Seven Statebirds in Coastal Mississippi – May 2017

A short business trip to the MS and AL Gulf Coast came up in mid-May, and of course I wondered if I might have much statebirding potential.  My free time would be limited as it almost always is on these business trips, so I would have to focus on just a few key targets.  First I needed to do some research.  Although my MS and AL statelists were already pretty good (229 in MS and 238 in AL), in the back of my mind I thought that I needed several pretty easy birds in MS.  So I set up an eBird Needs Alert for MS and sure enough 10 possible targets popped near the coast – several were regular breeders.  Only a couple came up on my AL Needs Alert, and those didn’t look very reliable.  So it seemed that with limited time I should target the possible statebirds at or near the Gulf Coast in MS. 

Now I needed to develop an itinerary for the trip.  I would arrive on the coast mid/late afternoon, and would be free through that evening, so that would only give me a few hours for birding.  But the Needs Alert included possible targets in three different areas.  First there were 4 targets on the coast – Reddish Egret, American Oystercatcher, Sandwich Tern, and Seaside Sparrow.  Then 3 generally a bit inland – Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Anhinga, and Common Ground-Dove.  And then 3 even farther inland – Chuck-will’s-Widow, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and Bachman’s Sparrow – luckily all in the same general location at DeSoto National Forest.  There were reasonably reliable spots for all of these targets except the Egret and Ground-Dove, so in theory I could come up with an itinerary with 8 realistic targets.  I could start with several stops on the coast, work my way inland, and finish the evening at DeSoto NF.  That would be a lot of stops with limited time so the birds would have to cooperate quickly if I was going to be successful.  But of course I was optimistic.

My first stop was to try for Sandwich Tern.  Although this is a regular nester on the coast, there didn’t seem to be any specific locations where it was regular.  Instead there were several spots where it was being reported at least occasionally, with perhaps the best location being the lighthouse at Biloxi, so I made that my first stop.  When I got out of the car at the lighthouse parking lot I quickly spotted a small flock of birds on the beach but they were all just Laughing Gulls.  Then I scanned across the open water with my binoculars and found a number of Royal and Forster’s Terns, most coming and going from a spit of land a bit to the east.  With some nice activity I went back to the car to get my scope and then started to scan in earnest.  Soon I spotted a bird flying over the water which was a little larger than the Forster’s that was apparently an adult in non-breeding plumage – it had a dark patch near the eyes and around the back of the head, and darker wing tips.  Eventually I could confirm the ID as a Sandwich Tern (statebird #1).  Finding this bird in MS fills in the last gap in my statebird map (below) – I’ve now seen Sandwich Tern from TX all the way up to MD on the Atlantic coast, not to mention seeing it as a rarity in MA.

My next target was American Oystercatcher, which is a nester on the MS coast, but unfortunately on offshore islands that are inaccessible.  The best I could hope for was to find some birds wandering around on the coast, and the best spot appeared to be Front Beach at Ocean Shores.  Unfortunately despite several quick stops along the beach I found no shorebirds at all.  Although I dipped on this target, the silver lining was it didn’t take much time to look for it. 

Then I was off to try for Seaside Sparrow – a common nester in saltmarsh habitat all along the coast.  The challenge was to find appropriate habitat that was accessible.  I targeted Graveline Beach about 30 minutes east of Ocean Shores where there had been several recent reports.  As I approached the beach I could see lots of great Spartina marsh which would be ideal for Seaside Sparrows, and I stopped at the first area where the marsh came right up to the road.  It was pretty windy so the chances of hearing these birds was pretty slim.  I started to scan the marsh and in no time I saw two cooperative Seaside Sparrows flying low over the grasses (#2).  I now only need this species in GA as the last state in its coastal range.

My next target was Anhinga – another regular breeder in southern MS.  And indeed there had been reports of this species in a number of different locations, but the only spot where they were seen with any frequency was the New Pascagoula River Audubon sanctuary.  Up to 4 birds had been reported there on apparently regular walks through the sanctuary, so this would be my key spot to give them a try.  Just as I arrived at the park entrance I noticed a sign that said the park closed at 5 – it was now 4:45.  Yikes – this would have to be a quick stop.  I headed to the wetlands behind the building and did a quick scan of the adjacent trees hoping to find a perched bird but with no luck.  Then after a few more steps on the boardwalk I got a view of the marsh but still no target.  Then I turned the bend and there in front of me sitting right on the boardwalk was an Anhinga (#3).  A couple minutes later I was back in my car and left the park with 5 minutes to spare – that was an efficient stop!  MS was my last state for Anhinga in its regular breeding area, though I can still hope to find this species most anywhere else in the east as a vagrant.

Next I was off to try for Black-bellied Whistling-Duck which is really expanding throughout the region.  A great example of that expansion - a flock of up to 95 birds had been reported recently in the Inner Harbor of Pascagoula.  When I arrived at this spot I found what appeared to be perfect Whistling-Duck habitat – numerous houses with manicured lawns surrounding the harbor.  Although access was pretty limited I was able to search most of the lawns but couldn’t find any ducks.  Then I drove to another portion of the harbor, and with this different viewing angle, I quickly picked up a flock of 8 Whistling-Ducks sitting on a distant lawn (#4).  MS was my 7th state for this species and now the 4th across the Gulf Coast.

Next I was off to DeSoto National Forest to a whole different set of habitats in the piney woods.  Apparently I had never birded this habitat in MS since eBird reports indicated that my 3 targets (Red-cockaded, Bachman’s Sparrow, and Chuck) were quite common here.  And all in the immediate area of the Bethel Mountain Bike Trail.  In fact, all 3 were reported on some individual checklists.  After a quick 45 minute drive northwest of Pascagoula, I arrived at the beginning of a dirt road which was the start of the bike trail.  I had not walked more than 100 yards up the road when I heard the first call notes of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker (#5).  And when I was trying to track it down I heard a singing Bachman’s Sparrow (#6).  That was easy! 

I spent quite a bit of time with the Woodpeckers, and counted at least 4 adults in this colony, including this foraging bird.

And I eventually tracked down an active nest with young bird(s) calling from inside.  Note that this is a man-made nest hole.

MS was my 7th state for this endangered species.

During this time I kept my ears open for Bachman’s Sparrow and heard at least 5 singing birds.  Great to hear so many individuals of this declining species in one spot.  And good to see that all the efforts to manage the habitat at this location have been successful for both of these species.

Since I was able to get both of these birds so quickly I now had some spare time on my hands while waiting for it to be late enough to listen for the Chucks as my last target.  I walked up and down the trail a bit and found the area to be quite birdy.  For warblers there were a number of Pines along with a couple Prairies and a Chat.  And singing Painted Buntings and Orchard Orioles were very nice – I don’t hear either of these species singing often.  Then as it approached sunset I starting hearing a number of Nighthawks, which continued calling and displaying the rest of the time I was there.  Finally, at 18 minutes after sunset, I heard the first song of a Chuck-will’s-widow (#7).  And soon thereafter at least 2 others joined in.  My statebird map for this species is pretty odd- although I’ve heard this species in several northern states as a rarity, I still need it in a few southeastern states where it is common in appropriate habitat.

That concluded a most successful birding trip finding 7 of my 8 realistic targets.  In fact, given my limited time, I wasn’t even sure that I’d have time to try for all 8 of the targets.  My MS statelist now stands at 236 – 29 over the old ABA threshold.

South Dakota – Reportable Plus 15 (and one Tick in Nebraska) – May 2017

On rather short notice I needed to be in Minneapolis in mid-May for a business trip.  That’s not a part of the country I get to very often, so there was likely to be a fair amount of statebird potential out there.  Although my MN list was pretty good at 17 over the old ABA reportable threshold, I was still 3 shy of reportable in IA, and 13 below reportable in SD.  It turns out that my statelists in both states were missing many regular eastern migrants – mid-May would be the perfect time to try to fill those gaps.  It was now starting to look like making this into a big MN/IA/SD/MN loop could be most productive.  Based on my potential targets it felt like I should plan on 2 solid birding days each in IA and SD, so I starting planning with that schedule in mind.

As I do on most of my trips I like to set statebirding goals for each state.  Formerly I wanted to at least reach the ABA reporting threshold in each state, defined as half of the overall state total.  But the ABA last published thresholds in 2011, and since state lists typically creep up over time, newly calculated thresholds would as well.  With a little on-line research, I found that the SD statelist now stands at 439 – 7 higher than the 2011 total.  And dividing 439 by 2, the present threshold would be 219.5.  Because of these inevitable increases in the statelists, I revised my goal to be at least 15 over the old ABA threshold in each state, or “Reportable Plus 15” as I call it.  As a result my goal for SD was 231.  That meant I needed a hefty 28 new birds in SD – although possible it would be a long shot.

This blog post summarizes the SD portion of my trip on Days 3, 4 and 5.  The previous post summarized the IA portion on Days 1 and 2.

Although my initial plan was to spend 2 days birding in IA and then 2 days birding in SD, my first full day in IA was so successful that I already exceeded my IA goals.  As a result, given my even bigger goals in SD, I decided to shorten my IA birding and head right to SD at the beginning of Day 3, giving me nearly 3 full days of birding time in southeastern SD.

That additional time would likely be needed especially given the weather forecast – rain, strong north winds, and cold temperatures.  And that was for the entire next 3 days.  Certainly not conducive for finding many migrant passerines.  But maybe those conditions could cause fallouts of waterbirds and shorebirds that could be migrating through.  In fact, birders I was with in IA recommended that I vary my planned SD itinerary to head toward reservoirs and wetlands during rainy periods instead of trying for landbirds - advice that turned out to be most helpful.  So although I had a detailed and efficient 3-day itinerary planned for stops throughout southeast SD, I made sure to allow myself flexibility to try to deal with what would turn out to be very challenging weather conditions.

And speaking of getting local advice – while doing my SD research I connected up with SD birder David Swanson.  He is in the process of publishing a guide to birding in SD and forwarded me site guides for many of the sites I was planning to visit.  They proved to be most valuable supplementing reports from on eBird.

Day 3

My first planned stops were in the southeast corner of SD, but when I woke up that morning the radar showed heavy rain in that area moving north.  So instead I decided to head north to Newton Hills State Park to try to beat the rain there.  That meant a bit more driving time but likely better than birding in the rain.  As I crossed the stateline into SD it was just starting to get light and I noticed a large owl fly overhead and land nearby.  There was just enough light to ID it in my binoculars as a Barred Owl apparently residing in the riparian area along the Big Sioux River along the stateline (statebird #1).  That was fast, and a lucky find.  I’ve now seen or heard this species in 33 eastern states (though strangely not in NJ!), as well as in 2 states in the Northwest where it is expanding its range (see my statebird map below).

My key target at Newton Hills was a very small colony of nesting Blue-winged Warblers – likely the only breeding location in SD.  IA birder Joe Jungers had given me excellent directions to the area where they breed, which was to the southwest of the Horse Trail Camp area.  As I arrived at the parking lot it was just starting to rain a bit, so I pulled out my umbrella and headed down the trail.  The first part of the trail went through open brushy habitat complete with singing Field Sparrows and Indigo Buntings.  And then there were the numerous Spotted and Eastern Towhee songs, though all Towhees I looked at were Eastern (even though each was giving Spotted songs).  It all looked like good Blue-winged habitat but no luck yet.

Soon I reached an area where the low brushy trees were replaced by somewhat larger deciduous trees.  And just then I heard the first buzzy song of a Blue-winged Warbler.  It kept singing and eventually I was able to spot it, despite the increasing rain (#2).  SD was my 5th state for this species around the periphery of its normal range, including MN, WI, OK, and TX.

I continued along this trail which now entered a mature deciduous woodland.  As the trail started to climb up a small creek valley I heard the first of several Eastern Pewees (#3).  Then I tracked down a somewhat odd Vireo song to find that it was a singing Philadelphia Vireo (#4).  Shortly thereafter the first of several Red-bellied Woodpeckers called (#5).  All three species were near the western edge of their regular ranges – exactly the key gaps I needed to fill in my SD list.  Interestingly there were almost no migrants.  That is except for a flock of about 80 Kingbirds first perched together in a couple trees.  The flock sure made a racket when they all took off simultaneously.

But now the rain was coming down harder, and I figured it was time to change gears and stop looking for woodland birds.  I decided to head north to Sioux Falls where good numbers of migrant shorebirds had been reported recently at 2 locations.  Although I know spring shorebirds don’t tend to stay long, at least I expected the habitat would still exist so I was hopeful that others would have replaced them.  But I only found a Spotted Sand at each location, and most importantly there was almost no habitat as it had been flooded by the recent rains.  Not a good sign.

Next I headed to downtown Sioux Falls where a Peregrine Falcon had been reported seemingly reliably perched on downtown buildings.  But despite excellent details on the Peregrine’s favorite perches, I couldn’t locate the bird.  My initial successes were now just a distant memory.

I checked the radar on my phone and the rain that had been the southern part of the state early in the morning was now moving north.  So it was time to head south to make my stops along the Missouri River that I had planned to make earlier in the morning.  But as I arrived in the area it was still raining lightly, so I tried 2 other spots near Vermillion where shorebirds had been reported.  But I again came up empty.  Part of the issue could be that the rain over the last several days had resulted in flooded fields everywhere – there was now too much habitat.  Luckily I stopped to check out one flock of Franklin’s Gulls loafing in a fallow field and noticed a few shorebirds with them.  Although they were distant I was able to pick out a couple Yellowlegs and small peeps, which with scope views turned out to be Dunlin (#6).  I was a bit surprised to see that SD was my 43rd state for this typically uncommon migrant shorebird.

The weather had finally improved to just a few sprinkles, though it was now pretty windy out of the north and temps were just in the 40s, so pretty chilly with quite a wind chill.  So with “better” conditions I headed down to Frost Game Production Area (GPA) to do some river watching.  This spot was reported to be the best location in SD to find Piping Plovers and Least Terns nesting on sand bars in the Missouri River.  There was an island pretty close to the shore on which both species were nesting.  Plus the state line at this spot was such that most of the river and islands were in SD instead of neighboring NE, so most any bird I could ID would be in SD.  Birding had been pretty slow recently, so I was hoping it would pick up here along the river.

I reached the parking lot, scaled the fence into the area, and took a short walk to the shoreline.  The river here was most impressive – lots of water flowing by, and really wide with many sandbars and islands.  I scanned the island with the signs about nesting terns and plovers but only found a few Canada Geese.  I then scanned other bars in the distance and noticed a really distant flock of shorebirds.  While trying to ID these specks in my scope I noticed a pair of lighter shorebirds running along the shore.  Eventually I could tell they were a pair of Piping Plovers (#7).  SD was my 7th inland state for this endangered species – every time I see this species at an inland site I am amazed how this species can survive under such ephemeral conditions.

I returned my focus to the foraging flock of shorebirds and watched as they all took off several times, circled back and forth, and eventually re-landed in the same area.  Most every time they were in flight I was able to spot one with a white rump, and based on sizes of all the birds and brown coloration of the bird with the white-rump, I concluded that it was a White-rumped Sandpiper (#8).  I continued to watch this flock for a few minutes but then noticed visibility was starting to diminish.  I looked up from the scope and realized that fog was engulfing the area, soon making distant viewing conditions impossible.  Then the wind-blown drizzle started again – I thought the weather was improving! 

So I headed back to the car and decided to try a nearby wooded area for passerine migrants until the fog lifted.  Unfortunately I didn’t find much in the way of migrants.  Though I did get this photo of the Missouri River and the NE shoreline with a tall bluff in the distance. 

As you can see in the picture the fog had lifted, so I headed back to Frost GPA (though I first bought a pair of gloves at a nearby convenience store - it was just that cold).  I returned to Frost and made my way back to the shoreline looking over the river.  This time I soon caught a glimpse of a bird in flight that could have been a Least Tern, but it disappeared before I had a good view.  Then a couple minutes later I re-spotted the bird and then had 5 together – Least Tern confirmed (#9).  I’ve seen this species in quite a few inland states; several more than the Piping Plover.

With good visibility I kept scanning the sandbars and eventually spotted a pair of Ruddy Turnstones foraging on one of the shorelines (#10).  And then I found another flock of distant peeps that included two larger, paler shorebirds that turned out to be Sanderlings (#11).  Given my pretty slow afternoon I was very happy that my luck had improved and I had added 5 new birds at Frost.

And in another stroke of luck, while I was birding the river a USF&WS police officer came by to make sure I was on the up and up (after all I was near a water intake well for the local municipalities).  After a little Q&A he decided everything was OK, and we started talking about birds.  This gentleman was very knowledgeable, and I asked about whether there might be any late or injured Snow Geese still around.  He mentioned a pair had been hanging out at a pond at the hospital in Yankton.  That was near Yankton Reservoir that I figured I might visit the next day if the weather was bad.  I also asked about any nesting Osprey in the area (none popped up in eBird), and he mentioned they were trying to entice Osprey to breed at Yankton Reservoir as well.  So that gave me a couple possible leads for the next day.

I next headed a couple miles upriver in hopes of finding other shorebirds along the river.  Here I spotted one or perhaps two pairs of Piping Plovers, and quite a large flock of Least Terns – 14 were in view at once (the total could have been even higher).  And just then a pair of Turnstones flew in – likely the same pair I had a bit earlier down river.  Nice birds but nothing new here.  But then I checked the maps and realized the NE/SD stateline here was roughly down the middle of the river, so at least some of my scanning efforts were in NE, and in fact all of these birds were in NE.  I didn’t need the Plover and Tern in NE, but the Turnstone was new for my NE statelist - #246.  An unexpected addition to my list.

It was now evening, and the rain had stopped, though the wind was still quite strong.  I had leads on Whip-poor-will and Woodcock at nearby Clay County Park, but was concerned that the winds would hamper my efforts listening for these nocturnal birds.  But I decided to give it a try after all – I couldn’t let the weather beat me!  I got to the park a bit before sunset and walked around the trails a bit mostly killing time, and luckily ran into a pair of likely nesting Sharp-shinned Hawks (#12) – a pleasant surprise.  Then at dusk I started to play some tape for Whips and Woodcocks but all I could hear was the wind whistling through the trees.  So I headed into the center of the heavily wooded park where the wind was more muffled and played so more tape.  And now a Whip-poor-will flew right in to check me out (#13).  I don’t get to see Whips too often. 

But I had no luck with Woodcocks at the park.  I realized the habitat was pretty good outside the park along the access road as well, so I decided to try a short distance to the north.  I made a few stops but didn’t hear anything – except for the wind that is.  But then I stooped behind the car to reduce the wind noise and only then could I hear the distant twittering of a Woodcock (#14).  Since this species is such a common bird in the east, I would have thought my statebird map would have had less gaps, but at least it’s nice to add it in SD at the western edge of its range.

With all the challenging weather conditions I was very happy to have seen or heard 14 of my targets that day.  But I had to work hard for most every one of them, including walking 7.7 miles.  With so few passerine migrants, and bad weather still predicted for the next 2 days, I wasn’t too optimistic that I would reach my goal of adding 28 birds total.

Day 4

My initial plan on Day 4 was to start at dawn at nearby Union Grove State Park to look for migrant passerines.  But when I woke up it was raining quite heavily throughout the area, the wind was still blowing out of the north, and temps were in the low 40s – not the best spring weather.  So I went to Plan B – heading west to Yankton Reservoir, a spot not initially on my itinerary at all.  Luckily I had received David Swanson’s site guide for that spot so I had a plan of action.  And that also meant I could head to the lake near the Yankton hospital, and look for Ospreys, as described the day before by the USF&WS officer.

As I headed west I passed by farming fields, almost all of which were flooded.  Several flocks of Franklin’s Gulls and Black Terns passed by, and other flocks were resting in the fields.  And then I spotted a flock of large, dark-chested shorebirds fly up out of a field just as I passed by – 15 Hudsonian Godwits (#15).  SD was my 4th plains state where I’ve seen this species as a rare but regular spring migrant. 

A few minutes later I approached Yankton’s Westside Park with its small lake immediately across the road from the hospital.  Before I had even stopped the car I spotted a white goose – it turned out to be a white Snow Goose paired with a “Blue” Goose (#16).  And there were even a pair of White-fronted Geese in the lake though I already had that one for my SD list.  Over the years I’ve added quite a number of Snow, White-fronted, and Ross’s Geese to my statelists by finding a small number of summering and obviously out-of-season birds.

Next I was on to Yankton Reservoir, first starting at Gavins Point Dam.  My first stop was overlooking the lake from the crest of the dam – quite a number of Franklin’s Gulls and a few Black Terns were over the lake, but little else. 

Then I noticed a small flock of gulls and terns roosting below me at the marina that looked interesting.  So with a few lefts and rights I finally figured out how to get there, and soon had maneuvered my car to allow me to scan through the flock while staying inside out of the rain.  In no time I was able to pick out 6 Caspian Terns (#17) in with the expected Forster’s and Black Terns, plus I even spotted a few not-so-common Common Terns.  (Four tern species together was nice.)  The gulls were dominated by Franklin’s along with a few Ring-billed.  And then I noticed a lone Herring Gull in the flock- surprisingly an adult instead of a more expected immature (#18).  As I continued to look through the flock I noticed a pair of divers fly by – I got just enough of a view to see that they were female-plumaged Red-breasted Mergansers (#19).  Likely this same pair ended up coming back to roost at the marina a couple minutes later.  What a stop!

I went back up to the top of the dam and scanned from several locations but didn’t see much on the lake.  Though I did find yet another pair of Turnstones down below me.  Ho hum…

The rain had slowed down to a drizzle (though it was still cold and windy), so I decided to do a bit of landbirding in and around the campground that lies below the dam along the edge of Marindahl Lake.  I picked up local nesters like Bell’s Vireo and Orchard Oriole, and several migrant Gray-cheeked Thrushes, but few migrant warblers.  I then decided to take a short walk toward the small sewage treatment plant nearby to look for sparrows as described in the site guide.  My trail happened to take me along a channel of the lake where I was surprised to hear the calls of an Osprey (#20).  That made me 2 for 2 on the officer’s tips.  I never did find any sparrows, though the Osprey was a great consolation.  I only need Osprey in 2 more states – MT and MO.

My next stop was at the adjacent Gavin’s Point Fish Hatchery where I hoped I might find some shorebirds around the many ponds and drawn-down basins.  But I could only find Killdeer.  Though I did have a fly-by Ruby-throated Hummingbird (#21) and I flushed a Lincoln’s Sparrow from the grasses on one of the berms (#22).  I also had my only Chat of the trip at this stop.  The 2 new statebirds here certainly made my 2-mile walk worthwhile. 

It was now afternoon, and the rain seemed to have stopped, so I decided to head back east to Union Grove SP to try for passerines.  Just north of the park I went by a flooded field that had quite a number of shorebirds.  I doubled back to get a closer look, and among the Semi Sands, Killdeer, and Wilson’s Phalarope, I had one Red-necked Phalarope and one Semipalmated Plover (#23).

I finally reached the state park and began to slowly drive through the woodlands listening for warblers.  I was originally planning to walk the road but it was extremely quiet – not only because it was midday, but I’m sure the windchills in the mid 30’s also limited the birds’ activity.  So a slow drive would likely be good enough.  I eventually reached a nice area of planted pines and got out to listen for warblers potentially more attracted to conifers.  And soon I heard 2 Black-throated Green Warblers singing from the pines (#24).  This is one of those eastern species that barely gets into SD in migration – one I needed in order to get to my goal which was rapidly approaching.  I’ve seen this species now throughout much of its range, though I still need it as a migrant in 3 southeastern states.

Just before the road neared its end I noticed an area with a spring and brushy undergrowth that I thought looked interesting.  I walked over to the area and quickly heard a singing Mourning Warbler which eventually came out to give me good views (#25).  I don’t normally find Mourning in migration, so it was nice to have found one in IA a couple days earlier and now this one in SD.  My last stop in the park was at the end of the road where I ran into a small flock of migrants including a pair of Blue-headed Vireos (#26).  I was closing in on my goal of 28!

Next I headed north to Atkins Slough where Great-tailed Grackle and Least Bittern are reportedly nesting.  However the trail into most of the marsh was flooded and inaccessible.  There was a similar marsh just down the road so I tried there too but unsuccessfully.  The most notable feature of these stops was the incredibly muddy dirt road I had to drive on.  I worried about getting stuck but luckily the car stayed under control the entire time. 

I was now pretty close to Sioux Falls so I decided to make another run downtown to try for the Peregrine.  But it was a no-show yet again.

Wall Lake to the west was the next stop, with the potential for white geese and gulls, and a recent report of shorebirds.  I was also thinking that this could be a possible location for Purple Martins, though there had not been any eBird reports from this site.  Back in IA we had found quite a number of Martins at a very similar lake, but these birds were expectedly always associated with martin boxes maintained by homeowners ringing the lake.  So in addition to looking for birds on or near the water, I would keep an eye open for martin boxes.

Access to the lake was very limited, and my first stop along the north end of the lake was on a private road.  I didn’t stay long, but saw no birds on the water nor martin boxes.  Then I made my way to a private beach near the southeast corner of the lake – one of the few times when it was good that it was raining as I was the only car there.  There were quite a number of swallows flying low over the water, but no Martins.  So then I started to scan the houses circling the lake looking for martin boxes.  Finally in the distance I spotted a box at one of the houses along the shoreline.  I put it in the scope and I could see something dark sitting just outside one of the openings.  It was so far away that I couldn’t be sure what it was.  But I kept watching it in the scope and then suddenly it flew off its perch – it must have been a Purple Martin (#27).  It’s great when such a speculative plan comes together!  Seeing it in SD pretty well completes my statebird map except for a few states in the Rockies where it is a rare breeder (and potentially a different species?).

My last stop of the day was at Weisensee Lake where shorebirds had been spotted recently.  But like most other shorebird spots, not only were those birds long gone, but much of the habitat was gone too as a result of all the recent rain.  But this spot had excellent marsh habitat, which looked like a good spot to try for Least Bittern.  While sitting in my car to wait for the rain to ease a bit I scanned the wetlands and it was full of birds including a number of nesting dabblers, Coots, Redheads, a couple Ruddy Ducks, and Black Terns flying low over the water.  When I finally rolled the window down I instantly heard an American Bittern calling.  Over the next several minutes I played some Least Bittern tape at several locations but with no luck.  Then a bit later I spotted a Least Bittern in flight – flying low over the cattails for quite a distance before dropping into the vegetation (#28).  In my experience I’m more likely to see Least Bitterns exactly in this way, flying over the marsh, rather than hearing them or getting them to respond to calls. 

What a way to end the day – I had reached my goal of Reportable Plus 15 in SD despite very difficult weather.  And I still had another nearly full day of SD birding in front of me.  That evening I tallied up my sightings and I was surprised to have seen 115 species on the day in the rain, wind, and cold, though 7.1 miles of walking through good habitat certainly helped.

Day 5

The first thing I did when I woke up at my Sioux Falls hotel was to check the weather – no rain was predicted for the day, though it was still overcast.  And now the bad news – it was still windy and even colder with temps in the mid 30’s, resulting in wind chills in the 20s.  Great spring weather we were having…

With the dry weather I was planning to head back to Newton Hills SP at dawn for passerines.  But I was only a few minutes away from the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus where I had a single target – Green Heron.  The Outdoor Campus was a nice urban park which would likely attract a number of visitors later in the day since the rain finally ended, so I decided to head there first to beat the crowds.  I was the first car in the lot when I arrived pre-dawn, and headed right to one of the oxbow lakes where the Heron seemed to be most reliable.  I got to a footbridge over the lake and scanned the likely roosting spots but with no luck.  Then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and here comes a Green Heron flying in as if to say “good morning” (#29).  I only have a couple more states where, like SD, I might find this species near the edges of its range.

As I headed back to my car I noticed an active birdfeeder at one of the park buildings, so I stopped for a few minutes hoping to find late White-crowned and Harris’s Sparrows that I still needed, but it was not to be.  Finally as I was leaving the park, as an afterthought, I made a quick stop at another oxbow lake near the entrance thinking I might find other waders.  Although there were no waders, I was greeted by a singing Northern Waterthrush (#30) – a nice surprise. 

Next I was back to Newton Hills SP, and although I once again started at the Horse Trail Camp area, this time I took a different trail that headed into riparian and upland habitat.  As I started up the trail I noticed a flock of Goldfinches perched in a dead tree, looking almost like Christmas tree ornaments.  I scanned through the flock and spotted a male Lazuli Bunting – a rarity for eastern SD though I had already seen this species in the western part of the state.  A bit later I was in an area with scattered low trees (see picture below) and once again heard Blue-winged Warblers.

I continued to head up the trail and finally ran into a few migrant warblers, each in its appropriate habitat.  First I found a couple singing Chestnut-sided Warblers (#31) in more open emergent woodlands.  Then I had a lone singing Magnolia Warbler (#32) in thicker woods.  And lastly I had a singing Canada Warbler (#33) in a wetter, brushy area.  I ended up with 10 warbler species from this spot – not a lot for spring migration but my highest total for any of my SD stops in this winter-like weather.  And finally on the way back to my car I had a flyover Broad-winged Hawk (#34).  An excellent stop.

I made a couple other stops in the park in nice mature hardwood forests.  And although I didn’t add anything new, I really enjoyed the habitat.  I was especially surprised to see how such a lush groundcover could grow under the thick canopy.

My last SD stop was at nearby Good Earth State Park.  Since I had finally had some success with migrant passerines at Newton Hills I hoped to find some birds at Good Earth as well.  However, this very nice park is mostly up on a bluff which was exposed to the winds, which were now sustained at 20 mph or more, so woodland birding was not likely to be too successful.  But there was a nice headquarters building, and I thought perhaps they had a feeder which would attract my target sparrows.  Sure enough they had a seed and suet feeder, and a few minutes later I was standing out of the wind (behind an outhouse of all things) to watch the feeding station.  There was quite a bit of activity but no sparrows. 

Just as I decided to give up on the feeder idea I noticed a very small weedy field right behind me – seemed like a good spot for Zonotrichia sparrows though very limited in size.  I turned to bird this field, and right in the middle was a brush pile – an ideal spot for my targets.  I pished a bit and a White-crowned Sparrow popped right up (#35).  And with a bit more pishing a Harris’s Sparrow appeared as well (#36).  Isn’t it great when birds cooperate as planned.  And amazing these species can find these small postage stamp-sized bits of habitat as they migrate through the area.

SD was my 9th state in the central US for Harris’s Sparrow where it is a common wintering bird and migrant; I’ve also seen it as a regular but rare wanderer in the east and northwest

On my way back to Minneapolis I made two last stops near Sioux Falls where shorebirds had been reported.  But similar to the results at the other spots, the habitat was now under water and there were no shorebirds.  And I didn’t even get the car stuck in the mud, though I came close once. 

SD and the Entire Trip by the Numbers

I ended up with 150 species in SD, 36 of which were new for my statelist – most of which I had to work hard for.  I had hoped for at least 28 additions to my list, so especially given the very difficult weather, I was very happy to not only have reached my target but exceeded it by such a large margin.  My SD statelist now stands at 239, or 19.5 over the present threshold – that should keep me safely above threshold for quite a while. 

SD is now my 47th state over the ABA threshold – just OR and MT to go in the “Lower 49” (Lower 48 plus DC).  And SD was the 41st state meeting my Reportable Plus 15 goal.

Including my IA and NE results, I added 61 new statebirds on the trip, and had an amazing 178 species total.  That includes 20 species of shorebirds, and 21 warbler species.  Excellent results for a short 5-day trip under difficult weather conditions.