Audubon National Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
The Audubon National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 and consists of 14,735 acres (60 km²). The refuge is managed with by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is the centerpiece of the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Audubon National Wildlife Refuge Complex
The Audubon National Wildlife Refuge Complex is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota and consists of numerous National Wildlife Refuges, all of which are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but some are on privately owned land, and are known as Easement Refuges. Landowners generally...

, which includes numerous other refuges in the region. Originally designated as the Snake Creek National Wildlife Refuge in 1955, the refuge was renamed in 1967 in honor of the famed artist and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

 John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...

. Most of the refuge area is a lake known as Audubon Lake and is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Audubon Lake has 100 islands which provide nesting habitat for birds. Another 3,020 acres (12 km²) consists of wetlands crucial to numerous bird and mammal species. Of particular interest are the Baird's
Baird's Sparrow
The Baird's Sparrow, Ammodramus bairdii, is a small North American sparrow.-Overview:These birds have a large bill, a large flat head, and a short forked tail. They have brown upper parts and white underparts, with streaking on the back, breast, and flanks...

 and Le Conte's Sparrow
Le Conte's Sparrow
The Le Conte’s Sparrow, Ammodramus leconteii, is one of the smallest sparrow species in North America.It is a very secretive bird that prefers to spend most of its time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. They are typically very difficult to flush, often only flushing at a distance of...

s which nest here in enormous numbers during the late spring and summer.

External links

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