BLACK HILLS and HIGH PLAINS:
East meets North, South, and West

26-29 June 2007

Baird's Sparrow

The Black Hills hosts a cocktail of species from north, south, east, and west.  Here you can see evolution at work, as at least five pairs of birds have contact zones in the Black HIlls.  Some, like the White-breasted Nuthatches, seem not to mix.  Other, like the flickers and buntings, are a mess!  The addition of many Great Plains endemics creates a must-see destination for beginners and more experienced birders alike. The region even has its own endemic, “White-winged” Junco.  This private tour visited many of the areas of our set-departure Black Hills, but there were many species found during scouting that we chose not to go after during the (very short) tour; those species are also listed with notation, giving a good impression of what you can expect.   The weather was typical.  Lows hovered around 45-50F at night, and highs reached 85-95F during the day.  Afternoons were windy on the plains, although this didn't affect the birds.   We had incredible looks at some  hard-to-see specialties, making for a very memorable and successful tour.

We then made our way down into the lush foothills of the Northern Rim.  Near Sturgis we found many birds typical of eastern North America:  Blue Jay, “Eastern” White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird, and Field Sparrow.  We also had amazing views of American Redstart, Spotted Towhee,  and a really neat-looking male hybrid (Indigo x Lazuli) bunting.  Some Wild Turkeys noisily fed on the hillside above us, and Bobolinks and purple coneflowers filled the nearby meadow.

Bear Butte Lake was full of waterbirds:  American Avocet, Wilson’s Phalarope, Ruddy Duck, California Gull, Eared Grebe, Canvasback, Redhead, and Pintail are just some of the birds we found on the lake.  On the drive around the lake, we were readily escorted off its territory by a very testy Upland Sandpiper.  Grasshopper Sparrows and Orchard Oriole were also present in the scrubby habitat surrounding the lake.

27 June:  This morning we birded some pristine grassland habitat north of the Black Hills and were overwhelmed with sheer the numbers of birds.  Lark Buntings, Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Western Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, and Grasshopper Sparrows were abundant, constantly flushing up from the road.  We had remarkable good luck with raptors, seeing easily 8 or 9 Ferruginous Hawks, including a very obliging pair of juveniles perched on a telephone pole alongside the road.  Eventually we made our way to the most important spot of the morning.  Not out of the car five seconds we’d already found a Baird’s Sparrow, and over the next twenty minutes or so we found four individuals without ever leaving the road!

Lark Bunting

Chestnut-collared Longspur

After having our fill of sweetly-tinkling Baird’s Sparrows, we made our way west into sagebrush country.  At first we only found Brewer’s Sparrows, but after a bit of patience we managed to find four Sage Thrashers--a pretty good bird for South Dakota.  On the way, we stopped to watch a massive adult Golden Eagle on a telephone pole and marveled at its massive talons as it scratched its head.  We also saw more Ferruginous Hawks, a few Swainson’s Hawks, and a "Krider's" Hawk.

We continued west into Wyoming and started our ascent into the Bear Lodge Mountains.  A stop along a riparian corridor produced amazing looks at a Northern Flicker intergrade and a Black-headed Grosbeak.  We also found Spotted Towhee, Bullock’s Oriole, Yellow Warbler, Gray Catbird, Lark Sparrow, and Cedar Waxwing.

Warren Peak, being the highest point in the Bear Lodge, was predictably windy, but its tundra-like summit was covered with hilltopping butterflies.  Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and the endemic “Black Hills” Phoebus Parnassian were the most common, but Pale and Indra Swallowtails were also noted.  A paif of Mountain Bluebirds kept watch.

Mountain Bluebird

After lunch we briefly stopped by Devil’s Tower before heading south to Thunder Basin National Grassland.  On the way we found a half a dozen Black-billed Magpies, a curiously hard-to-locate species here, and another Ferruginous Hawk allowed us incredible looks.  Pronghorn were ubiquitous.  The wind really picked up this afternoon, but it didn’t seem to affect the birds.  We quickly found the female Mountain Plover with her young chick, and very contently watched them at a safe distance from inside the car for a good fifteen minutes before realizing that the male been running toward us with his attendant chick!  We watched them for just a minute or so before backing off, as they were incredibly close—only about 20 yards!  Just down the road we were delighted by a dozen skylarking McCown’s Longspurs, nicely displaying their smartly patterned tails.  Finally, we had our fill and headed for an early hotel check in and a nice Italian dinner.

Mountain Plover chick; adult Mountain Plover



McCown's Longspur



pronghorn

This evening we headed into the southwest Black Hills.  A male Lazuli Bunting was on territory at the base of the mountains and gave us great looks for a few minutes as it countersang with another further upslope.  On the way through the pines we saw our first of the endemic “White-winged” Juncos.  We had great looks and remarked at how large-billed they are compared to all the other juncos.  From here on out they'd prove to be common.  Finally at the summit we found our target, two pairs of Lewis’s Woodpeckers.  We leisurely watched the woodpeckers for a good 45 minutes with the backdrop of a gorgeous setting sun, making for a very special moment.  On the way back to the hotel we heard a Common Poorwill in one of the nearby canyons.

"White-winged" Junco

Lazuli Bunting; Black Hills sunset

28 June:  We started this morning with three Prairie Falcons playing near their nest in a spectacular red rock canyon.  We spent a good deal of time watching the birds chase each other around to the song of a Canyon Wren and the screeching of dozens of White-throated Swifts.  Nearby we were treated to great looks at Plumbeous Vireo, Yellow-breasted Chat, Rock Wren, “Western” Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and the very local Virginia’s Warbler.

Yellow-breasted Chat

A short stop in the southernmost extension of the spruce forest was quite successful, even though we only heard our main target, Clark’s Nutcracker.  We stopped to look at a bird that flew across the road in front of us, only to find that it was a male Three-toed Woodpecker!  After a minute or so he was joined by a female at what appeared to be their nest tree.  A male Golden-crowned Kinglet sang for us and showed us his regal orange crest, a memorable performance for what’s often thought of as a mundane bird.  An “Olive-backed” Swainson’s Thrush popped up into a nearby bush, offering wonderful views of its spotted breast and buffy face.

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Our leisurely picnic lunch at the Kahler’s cabin was heartily enjoyed.  While we ate, we were treated to visits by Red Crossbill, “Great Basin” White-breasted Nuthatch, “Western” Warbling-Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Siskin, Western Wood-Pewee, Mountain Bluebird, and a ridiculously cooperative male Western Tanager.  He sat on a bare branch just above eye level mere yards away for a full 10 minutes!  Eventually he found a cicada, which seemed reason enough to move.  Nearby, we had good looks at two textbook male flicker intergrades: both had orange shafts and red nape crescents in addition to red moustaches.

Western Tanager

Red Crossbill

The afternoon comprised mostly sightseeing, with stops at Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, and the Cathedral Spires.  A family of mountain goats near Mount Rushmore attracted quite a crowd.  A stop at a local winery this evening allowed us to sample the local spirits made from delicious wild fruit.  Finally, another trip to the Hanna area finally yielded a dipper.  We watched the juvenile bird as he sat on the footbridge over the creek for over ten minutes.  We found another Three-toed Woodpecker nearby and head a White-winged Crossbill.  

mountain goats; Cathedral Spires

American Dipper

29 June:  The historic Spearfish Fish Hatchery was home to a couple families of Wood Ducks.  It was also a popular feeding place for Violet-green Swallows, and we had very close look at some stunningly beautiful males in the early morning light.  A drive up Spearfish Canyon in the golden morning light was nothing less than spectacular.  Our stop at Roughlock Falls was quite productive.  Below the falls we found a pair of adult dippers.  Above the falls, we had incredible looks at a singing Veery, and what seemed by voice and structure to be a pair of “Eastern” Warbling-Vireos.  Nearby, a grove of aspen trees yielded a gorgeous male Red-naped Sapsucker.

The willows at Englewood produced the expected empids:  Dusky and Alder.  The latter has quite exceptionally been at this location for seven years, a thousand miles for where it should be!

Alder Flycatcher

Finally, we made one last stop in the Hanna area.  A pair of Brown Creepers also put in an appearance, and a yellow-bellied marmot sat up on a boulder to check us out.  Just before we parted ways, yet another Three-toed Woodpecker flew in!  This was one of the most wanted birds of the trip, so to have so many great views was really a treat.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Bird List:

Boldfaced birds are highlights.
* denotes a species seen during scouting but not pursued on the tour