Birding spots · Minnesota

Best Birding Spots in Dakota County, Minnesota

Spring Lake Park (Dakota County) leads Dakota County's birding spots with 189 species reported, best in spring. 102 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Spring Lake Park (Dakota County)	189	1,059	31	167	105	105
Lake Rebecca (Pool 2)	162	793	27	145	80	79
Spring Lake (Sedil)	158	256	17	99	61	109
Friendly Marsh Park	152	564	15	137	76	87
Cowling - Lower Arboretum (Waterford)	151	363	21	123	77	103
Ritter Farm Park	150	512	32	128	81	93
Lake Rebecca (southeast)	149	359	29	129	75	54
Pine Bend Bluffs State Scientific and Natural Area	148	390	28	121	87	92
Lebanon Hills Regional Park	144	417	26	128	79	62
Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Jensen Lake)	134	381	23	114	71	84
Alimagnet Park	131	192	14	126	32	21
Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Holland Lake)	126	304	9	109	71	60
Orchard Lake	120	166	19	84	55	69
Lebanon Hills Regional Park (east)	117	207	12	102	62	51
Fort Snelling State Park (Snelling Lake)	115	195	11	96	46	61
Mud Lake Park	112	224	14	99	32	68
Hastings Sand Coulee State Scientific and Natural Area	112	204	32	84	80	23
Lake Rebecca (Hastings)	108	708	37	93	59	39
Vermillion River State Wildlife Management Area	108	180	3	87	80	37
Minnesota Zoological Gardens	106	392	20	89	69	55
Augusta Lake (Lemay Lake)	104	729	26	77	63	54
Port Crosby Park	103	1,038	48	74	61	48
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge	103	220	5	94	55	19
Augusta Lake	102	780	29	81	60	67
Lilydale Regional Park (West Saint Paul)	101	136	15	79	56	45
Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Schultz Lake)	97	178	12	79	55	36
Blackdog Lake (southeast)	96	419	51	49	39	41
Lake Rebecca (southeast 2)	95	241	24	75	42	40
Lilydale Regional Park	94	161	16	76	41	46
Marion Lake	94	118	15	57	47	52
Blackdog Lake (Long Meadow Lake)	94	118	27	67	41	40
Schwarz Pond Park	93	109	3	67	60	48
Crystal Lake (Keller Lake)	92	86	0	82	11	36
Rock Island Swing Bridge	91	166	21	77	48	31
West Lake Marion Park	90	169	16	62	24	53
Hastings State Scientific and Natural Area	90	53	0	81	19	14
Blackdog Lake (Nicols)	87	692	39	60	33	43
Sunset Pond	87	131	12	61	40	32
Casperson Park	87	120	4	51	23	50
Snelling Lake (Mendota)	86	234	19	41	49	49
Thompson Lake	85	215	18	54	44	45
Minnesota Riverfront	85	183	24	52	38	44
Terrace Oaks West	84	86	10	61	35	39
Copperfield Ponds Park	84	80	3	76	16	18
Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Gerhardt Lake)	81	105	6	64	39	27
Rogers Lake	81	82	15	64	29	29
Carrolls Woods Park	80	58	9	62	31	30
Thomas Lake Park	79	120	11	49	44	44
Gerhardt Lake	79	87	9	76	0	16
Rambling River Park	78	70	10	53	25	51