Friends of Maga Ta-Hohpi

06/04/2026

Curious what happens in our wetlands all day? Check out this time lapse from one of the trail cameras on Maga ta-Hohpi. Try and see how many different species you can spot!

05/29/2026

Check out this deer spotted this morning on Maga ta-Hohpi! 🦌 Was it searching for a snack 🌱or pondering a place to nap? 💤
Either way, it’s clear even our four-legged friends are enjoying the beginning of summer!

Photo of a young buck in front of the new office on Maga ta-Hohpi WPA by Elizabeth Sicard/USFWS

05/27/2026

It’s Wed-NEST-day! 🎉🪺🥚

Check out this mourning dove and its eggs spotted on Maga ta-Hohpi WPA.

Mourning doves have the longest breeding season of any North American bird and will start the season around February and continue through October! In South Dakota, they most commonly begin mating in early spring, even showing off their matchmaking skills right in your backyard. After mating, the pair gets to work building a nest together, often choosing a sheltered spot to start their family. However, you might not want to pick up any construction skills from these birds—their “nests” are more like a bunch of loose twigs than a sturdy structure!😨 Typically, they lay two eggs, which hatch in about two weeks. If you blink, you might miss the whole process, so keep your eyes peeled and yours ears open for their distinctive “coo-oo.” 👂

Photo of a mourning dove sitting on a nest and photo of the nest by Elizabeth Sicard/USFWS

05/22/2026

Did you know the Friends of Maga ta-Hohpi are working with Family Campers & RVers - FCRV for a year of collaboration, awareness, and education? While we are organizing programs and outdoor activities for their Campvention in July, YOU can also be a part of the fun! 🎉

A special coloring page featuring the National Wildlife Refuge System mascot, Puddles the Blue Goose, and the FCRV mascot, Bizzy Beaver, can be found at the Huron Public Library, the South Dakota State Fair office, and the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau. Head into one of these locations to pick one up and, once complete, return it back to those locations for display. In July, we will collect all the coloring pages and proudly show them off to the participants at Campvention 2026! 🚙

Don’t forget to take a picture with your artwork and tag on social media! We can’t wait to see how you color yours! 🖼️

05/19/2026

This robin’s nest is ready for eggs! 🐦🪹

Did you know robins are diligent builders? It takes a robin about 2–6 days to construct its nest, carefully weaving together grass, twigs, and mud to form a sturdy bowl. If only we could get our home projects done that fast!

Inside, you’ll usually find 3–5 bright blue eggs that are incubated for about two weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for fuzzy hatchlings in late spring. After the eggs hatch, the chicks grow rapidly and fledge in just another 14 days. Nature’s efficiency at its finest! Robins can have up to three broods in a season and usually return to the same area for nesting each year (including using the same nest sometimes!)

Swing by Maga ta-Hohpi to spot some robins and catch a glimpse of the young taking flight. Don’t forget to share your photos—and maybe your own nest-building tips—with us!

Photo of an American robin nest found on Maga ta-Hohpi WPA by Lauren Hedman/The Nature Conservancy

Note: look how differently this nest is constructed compared to the blue-winged teal nest shared on May 5, 2026

05/13/2026

🚨Mallards on the move!🦆

This hen and her 11 ducklings were spotted crossing the road in front of the new office building. The mottled brown and yellows of ducklings help them blend into vegetation and stay hidden from predators until they molt. 🐤These initial feathers are soft down rather than the waterproof, structured feathers of adults. As they grow, their down is gradually replaced by juvenile plumage, a molt that begins around 6–8 weeks of age.

Photo by Natalie Oslund

05/05/2026

Why did the duck cross the wetland? To find an eggs-clusive nesting site! 🦆🥚

Blue-winged teals are experts at keeping their nests out of sight, choosing thick grasses that provide the perfect camouflage. These ducks may be small, but they're big on migration—sometimes flying thousands of miles to find suitable habitat for nesting.

Did you know a single female teal usually lays between 6-13 eggs? Pretty eggs-traordinary if you ask us! (Just remember: look, don’t touch!) Blue-winged teals typically lay one clutch per breeding season, but if their first clutch is lost, they may attempt a second. Their resilience keeps their numbers from cracking, even when nature tries to scramble their plans. 🍳

Photo of a blue-winged teal nest on Maga ta-Hohpi Waterfowl Production Area by Elizabeth Sicard/USFWS

04/27/2026

Congratulations to Thora on receiving third place in the national competition!

Congratulations to 14-year old Thora Larson from South Dakota for winning third place🥉in the 2026 National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest! 🦆 "Simple joys" is an acrylic and oil painting of a blue-winged teal, and is an outstanding example of the talent this Junior Duck Stamp Program cultivates : https://www.fws.gov/service/buy-junior-duck-stamp
📷Blue-winged teal painted by Thora Larson (c) USFWS Used by Permission

04/22/2026

Look at these pint-sized paddlers in one of the dugouts at ta-Hohpi!💦

These are green-winged teals—one of our smallest dabbling ducks. The drakes have a cinnamon-colored head and green crescent that extends from the back of their eye to the back of their head, while the females are a more inconspicuous mottled brown. However, both sexes get their name from the bright flash of green on their wings (the speculum). These little ducks are a favorite among hunters and are second only to Mallards in the number harvested each year!

Next time you’re out, keep your eyes peeled (and maybe your binoculars handy) for these teals tiptoeing through the tall grasses 👀. If you flush them, they often have a low, erratic flight with the entire flock twisting and turning as one unit. 🪽

Trail camera photo of green-winged teals in a wetland on Maga ta-Hohpi Waterfowl Production Area

04/15/2026

You’re out for a stroll at Maga ta-Hohpi and—wait, was that giant rock always here? 🪨

It sure was! Thanks to planned management activities, the area surrounding the grass trail by the western observation desk was mowed🚜, allowing you to see the giant rock from the trail. Formed by ancient glaciers grinding across the landscape, these rocks, called glacial erratics, hitched a ride on sheets of ice, journeying great distances before being deposited as the ice retreated. In the prairie pothole ecosystem, erratics provide shelter for wildlife and influence soil patterns, quietly shaping how plants and animals interact in these unique habitats. In the past, bison even used to rub against them to scratch itchy skin and shed heavy winter coats.🦬 Over time, these stones become polished and smooth, sometimes with a surrounding rut, due to generations of use over thousands of years!

Head out to ta-Hohpi and get up close with these oversized travelers!

Photo of a glacial erratic that can be seen from the mowed trail at Maga ta-Hohpi WPA by Elizabeth Sicard/USFWS