Among the rodents tracked in this North Dakota record set, the western meadow vole ranks first by occurrence count, in the 98.9th percentile with 2,911 records logged. That measures how often it turns up in survey and observation data, not raw abundance on the ground, though being active by day as well as night, and leaving obvious grass runways behind, likely helps push its count higher than most.
The name itself is recent. Microtus drummondii was only split out from the wider meadow vole complex a short time ago, so older accounts and some field guides still lump it under the old name. Records climb sharply through early summer and peak in August at 881, tapering fast by October, tracking the grass growth and breeding season this species depends on rather than a true summer boom. J. Clark Salyer, Chase Lake, and Des Lacs national wildlife refuges anchor the where-to-see list, three of the wetland-pocked grassland complexes typical of the state’s prairie pothole country.
NatureServe rates it globally secure (G5) and native to North Dakota, without a separate state rank yet on file (SNR).
Full species profile
