Scenes from Sioux Falls I: birds

Shorebirds, Sioux Falls area

We spent last weekend driving to Sioux Falls and back, a distance of 350 miles if you stay on the interstate, which we did not. Because we were going to the spring meeting of the South Dakota Ornithological Union, we (predictably) stayed on the blue highways as much as possible. The weather was wildly unsettled--there were tornadoes in other parts of the state, more of a rarity here than in West Texas--and there was at least as much good birding on the drive as there was at the meeting.

There is, as you will see, a great deal of nesting activity going on, in spite of the fierce high winds and cold rain over much of the weekend.

Golden eagle on nest. We did not want to get any closer. There were two downy white eaglets under her--we could see their heads, and one of them stretched its wings while we were watching.

Lone grebe at roadside pond.

Terns in flight

American robin on nest

Yellow-headed blackbirds in reeds

Hudsonian godwit

Hudsonian godwit

Ruby-throated hummingbird in silhouette

Tree swallow on nest box, not going anywhere until the weather improves

Killdeer

Green heron, refusing to be a yellow-crowned night heron

White pelicans on Misouri River

Rose-breasted grosbeak

Marsh scene: yellow-headed blackbird, Canada goose on muskrat hut

Yellow-throated vireo on nest

Spearfish

Sun on melting snow, near Spearfish, South Dakota

There's no doubt about it: spring is inching its way toward us. The days are longer and the sunrise is brighter. Snowmelt is trickling down the streets and turning the yards into mudlots. No one's complaining. This has been a hard winter for many of our friends and family; everyone can use a bit of spring.

Up here on the prairies, no one's assuming anything. The blizzard season can last into May, after all. So we took advantage of a beautiful day to get up and go on a birding trip to Spearfish and environs. Spearfish is a lovely town in the Black Hills, at the center of a great bird-watching region. Having two fish hatcheries in the area doesn't hurt the birdwatching one bit. It was a quiet day with some spectacular raptors, most notably prairie falcons and bald eagles. One even posed for us.

Adult bald eagle in full awesomeness above Spearfish Creek. My camera's not that powerful; he was that close.

It was another good day for architecture of the open places, too.

Barn

Deserted cabin

Barn

Tiny shed

Barn

Happy weekend from the prairies.