Hummingbirds of North Dakota

Sertoma Park is one of Bismarck's most-used public parks, stretching three miles along the Missouri River with over four miles of paved riverside trails. Within the park is the Dakota Zoo, home to 125 animal species. The park and zoo grounds feature flower beds, ornamental plantings, and access to Missouri River riparian habitat with native wildflowers in the floodplain areas. The combination of formal plantings and adjacent native riparian corridor makes Sertoma a viable summer hummingbird location — the Missouri River corridor is a key migration route for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

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Theodore Roosevelt National Park protects 70,000+ acres of striking badlands landscape in southwestern North Dakota, divided into a South Unit near Medora and a North Unit. The park shelters over 400 plant species, sustaining diverse wildlife including bison, pronghorn, elk, and wild horses. Prairie wildflowers including penstemons, wild bergamot, scarlet globemallow, and wood lilies bloom in abundance in June–July, attracting Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at the western fringe of their range. The park is a designated Important Bird Area.

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Founded in 1932 on the North Dakota/Manitoba border and listed as a Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the International Peace Garden spans nearly 2,400 acres of prairie, forest, and breathtaking formal floral displays. The garden is world-famous for planting 70,000–100,000 annual flowers each season in elaborate themed designs. The formal beds — including masses of salvia, petunias, snapdragons, and tubular annuals — combined with surrounding prairie wildflowers make the garden a significant summer nectar resource for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds near the northern edge of their range.

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North Dakota's first zoo, open since 1933, Chahinkapa Zoo is a 29-acre wildlife and nature destination in Wahpeton's Chahinkapa Park along the Bois de Sioux River. The zoo is home to 70+ animal species and is surrounded by native prairie grassland habitat. The park's setting among North Dakota's native prairie ecosystem makes it an authentic stopover point for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrating through the Red River Valley corridor, and native plants in and around the zoo grounds provide critical refueling resources.

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