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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey in early January indicated about 88,000 Canada geese and 3,225 mallards in the state.
John Palarski, department migratory game bird biologist, said the below average count was expected this year for wintering waterfowl due to cold temperatures in late November and early January leading up to the survey.
“The majority of waterfowl that winter in North Dakota can be found along the Missouri River System. Following a record-setting count in 2024, we counted fewer geese and mallards than normal this year, which was directly due to the amount of ice cover across the state,” he said. “Although we don’t currently have much snow cover, cold temperatures in November and early January pushed many birds south and froze a considerable portion of the open water.”
Lake Sakakawea, which in some years harbors thousands of wintering waterfowl, froze over on Jan. 4, just two days before the survey. In four of the last 10 years, the lower portion of Sakakawea still had substantial open water in early January and needed to be completely surveyed by air.
During the 2025 survey, an estimated 68,788 Canada geese were observed on the Missouri River, another 13,400 on Nelson Lake in Oliver County, and an additional 5,000-plus geese in other parts of the state.
The 10-year average (2016-25) for the midwinter survey in North Dakota is 124,700 Canada geese and 14,000 mallards. All states in the Central Flyway participate in the survey during the same time frame to reduce the possibility of counting birds more than once.