mistake. Look in pastures and road edges, and stay on the road: burrow entrances are easy to step into.

• Prairie dogs in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

  Mating March through early April; pups emerge about six weeks after birth · Prairie dog towns beside the roads in the South Unit and North Unit

  The National Park Service says black-tailed prairie dogs mate from March into early April, with a gestation of about a month and litters of one to six pups. The pups stay below until about six weeks of age, so the first youngsters are not seen until May. The park asks visitors not to feed prairie dogs, which can bite and may carry fleas that transmit plague, so watch from the pullout. Check road and weather conditions at the park before driving the Scenic Loop.

• Young born underground

  Badgers early March to late April; coyote pups early March to late May; red fox pups late February to late March · Dens in banks, coulees, and old burrows

  The Game and Fish calendar lists badger young born from early March, coyote pups from early March, red fox pups through late March, and river otter young into early April. You are unlikely to see any of them. What you may find is a freshly dug mound, a well-worn den entrance, and tracks in the mud. If a den is near a trail, leave it undisturbed and keep dogs on a leash.

• Frogs when the ice goes out

  As soon as ponds open, usually April; rarely a warm spell in late March · Ponds, ditches and wooded pools; wood frogs only north and east of the Missouri River

  A Prairie Public segment says frogs and toads call once the ice comes off ponds and marshes. The boreal chorus frog, statewide, sounds like a fingernail run down a comb; the wood frog, north and east of the Missouri, gives several repeated quacks; the northern leopard frog snores. Roads next to thawing ponds can be crossed by frogs and toads at night, so slow down.

What is the first wildflower to bloom in North Dakota?

• Pasqueflower

  Usually April; a few early blooms are possible at the end of March · Dry, well-drained native prairie, hillsides and ridge tops with the snow gone

  The pasqueflower is an anemone in the buttercup family, not a true crocus. NDSU Extension’s Dakota Gardener column notes that it spreads by rhizomes, where garden crocuses grow from corms. The flowers are purple with a yellow center. The name “pasque” links it to Easter, which falls on March 28 in 2027; in a cold spring the flowers can come well after the holiday. In Dakota the flower was hoksni cekpa, and the essay says elders stopped to reflect on finding the first one. Leave them where they grow, and photograph them instead.

• Other signs of the thaw

  Late March into April · Yards, town parks and shelterbelts

  The Dakota Gardener column lists birds returning and singing, buds swelling on trees, the smell of thawed soil, bulbs coming up and the first crocuses. A tree or shrub is the better test for a backyard: pick one branch, tag it, and photograph it each week.

When does the snow melt, and will the Red River flood?

• Why a snowy March matters

  Snowfall and the pace of melt through March and April · The Red River Valley and the Devils Lake basin

  The Red River Valley is flat and drains slowly, so the pace of melt matters as much as the depth of snow. A 2023 news report, not an official climate summary, noted that Fargo’s March snowfall, 21.1 inches by March 23, was then the third highest on record, behind 1997 (26.2 inches) and 2009 (28.1 inches). The 2009 flood crested at a record 40.84 feet at Fargo and 1997 at 39.72, and the same article gives 30 feet as the start of major flooding. The 2023 snow, though, held only 1.7 inches of precipitation, light beside the 4.62 inches of March 2009, the wettest March on record. These are examples, not forecasts: some Marches bring floods and others do not.

• Ice jams and the Missouri side

  Break-up in March or April · Little Missouri, Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, and the James River

  The Bismarck office issues outlooks for the Missouri and James basins too; the 2025 edition covered March 15 to June 13. That year the Little Missouri was running enough to raise the risk of ice jams, while snow was below normal and dry soils soaked up the melt, putting the chance of minor flooding on the Missouri at Williston at 6 percent, against a historical 42 percent. Water backing up behind a jam can rise quickly, so stay off river ice and out of floodwater.

• When the lakes open

  Ice weakens fast from late March; ice-out dates vary by lake and year · Devils Lake, Lake Sakakawea and small prairie lakes

  Game and Fish warns that snow acts like a blanket on ice, hiding cracks and weak spots, and that daily swings in temperature open cracks and pressure ridges. Late March has a following: a Grand Forks Herald story about Devils Lake notes that mild afternoons make late-March ice fishing easier and that anglers are told to check the ice near bridges and culverts. Game and Fish’s published thicknesses: four inches to walk, six for a snowmobile or ATV, eight to twelve for a car or small pickup. The 2026 to 2028 fishing regulations ask anglers to take their shelters off the water before midnight on March 15 (an empty one may not stay until ice-out), and darkhouse spearing ends the same day.

How cold and snowy is March in North Dakota?

How much daylight does North Dakota gain in March, and when do the clocks change?

When is the last spring freeze in North Dakota?

What can you see in the North Dakota night sky in March?

• The Worm Moon

  Full at 5:44 a.m. CDT on Monday, March 22 · Anywhere with an open eastern horizon

  The Worm Moon is the full moon of March, named for ground that softens and earthworms that surface in the thaw. Because the full moment falls before sunrise, the best view is the evening of Sunday, March 21, as the Moon rises in the east around sunset, and again on the 22nd.

• Venus and Mercury before dawn

  Mercury is best from about March 8 to 25; greatest elongation comes late on March 16 Central time · Low in the east-southeast before sunrise

  Venus is a brilliant morning star in March. Mercury is at its greatest western elongation, about 28 degrees from the Sun, late on March 16 Central time, but in spring mornings the angle to the horizon is shallow. Look low in the east-southeast, well below Venus, in the hour before sunrise, from a spot with a flat horizon. A slim waning crescent Moon hangs near Venus on March 4 and 5 before dawn.

• Jupiter and Mars in the evening

  Moon beside Jupiter on March 18 and 19; Mars and Jupiter 4 degrees apart on March 30 · High in the south and southeast after dark

  Jupiter and Mars are both up for most of the night in March, and high in the south by mid-evening. The Moon passes about one degree from Jupiter around March 19, when it is 88 percent lit, and our own figures put Mars about 4.3 degrees from Jupiter that evening, a gap an outstretched fist can cover.

• Aurora near the equinox

  Any clear, dark night; statistically active around the equinoxes · Northern horizon from dark sites away from town lights

  The Sun is past its peak but strong storms are still possible, and geomagnetic storms are statistically more common around the March and September equinoxes. No agency forecasts them months ahead. Check NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center aurora forecast on any clear night; North Dakota’s northern latitude gives it a good chance.

What can North Dakota families do outdoors in March 2027?

Safety notes for March in North Dakota