A BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS ADVENTURE IS SET IN THE INCREDIBLE NORTH COUNTRY OF MINNESOTA

The BWCA Wilderness and Quetico Park are located in an area that is in part a boreal forest and also a mixed conifer-hardwood forest. The lack of buildings, the many lakes and the diverse forest provide the perfect opportunity for plant life, birds and wildlife to thrive.

If you are interested in viewing wildlife or spotting birds then it is important to travel and camp quietly.  Usually the best times of the day for viewing are early morning and late evening.

Below you will find a partial wildlife check list and a birder’s check list you can print and bring along on your trip.  Find out what mammals can be found in Minnesota and what some animal tracks look like too. 

WILDLIFE CHECK LIST

____ Timber Wolf  
____ Moose  
____ Black bear  
____ White tail Deer  
____ Red Squirrel  
____ Snow Shoe hare  
____ Porcupine  
____ Red Fox  
____ Skunk  
____ Coyote  
____ Beaver  
____ Muskrat  
____ Chipmunks  
____ Otters  
____ Pine Marten  
____ Fisher  
____ Mink  
____ Weasel  
____ Lynx

BIRDING

The BWCA Wilderness and Quetico Park offer many opportunities to see a variety of species of birds.  These birds are attracted to the diverse forest and the many lakes.

Here is a list of birds which can be found in the eastern BWCAW and Gunflint Trail Area.

  • Common Loon
  • Red-necked Grebe
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • American Bittern
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Turkey Vulture
  • Canada Goose
  • American Black Duck
  • Mallard
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Common Goldeneye
  • Hooded Merganser
  • Common Merganser
  • Red-breasted Merganser
  • Osprey
  • Bald Eagle
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk
  • Broad-winged Hawk
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • American Kestrel
  • Merlin
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Spruce Grouse
  • Killdeer
  • Common Snipe
  • American Woodcock
  • Herring Gull
  • Mourning Dove
  • Black-billed Cuckoo
  • Great Horned Owl
  • Northern Hawk Owl
  • Barred Owl
  • Great Grey Owl
  • Northern Saw-whet Owl
  • Boreal Owl
  • Common Nighthawk
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Belted Kingfisher
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Three-toed Woodpecker
  • Black-backed Woodpecker
  • Northern Flicker
  • Pileated Woodpecker
  • Olive-sided Flycatcher
  • Eastern Wood-pewee
  • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
  • Alder Flycatcher
  • Least Flycatcher
  • Eastern Phoebe
  • Eastern Kingbird
  • Blue-headed Vireo
  • Red-eyed Vireo
  • Gray Jay
  • Blue Jay
  • American Crow
  • Common Raven
  • Tree Swallow
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Boreal Chickadee
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Brown Creeper
  • Winter Wren
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  • Veery
  • Swainson’s Thrush
  • Hermit Thrush
  • American Robin
  • Gray Catbird
  • European Starling
  • Cedar Waxwing
  • Tennessee 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
  • Black and White Warbler
  • American Redstart
  • Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush
  • Connecticut Warbler
  • Mourning Warbler
  • Common Yellowthroat
  • Hooded Warbler
  • Wilson’s Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Yellow-breasted Chat
  • Eastern Towhee
  • American Tree Sparrow
  • Chipping Sparrow
  • Clay-colored Sparrow
  • Field Sparrow
  • Fox Sparrow
  • Song Sparrow
  • Lincoln’s Sparrow
  • Swamp Sparrow
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Harris’ Sparrow
  • White-crowned Sparrow
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Indigo Bunting
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Eastern Meadowlark
  • Common Grackle
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Purple Finch
  • Pine Siskin
  • American Goldfinch
  • Evening Grosbeak
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view bald eagles when staying at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters

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