Audubon National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is located in west-central North Dakota, and is part of a landscape marked by numerous wetlands or "potholes" that remained after glaciers melted more than 10,000 years ago. This landscape is commonly called the prairie pothole region and extends into Canada, Minnesota, western Iowa, South Dakota, and eastern Montana.
The Refuge encompasses 14,735 acres of native prairie, planted grasslands, and wetlands. These lands are managed for many species of wildlife by providing food, water, shelter, and space to meet the needs of waterfowl and other migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, and resident wildlife.
Thousands of waterfowl, sandhill cranes, and shorebirds pass through the Refuge during spring and fall migration. The endangered whooping crane is often seen migrating in small groups or with sandhill cranes. Piping plovers, a threatened species, nest in the area each summer. Giant Canada geese, in addition to ducks such as mallards, gadwalls, blue-winged teal, northern pintail, and lesser scaup, are common nesters on the Refuge. Other birds you may see include the northern harrier, marbled godwit, upland sandpiper, western meadowlark, bobolink, and more than 200 other species.
Audubon NWR also provides habitat for wildlife that make the prairies their year-round home including white-tailed deer, coyote, red fox, sharp-tailed grouse, ring-necked pheasant, and gray partridge.
Directions
The Audubon office and visitor center is located 3 miles north of Coleharbor, North Dakota on U.S. Highway 83 and 1 mile east.
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