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.
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