A relaxed adult Golden Eagle provided one of several close encounters with trusting raptors. Soaring raptors included this beautifully patterned Rough-legged Hawk. The aerodynamics of Prairie Falcon flight are featured in this photograph.

With the change of seasons we often need to take advantage of the birding resources we have closest at hand. We usually need to work a little harder and travel a little farther to seek out interesting winter birds. Across America, most wintering raptors spread out across a vast area, but in certain locations, birds of prey tend to concentrate winter after winter. For instance, who could resist observing and photographing up to 12 species of birds of prey, including Golden and Bald Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks, Harlan’s and Krider’s Red-tails and a few exciting falcons – more than 100 raptors during the best days.

By December, birds of prey vacate my extended neighborhood, and I don’t see another raptor until March. BUT, if I drive 90 minutes south, I enter a remarkable raptor hotspot! Because of its location in south-central South Dakota, I call this winter raptor hotspot “SoDak.”

Are you ready for my one-day tally for last Thursday? Of the 74 raptors I observed, I counted 35 Rough-legged Hawks, 13 Red-tailed Hawks, 9 Golden Eagles, 9 Bald Eagles, 3 Northern Harriers, 1 Ferruginous Hawk, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 Prairie Falcon, 1 Merlin and 1 American Kestrel – 10 different species! That’s a good day for SoDak, although the best days have yielded totals above the century mark! This concentration of raptors is truly remarkable and each bird is interesting in its own ways.

There are also some very special raptors to search out: Among the Rough-legs and Red-tailed Hawks, I found two dark-morph Rough-legs – almost pure black in color; two dark-morph Harlan’s Red-tails and one light-morph Harlan’s; plus a light-colored Krider’s Red-tail. Then too, adult male Rough-legged Hawks are rare among the wintering Rough-legs in SoDak – I only saw two males among the 35 Rough-legs in this count. The male’s plumage is so different and interesting that I tend to favor them with my camera, yet it always seems they are the least trusting hawks.

SoDak Euphoria

Birds of Prey are favorites of mine, and considering the rarity of finding a raptor nearby during winter, it’s amazing to see the transition that begins about 85 miles south of my house, especially considering that the weather, landscape and snow cover is not very different from my neighborhood. As I motor toward Pierre, which is 200 miles from home, raptors become more abundant and I am gradually consumed by a euphotic feeling, and Thursday was no exception.

At Pierre, I crossed the Missouri River and drove south through Fort Pierre National Grasslands, checking out hawks, falcons and eagles along the way. About 30 miles south of Pierre, I follow the mostly unused backroads a few miles north and south of Interstate 70 through rolling prairies carved by streams and croplands. I initially explored this region after receiving a tip from another birder, and what a great tip that was! I have so much fun immersed in this raptor hotspot that I travel south a couple times each winter month to study and photograph these remarkable birds, often at close quarters.

The second SoDak day I concentrated on photography with clear blue sky and a mostly calm wind that provided the potential for great flight photos. Certainly, some hawks and eagles were soaring, others were hunting on the wing, some hovering from time to time to zero in on prey, while others hunted from perches. A few raptors even had prey in talon and were feeding when I intercepted their activities. It was one of those days!

Amigos

Most of the raptors permit a fairly close approach, but certain individuals don’t react to my approach at all. These birds provide extended photo sessions, but after taking a few photos I have really come to appreciate just sharing time with such birds, one on one. We both relax quickly, and I melt into the background as the raptor does its thing – continues searching the landscape for potential prey, preens or just loafs in the sun.

This acceptance is an especially rewarding experience with Golden Eagles! Among my favorite birds, it took most of my lifetime to get close to a Golden; but now, in SoDak, I have a few close encounters each winter. I have come to appreciate that even for adult Golden Eagles, which are almost always depicted in monotypic plumage, there are a lot of individual variations in their plumage, especially in their tail and wing feathers and their golden head and nape – and that individuality is true for their personalities too.

Of course there are other birds in SoDak too, including flocks of Western Meadowlarks, which have been absent from my neighborhood for six weeks, big flocks of Horned Larks, many Ring-necked Pheasants (the state birds of South Dakota), and a couple species I don’t see often – Wild Turkeys (just three Tom’s) and a flock of a dozen Greater Prairie Chickens – oh, and a flighty young Northern Shrike.

National Winter Hotspots

With a little help from birding friends, I have enjoyed exploring and finding similar winter raptor hotspots in the Antelope Valley in California (north of Los Angeles), in the Texas Borderlands (primarily the McAllen and Harlingen areas) and among ag fields east of Phoenix in central Arizona. Other areas I hope to check out include Skagit Flats in Washington (north of Seattle), southeast Colorado and a number of Bald Eagles concentrations along the central reaches of the Mississippi River in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. Actually, southwest North Dakota can be a hotspot too; it’s a warmer area with less snow cover that the rest of the state with similar raptors as are assembled in the SoDak region.

I hope you enjoy some up close and personal birding opportunities this season, and have a chance to photograph some favorite birds throughout the winter season – raptors among them. Actually, I’m ready to head south again today (just a couple days after returning from the SoDak raptor haven) – such interactions keep me charged!

Article and photographs by Paul Konrad

Do you have a favorite winter birding hotspot? What make it a favorite for you? Share your winter hotspot highlights at editors2tbw@gmail.com