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Veagle's 2010 Year List (2 Viewers)

After a picking up sandwiches, we headed up to E.B. Forsythe NWR, just outside of Atlantic City. I had heard a lot about this place from Steve, and it definately lived up, and exceeded expectations. There is an 8 mile wildlife loop, principally on dikes between ponds and the bay, so there was a constant variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, etc. We didn't get started until about 5:15, and it was getting colder and windy, and the light diminishing over the next 2- 1/2 hours, but it was quite a show. Highlights included large numbers of Osprey, Swallows, Forster's Terns, a flock of perhaps 150 Whimbrel, large numbers of Dunlin, several Black-bellied and American Golden Plover, and my first Seaside Sparrow. Will have to come back here again in better conditions, and spend more time.

All in all, we had almost 90 total species for the day, 5 lifers, and I added 30 birds to my state list. Thanks to Stephennj for his companionship and research. We really lucked out with the weather, and although I'm sure we would have had a lot more species had we done the trip 2 weeks later, we happy and tired at the end of the day.

Note: pictures from previous entry are for this location; I will modify later

April 26 - E.B Forsythe NWR, Brigantine, NJ

196. Solitary Sandpiper (attached picture)
197. American Black Duck
198. Whimbrel
199. Brant
200. Seaside Sparrow (attached picture)
 

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Spring is definately returning to western South Dakota, although the trees haven't opened yet. The birds are returning. Yesterday morning, I drove out to Sevey's Lake, where there were about 30 Wilson's Phalaropes madly spinning about. Three types of Swallows, although not in large numbers, several Eared Grebes, and a Loggerhead Shrike and a Swainson's Hawk.

Later in the day, I drove out Antelope Creek, where I saw several different sparrows, and a handful of Upland Sandpipers. Then this morning, I walked along the Rapid Creek, and was able to see quite a few Orange-Crowned and Yellow-Rumped Warblers.

April 30 - Sevey's Lake, SD

201. Wilson's Phalarope
202. Swainson's Hawk

April 30 - Antelope Creek, Pennington County, SD

203. Upland Sandpiper

May 1 - Jackson Park, Rapid City, SD

204. Orange-Crowned Warbler
 
May is starting out great, although the weather has not been cooperating. It was in the 40s (F) for most of the weekend. I went for a drive this morning, seeing Yellow-headed Blackbird, three species of Sparrows, Marbled Godwit, Greater Yellowlegs, and Burrowing Owl.

At the home feeders, we got great looks at a FOY Lincoln's Sparrow, as well as a yellow variant House Finch. Then later my wife and I took a drive to Sevey's Lake, and Veith Dam. At the dam, we had Willet, and FOY Bonaparte's Gull, and then the real highlight of the day was the sighting of a single very unusual Whimbrel.

May 2 - Catron Pond, SD

205. Yellow-headed Blackbird

May 2 - Custer County, SD

206. Burrowing Owl

May 2 - Rapid City, SD

207. Lincoln's Sparrow (picture below)

May 2 - Veith's Dam, Meade County, SD

208. Bonaparte's Gull
 

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This morning, it was great to see the first White-Crowned Sparrows, which have become regular visitors in my yard during migration. In fact, I got them on the same day last year. Also had a Mountain Bluebird this morning, along with Chipping Sparrows, and the usual finches, chickadees, red-winged blackbirds, and Eurasian Collared-Dove. I'll add pictures tonight.

May 5 - Rapid City, SD

209. White-crowned Sparrow
 

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Yesterday afternoon, I walked around a small park nearby, where there was a nice group of migrants and nesters - saw an Eastern Phoebe, a number of warblers, and two firsts for the year - Least Flycatcher, and House Wren.

Early this morning I made a quick trip to Sevey's Lake to see if I could locate a Piping Plover that had been seen there. No luck, but there must have been 400 Wilson's Phalaropes, as well as a few assorted shorebirds - Willets, Marbled Godwit, and Long-billed Dowitchers.

Then I walked along Rapid Creek in Jackson Park, here in Rapid City. Lots of Yellow-rumped and Orange-Crowned Warblers, a number of Cedar Waxwing, and first of year Yellow Warbler, and a good number of Swainson's Thrushes.

Lastly, I've had a great variety of Sparrows in my yard lately - House, Chipping, White-Crowned, Lincoln's, and today a couple of Clay-colored joined the gang.

May 7 - Hall Park, Rapid City, SD

210. Least Flycatcher
211. House Wren

May 8 - Sevey's Lake, SD

212. Long-billed Dowitcher

May 8 - Jackson Park, Rapid City, SD

213. Swainson's Thrush
214. Yellow Warbler

May 8 - in the yard

215. Clay-colored Sparrow
 

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We have been having miserable weather recently, rainy and cold, in the 40's F. But migration is here. No better evidence than today when I got home from work, I took a look out at the feeders, and there is this beautiful little Lazuli Bunting, along with 3 Spotted Towhees and a bunch of Chipping Sparrows. It was especially nice as I have only seen Lazuli once before.

May 10 - Rapid City, SD

216. Lazuli Bunting :t:
 

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I have been out of town for a few days, and drove out to Sevey's Lake this afternoon. Some cormorants hanging out, and lots of swallows, Barn, Tree, Northern Rough-wing, and Cliff. And nearby some old favorites, making their first appearance of the year.

May 15 - Sevey's Lake, SD

217. Cliff Swallow
218. Eastern Kingbird
219. Lark Bunting
 
I spent about an hour at Hammerquest Rd., east of Rapid City. Saw a few new birds. Highlights included three Brown Thrashers, a couple of Eastern Bluebirds, Western and Eastern Kingbirds, some extremely Yellow Warblers, and then a number of Least Flycatchers, and a Black-headed Grosbeak in Jackson Park.

May 16 - Pennington County, SD

220. Western Kingbird
221. Brown Thrasher
222. Lark Sparrow
223. Black-headed Grosbeak
 
On my way home from work, I swung over north of the Rushmore Mall, looking for Bobolink where I had seen them last year. Took a little while, but right on cue:

May 17 - Pennington County, SD

224. Bobolink
 
I'm in Sioux Falls, SD for the weekend for the spring meeting of the South Dakota Ornithological Union. The other side of the state, with many different birds. To break the monotony of the 5 hour drive, I stopped briefly at Red Lake in Central South Dakota, where I found many Western Grebes, and five White-faced Ibis. Then at the end of the day in Sioux Falls, spotted a Common Nighthawk. Looking forward to the Newton Hills tomorrow, although the weather may make things difficult.

May 21 - Red Lake, SD

225. Western Grebe
226. White-faced Ibis

May 21 - Sioux Falls, SD

227. Common Nighthawk
 
The first day of the South Dakota Ornithological Union (SDOU) Meeting in Sioux Falls was overcast, and quite windy. Waiting for the groups to leave, I saw my first yearbird of the day, a male Orchard Oriole. Our group first went to a Wetlands south of Sioux Falls, where we saw a very nice mix of shorebirds including Hudsonian Godwits and White-rumped Sandpipers, then went to a wonderful state park, Newton Hills, where the the highlights included Blue-Winged Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Yellow-throated Vireo, Barred Owl, and Scarlet Tanager. On returning to the Outdoor Campus, a very rare Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was located. A fantastic day!

May 22 - Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, SD

228. Orchard Oriole
252. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

May 22 - Lincoln County, SD

229. Hudsonian Godwit
230. Pectoral Sandpiper
231. Black Tern
232. White-rumped Sandpiper
233. Indigo Bunting
234. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
235. Baltimore Oriole
236. Yellow-throated Vireo
237. Eastern Wood-Pewee
238. American Redstart
239. Tennessee Warbler
240. Blue-winged Warbler
241. Barred Owl
242. Great Crested Flycatcher
243. Alder Flycatcher
244. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
245. Wood Thrush
246. Red-eyed Vireo
247. Mourning Warbler
248. Scarlet Tanager
249. Marsh Wren
250. Baird's Sandpiper
251. Stilt Sandpiper
 

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The second day of the SDOU Meeting consisted of half-day field trips. Our group visited three sites. First was the Outdoor Campus of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks. Here the highlights included Green Heron, Cooper's Hawk, Warbling Vireo, lots of Tennessee Warblers, and a great Blue Grosbeak. Then we visited the Perry Nature Center, where the highlights included Red-headed Woodpecker, lots of Baltimore Orioles, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, and American Redstarts, and good looks at Yellow-throated Vireo, and Blackpoll and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Our last stop was the Great Bear Recreation Center, where highlights included Broad-winged Hawk, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, and good looks at Least and Olive-sided Flycatcher.

May 23 - Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, SD

253. Cooper's Hawk
254. Warbling Vireo
255. Blue Grosbeak

May 23 - Perry Nature Center, Sioux Falls, SD

256. Blackpoll Warbler
257. Chestnut-sided Warbler

May 23 - Great Bear Recreation Center, Sioux Falls, SD

258. Broad-winged Hawk
259. Olive-sided Flycatcher
 

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Sunday afternoon, I went with Doug Chapman and Chris Wood to a few areas in southwestern Minnesota. Chris, who has quite an extensive Minnesota list, was looking for Blue Grosbeak, which we found almost immediately upon getting out of the car at Blue Mound State Park. He also found Spotted Towhee, which is quite unusual in this area, and we found a very birdy spot near the campground where we flushed an American Woodcock, and also saw a nice variety of warblers. We then made a couple of stops at Touch the Sky Wilderness, a native tallgrass prairie, where we saw numerous Bobolinks and Grasshopper Sparrows, one of which you can see on the sign (if you look hard enough!) Another great day.

May 23 - Rock County, Minnesota

260. Bank Swallow
261. American Woodcock
262. Grasshopper Sparrow
 

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Karen and I went for a walk on the Mickelson Trail this morning. Beautiful weather, no wind for a change. Got a great look at a Golden-crowned Kinglet, some Song Sparrows, and a couple of Least Flycatchers.

May 31 - Mickelson Trail, Pennington County, SD

263. Cordilleran Flycatcher
264. Golden-crowned Kinglet
 
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A nice morning of birding. Got out very early. A friend had identified a location nearby where she saw both Virginia Rail and Sora, both of which would be state birds for me. Was able to find the Virginia Rail, but missed the Sora.

Next drove out to Fort Meade Recreational Area, where there was a nice mix of birds, including multiple calling Ovenbirds, American Redstart, a couple of bright Western Tanagers, Red-eyed Vireo, and Field Sparrows.

Then out to Bear Butte Lake, which had very little in the way of the usual waterfowl, but I did find a couple of Caspian Terns, which were another State bird for me.

June 5 - Rapid City, SD

265. Virginia Rail

June 5 - Meade County, SD

266. Western Tanager
267. Violet-Green Swallow
268. Caspian Tern
 
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My wife and I went on a hike in Hell Canyon in Custer County, a very birdy location. Lots and lots of White-throated Swifts and Violet-green Swallows were constantly swooping around. Plenty of woodpeckers - Red-Headed, Hairy, and Northern Flickers. A wide variety of Flycatchers (Cordilleran, Least, Dusky, and Western Wood-pewee), and the highlight was a single male MacGillivray's Warbler. This is one of the only places in South Dakota for the warbler.

June 6 - Hell Canyon, Custer County, South Dakota

269. White-throated Swift
270. MacGillivray's Warbler
271. Dusky Flycatcher
272. Western Wood-pewee
 

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I did a little scouting early this morning for an outing of our local bird club that I will be leading in a few weeks. One of the participants mentioned that Bullock's Oriole was his nemisis bird. It is not that common here, but a fairly consistent resident bird. And I had not yet seen one this year. A beautiful windless morning, and I didn't have too much time, but found the target! Along with Orchard's Oriole, Wilson's Snipe, Say's Phoebe, Brown Thrasher, Upland Sandpiper, as well as lots of the common Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and Killdeer. Very nice way to start the day.

June 10 - Pennington County, SD

273. Say's Phoebe
274. Bullock's Oriole
 
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Not hardly any birding this weekend, with a visit from my mother-in-law, and lousy cold, rainy weather. But we took a drive today to Spearfish Canyon, where we saw a Western Tanager, one of my favorites, and:

June 13, Hanna Gulch, Lawrence County, SD

275. American Dipper
 
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Did some more scouting tonight after work for the upcoming outing. Had a very nice evening of birding - my best look ever at Yellow-Breasted Chat, several Warbling Vireo, Gray Catbird, Common Nighthawk, numerous Yellow Warbler, and my first ever Black-billed Cuckoo. Oh, almost forgot Willow Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, and American Redstart. I should have taken photos, but was too lazy.

June 14 - Hammerquist Rd., Pennington County, SD

276. Black-billed Cuckoo
277. Yellow-breasted Chat
278. Willow Flycatcher
 
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I had a business meeting the other day in Pierre, our state capital, located in the central part of South Dakota. After the meeting, I searched for two birds reported recently, a Long-tailed Jaeger, seen in the tailrace of a dam on the Missouri River, and a Barn Owl reported near Philip, SD. One out of two wasn't too bad. The Jaeger was nowhere to be seen, but as I was travelling with a non-birder, I didn't want to stay too long. We did see more than 100 American White Pelicans, along with large numbers of Cormorants and Gulls. The Barn Owl took some searching with a scope, but was clearly visible in a burrow built into a dirt embankment.

June 16, Philip, SD

279. Barn Owl
 

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