Rainy Lake and Voyageurs is home to many iconic North Woods species like whitetail deer, bear, moose, bobcats, wolves, and beavers.
However, a hidden gem of this area can be found scattered throughout our forest floors and treetops. Break out a pair of binoculars and hit the trails to experience the diversity of birds Rainy and Voyageurs has to offer.
Voyageurs National Park was identified as an Important Birding Area (IBA) by the National Audubon Society; over
240 bird species have been identified here, with 68 of those being Species of Greatest Conservation Need or Species of Conservation Concern. Below you will find a checklist.
Birding Checklist
| DUCKS, GEESE & SWANS ❑ Snow Goose ❑ Canada Goose ❑ Trumpeter Swan ❑ Tundra Swan ❑ Wood Duck ❑ Gadwall ❑ American Wigeon ❑ American Black Duck ❑ Mallard ❑ Blue-winged Teal ❑ Northern Shoveler ❑ Northern Pintail ❑ Green-winged Teal ❑ Canvasback ❑ Redhead ❑ Ring-necked Duck ❑ Greater Scaup ❑ Lesser Scaup ❑ Surf Scoter ❑ White-winged Scoter ❑ Black Scoter ❑ Long-tailed Duck ❑ Bufflehead ❑ Common Goldeneye ❑ Hooded Merganser ❑ Common Merganser ❑ Red-breasted Merganser ❑ Ruddy Duck GROUSE ❑ Ruffed Grouse ❑ Spruce Grouse ❑ Sharp-tailed Grouse LOONS ❑ Common Loon ❑ Red-throated Loon GREBES ❑ Pied-billed Grebe ❑ Horned Grebe ❑ Red-necked Grebe ❑ Western Grebe PELICANS ❑ American White Pelican CORMORANTS ❑ Double-crested Cormorant HERONS, BITTERNS ❑ American Bittern ❑ Great Blue Heron ❑ American Tree Sparrow ❑ Chipping Sparrow ❑ Clay-colored Sparrow ❑ Vesper Sparrow ❑ Savannah Sparrow ❑ Le Conte’s Sparrow ❑ Fox Sparrow ❑ Song Sparrow ❑ Lincoln’s Sparrow ❑ Swamp Sparrow ❑ White-throated Sparrow ❑ Harris’ Sparrow ❑ White-crowned Sparrow ❑ Dark-eyed Junco ❑ Lapland Longspur ❑ Snow Bunting CARDINALS & ALLIES ❑ Rose-breasted Grosbeak ❑ Indigo Bunting BLACKBIRDS ❑ Bobolink ❑ Red-winged Blackbird ❑ Eastern Meadowlark ❑ Western Meadowlark ❑ Yellow-headed Blackbird ❑ Rusty Blackbird ❑ Brewer’s Blackbird ❑ Common Grackle ❑ Brown-headed Cowbird ❑ Baltimore Oriole FINCHES ❑ Pine Grosbeak ❑ Purple Finch ❑ Red Crossbill ❑ White-winged Crossbill ❑ Common Redpoll ❑ Hoary Redpoll ❑ Pine Siskin ❑ American Goldfinch ❑ Evening Grosbeak OLD WORLD SPARROWS ❑ House Sparrow | VULTURES, HAWKS & EAGLES ❑ Turkey Vulture ❑ Osprey ❑ Bald Eagle ❑ Northern Harrier ❑ Sharp-shinned Hawk ❑ Cooper’s Hawk ❑ Northern Goshawk ❑ Broad-winged Hawk ❑ Red-tailed Hawk ❑ Rough-legged Hawk ❑ Golden Eagle FALCONS ❑ American Kestrel ❑ Merlin ❑ Peregrine Falcon ❑ Gyrfalcon RAILS & COOTS ❑ Yellow Rail ❑ Virginia Rail ❑ Sora ❑ American Coot CRANES ❑ Sandhill Crane PLOVERS ❑ Black-bellied Plover ❑ American Golden-plover ❑ Semipalmated Plover ❑ Piping Plover ❑ Killdeer SANDPIPERS & ALLIES ❑ Greater Yellowlegs ❑ Lesser Yellowlegs ❑ Solitary Sandpiper ❑ Willet ❑ Spotted Sandpiper ❑ Upland Sanpiper ❑ Whimbrel ❑ Hudsonian Godwit ❑ Marbled Godwit ❑ Ruddy Turnstone ❑ Sanderling ❑Semipalmated Sandpiper ❑ Western Sandpiper ❑ Least Sandpiper ❑ White-rumped Sandpiper ❑ Baird’s Sandpiper ❑ Pectoral Sandpiper ❑ Dunlin ❑ Long-billed Dowitcher ❑ Wilson’s Snipe❑ Swainson’s Thrush ❑ Hermit Thrush ❑ Wood Thrush ❑ American Robin ❑ Varied Thrush MOCKINGBIRDS & THRASHERS ❑ Gray Catbird ❑ Northern Mockingbird ❑ Brown Thrasher STARLINGS ❑ European Starling PIPITS ❑ American Pipit WAXWINGS ❑ Bohemian Waxwing ❑ Cedar Waxwing WOOD-WARBLERS ❑ Golden-winged Warbler ❑ Tennessee Warbler ❑ Orange-crowned Warbler ❑ Nashville Warbler ❑ Northern Parula ❑ Yellow Warbler ❑ Chestnut-sided Warbler ❑ Magnolia Warbler ❑ Cape May Warbler ❑ Black-throated Blue Warbler ❑ Yellow-rumped Warbler ❑ Black-throated Green Warbler ❑ Blackburnian Warbler ❑ Pine Warbler ❑ Palm Warbler ❑ Bay-breasted Warbler ❑ Blackpoll Warbler ❑ Black-and-white Warbler ❑ American Redstart ❑ Ovenbird ❑ Northern Waterthrush ❑ Connecticut Warbler ❑ Mourning Warbler ❑ Common Yellowthroat ❑ Wilson’s Warbler ❑ Canada Warbler TANAGERS ❑ Scarlet Tanager SPARROWS & ALLIES ❑ Eastern Towhee | ❑ American Woodcock ❑ Wilson’s Phalarope GULLS & TERNS ❑ Franklin’s Gull ❑ Bonaparte’s Gull ❑ Ring-billed Gull ❑ Herring Gull ❑ Caspian Tern ❑ Common Tern ❑ Black Tern PIGEONS & DOVES ❑ Rock Pigeon ❑ Mourning Dove CUCKOOS ❑ Black-billed Cuckoo ❑ Yellow-billed Cuckoo OWLS ❑ Great Horned Owl ❑ Snowy Owl ❑ Northern Hawk Owl ❑ Barred Owl ❑ Great Gray Owl ❑ Long-eared Owl ❑ Short-eared Owl ❑ Boreal Owl ❑ Northern Saw-whet Owl GOATSUCKERS ❑ Common Nighthawk ❑ Whip-poor-will SWIFTS ❑ Chimney Swift HUMMINGBIRDS ❑ Ruby-throated Hummingbird ❑ Rufous Hummingbird KINGFISHERS ❑ Belted Kingfisher WOODPECKERS ❑ Red-headed Woodpecker ❑ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ❑ Downy Woodpecker ❑ Hairy Woodpecker ❑ Three-toed Woodpecker ❑ Black-backed Woodpecker ❑ Northern Flicker ❑ Pileated Woodpecker TYRANT FLYCATCHERS ❑ Olive-sided Flycatcher ❑ Eastern Wood-pewee ❑ Yellow-bellied Flycatcher ❑ Alder Flycatcher ❑ Least Flycatcher ❑ Eastern Phoebe ❑ Great Crested Flycatcher ❑ Eastern Kingbird SHRIKES ❑ Northern Shrike VIREOS ❑ Blue-headed Vireo ❑ Warbling Vireo ❑ Philadelphia Vireo ❑ Red-eyed Vireo JAYS & CROWS ❑ Gray Jay ❑ Blue Jay ❑ Black-billed Magpie ❑ American Crow ❑ Common Raven LARKS ❑ Horned Lark SWALLOWS ❑ Purple Martin ❑ Tree Swallow ❑ Northern Rough-winged Swallow ❑ Bank Swallow ❑ Cliff Swallow ❑ Barn Swallow CHICKADEES ❑ Black-capped Chickadee ❑ Boreal Chickadee NUTHATCHES ❑ Red-breasted Nuthatch ❑ White-breasted Nuthatch CREEPERS ❑ Brown Creeper WRENS ❑ House Wren ❑ Winter Wren ❑ Sedge Wren ❑ Marsh Wren KINGLETS ❑ Golden-crowned Kinglet ❑ Ruby-crowned Kinglet THRUSHES ❑ Eastern Bluebird ❑ Townsend’s Solitaire ❑ Veery ❑ Gray-cheeked Thrush |
Beautiful photos by
Up North Anything Photography
Ben Sunne