Sunshine in South Dakota! Or so I was led to believe, ha. I was really excited about making another birding trip south to the Pierre area to repeat my monthly SoDak Winter Raptor Survey, and it appeared that last Friday would be my best bet. By the time I reached Pierre, which is about half-way through my survey route, I hadn't seen a raptor and it was cloudy and dreary – outdoors and to an extent, in my mind. It was a first to see no birds aside from Ring-necked Pheasants by the time I reached Pierre, but the best raptor sightings are usually south of Pierre, and the sun might peak through the clouds soon.
The first breakthrough was finding 2 Bald Eagles along the Missouri River just beyond the capitol city – a small adult male and a large female first-year Bald Eagle. As I entered the Fort Pierre National Grasslands I found a gem of a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk and a high-flying Golden Eagle – things were looking up, literally as I observed the Golden soaring on high. East along the county line road, I sighted a Northern Harrier hunting just above the prairie, and a Rough-legged Hawk perched in a tree along the road was a big plus, as were the 7 Greater Prairie Chickens that flushed nearby.
As I was turning around, my attention became focused on another bird approaching a ground-level perch – a falcon. At first it was hard to tell if it was a Merlin or a Prairie Falcon, and I was leaning toward a Merlin I.D. until it flared its wings to land and showed it was definitely a Prairie, although a small one, which indicated it was a male. As exciting as these birds are, they were still shrouded in clouds, which took photography mostly out of the picture (so to speak). But as I resumed my drive south I spied a male Rough-legged Hawk landing on a pole, and as I pulled within photo range, the clouds thinned enough to provide enough light to illuminate the silvery white male nicely as it perched on the hunt. That turned out to be the breakthrough I needed, and by the time I saw the next Golden Eagle, the sun was beaming through the blue sky – hooray – raptors and sunshine along the SoDak route!
Overall, it turned out to be a very good afternoon observing and photographing birds of prey south of Pierre, with a total of 36 raptors including 6 different species. Eagles, falcons, and hawks were all represented, including 5 Golden Eagles, 4 Bald Eagles, 3 Prairie Falcons, 15 Rough-legged Hawks, 7 Red-tailed Hawks, and 2 Northern Harriers! The sightings revealed some interesting insights that included a lack of Ferruginous Hawks and Harlan's Red-tailed Hawks; and as expected, fewer Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks, with more Rough-legged Hawks, Golden Eagles, and Prairie Falcons.
This survey was conducted last Friday, January 30th, so it's always interesting to compare it to earlier surveys. Forty days before on December 20th I found quite a different mix of raptors, which was pretty typical for December, when Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks dominate the raptor population. That count included 14 Bald Eagles and just 1 Golden Eagle, 17 Red-tailed Hawks but just 6 Rough-legged Hawks; there were no Prairie Falcons, but there was a Merlin and I found 3 individual Ferruginous Hawks and 3 Northern Harriers. The differences between this winter's 2 surveys shows a typical seasonal change in species numbers, progressing from early winter to mid-winter. The previous winter, very similar numbers of each species were observed except that Rough-legs were half as prevalent during that January 29th survey.
It's always exciting to see what other birds I can find along the way, and Friday I saw 4 small flocks of Western Meadowlarks, 4 large flocks of Horned Larks (1 numbering more than 100, 1 more than 200), 3 flocks of Greater Prairie Chickens numbering 7, 14, and about 90; plus Ring-necked Pheasants were scattered throughout my driving route, including a feeding group that must have numbered close to 100. During a stop along the Missouri River some hardy ducks were on hand, including Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, and many Mallards, while geese included Canada and Cackling Geese. Ring-billed Gulls were also present along the broad open water of the mighty river – plus the 2 aforementioned Bald Eagles. Oh yes, and during my return to Pierre, at dusk I observed the silhouette of a Great Horned Owl, and a mile farther along, a hunting Short-eared Owl flew low before me, also showing as a silhouette against the sky – a fitting ending to another winter raptor survey.
After the clouds cleared to provide ample sunlight, I was able to photograph a number of raptors, with standouts being the male Rough-legged Hawk, a pretty female Rough-leg, and an adult Golden Eagle – all perched – along with a female Prairie Falcon in flight and a few documentary photos of other raptors. Some images are shared with you here. In spite of the cloudy weather to begin with, it was really a full afternoon of birding thrills as I drove along the survey route. And with each bird I get to photograph, my excitement level soars – what a fun boost of happiness the survey route provides!
Borderland Birding
Last Wednesday I made a drop-of-a-hat trip to Fargo, compelled by the possibility of finding a Snowy Owl. One has been reported by area birders on the very south end of the rapidly expanding city, and I reacted by heeding the call of the wild, so to speak. I checked the area 3 times, as well as surrounding open ag fields, but I had no luck searching for the great white owl. Even so, I did have good luck finding smaller birds on the wooded border between North Dakota and Minnesota.
Because the temperature only warmed to +1 Wednesday afternoon, I stayed in my car, parked on the edge of Orchard Glen Park with the hope of seeing a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, or even a Pileated Woodpecker – eastern birds that don't venture 120 miles southwest of Fargo. The first birds to show were Black-capped Chickadees and American Goldfinches, although a Hairy Woodpecker was already on hand when I arrived. White-breasted Nuthatches and a Downy Woodpecker were next to swing by, and when I double-checked 3 goldfinches that flew in to perch, with binoculars I saw that 1 was actually a female Purple Finch, an unexpected finch find. Last to fly into view was a fine male Red-bellied Woodpecker, a species I haven't seen in Dakota for many years. In fact, it landed in the same tree as the Hairy and Downy, and although they vacated some time before, the Red-belly made it a 3 woodpecker species observation period.
Of course, all these birds could be considered "Feeder Birds," and keeping with the feeder birds theme, at home another lone northern finch arrived at my feeding station Sunday morning – a beautifully colored male Redpoll! And that afternoon a female Downy Woodpecker made a single visit to my suet feeder. Then Monday morning I thought I heard a couple Blue Jays calling in the distance; and a half-hour later I caught a glimpse of a jay drop out of sight 200 feet to the south. That prompted me to break away from my computer work to add some peanut halves to my platform feeder – just in case. I wondered how long it would take for Blue Jays to find it, and as I closed the front door a jay promptly landed on the platform feeder! I haven't had a jay visit in quite some time, so it's hard to imagine it knew about my feeding station, although he may have perceived I was filling the feeder by the calls of the nuthatches. Indeed, at least 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches and 2 White-breasted Nuthatches continue to keep my feeders active for periods each day, along with occasional visits by House Finches.
Neighborhood Raptors & Owls
Any day I get to see both of North America's eagles in my neighborhood is exciting! Bald Eagles provide relatively regular local sightings, and I saw 1 soaring Thursday afternoon, but Golden Eagles are exceptionally rare any season – but there was 1 just 6 miles south of home last Thursday. To add to that excitement, 2 Short-eared Owls were present at the 7-mile prairie – 5 days after I observed owls there. But the next bird was almost as unexpected as the adult male Golden Eagle – a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk that was present above the 7-mile prairie, but only for a short stop. Actually, this paragraph is the beginning of quite an exciting photo opportunity, which is presented in photos and text in the Bird Photography feature in this issue.
I hope you are seeing some interesting birds this week, during the first days of February. As I was completing this weekly birding journal entry, I received a call from my friend Herb, who was driving home from his ranch when a Snowy Owl flashed across the road in front of him, just a mile south of my office! What?! How exciting! I drove south to check for a great white owl, but didn't expect to see it again, although I will keep it in mind as I make my almost daily birding activities. I was happy for Herb, who also gets a big kick out of Snowy Owls (who doesn't); and just knowing there was a Snowy Owl so close while I was working on this issue gives me a thrill too – they are out there, even when we don't see them!
Article and Photos by Paul Konrad
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