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Breeding Birds of the Northern Great Plains
Birds born in these North American grasslands winter as far south as Argentina.
Migratory birds connect the Northern Plains with many parts of the Western Hemisphere. Lark Buntings, Baird’s Sparrows, Upland Sandpipers, and many other birds winter from Central to southern South America. But their reproduction depends on the bounty of the prairie spring. Disrupting any part of their annual life cycle — breeding habitat, stopover places during spring and fall migration, and wintering habitat — reduces the survival of the species.
BirdNote®
Breeding Birds of the Northern Great Plains
Adapted from a script by Gordon Orians
This is BirdNote.
Why do so many species of birds choose the Northern Great Plains to raise their young? Like, the Lark Bunting…
[Lark Bunting song]
…Sprague’s Pipit…
[Sprague’s Pipit song]
…the Chestnut-collared Longspur…
[Chestnut-collared Longspur song]
…or Baird’s Sparrow.
[Baird’s Sparrow song]
After months of frigid cold and snow, warm spring days spur vigorous plant growth across the prairies of Montana, the Dakotas, and southern Canada. These grassland habitats are flush with insects that birds capture easily from the fresh grasses and wildflowers.
The open plains are ideal breeding areas for grouse and shorebirds whose active offspring must forage for themselves while their parents guard them. Like these Upland Sandpipers…
[Upland Sandpiper calls]
Migratory birds connect the Northern Great Plains with many parts of the Western Hemisphere. Sprague’s Pipit and Chestnut-collard Longspurs, for example, winter in central Mexico. And those Upland Sandpipers fly thousands of miles to the Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay. Disrupting any part of a bird’s annual life cycle — at their breeding habitats, migration stopover sites, or wintering grounds — reduces the survival of the species.
We can help these migratory marvels thrive by conserving the rich grasslands they depend on to survive.
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Lark Bunting ML 57569 and Chestnut-collared Longspur ML 61417 recorded by W.W.H. Gunn. Sprague’s Pipit ML 32362921 recorded by A Spencer. Baird’s Sparrow ML 534732 and Upland Sandpiper ML 516735 recorded by W Hershberger. BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote July 2025
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# connectivity-02-2025-07-28 connectivity-02
Reference:
https://www.aba.org/northern-great-plains/
https://www.stateofthebirds.org/2025/grassland-birds/
Ariana Remmel
Narrator
Gordon Orians
WriterSights & Sounds
