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Memories from ABA’s 2015 Spearfish Rally
I first visited the Black Hills as a teenager in the late 90s. I saw a White-winged Junco (right), briefly gazed at Mount Rushmore, and went on my way. I remember thinking to myself, “That’s pretty much it. I doubt I’ll be back here.”
Little did I know that I’d end up working five consecutive summers (2001–2005) for Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory on its Monitoring Birds of the Black Hills project. I not only got to know this unique place, but I grew to love it. Both for its beauty and for its interesting mix of birds. In the Black Hills, east (Ovenbird and Red-eyed Vireo) meets west (Plumbeous Vireo and Western Tanager) meets south (Lesser Goldfinch and Virginia’s Warbler) meets north (Black-backed Woodpecker and Gray Jay).
Spearfish Canyon. Photo by Jimmy Emerson
So it was with great excitement that I said “yes!” when I was asked to help put together a field trip program for an ABA rally based in Spearfish, South Dakota, along the northern flank of the Black Hills and at the mouth of stunning Spearfish Canyon (above).
Approximately 75 birders met here last month, and we had a marvelous time sampling the sights, sounds, and even smells of the area. Seriously, if you’ve never crushed a sprig of big sagebrush in your hand and taken a sniff, you’re missing out.
Below is a sampling our collective experiences. Enjoy! Unless otherwise noted, photos are by George Armistead, Nick Block, Ted Floyd, Jeffrey Gordon, and Michael Retter. Be sure to scroll to the end to see the bird species list.
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The “Wyoming Shortgrass” trip ventured into the sage flats and shortgrass prairies of Thunder Basin National Grassland, west of Newcastle, Wyoming, before heading toward the South Dakota state line and visiting an old burn on Elk Mountain and foothill scrub habitat in Roby and Boles Canyons.
Shortgrass prairie in Thunder Basin National Grassland. This is where McCown’s Longspurs breed.
Sage flats in Thunder Basin National Grassland. Brewer’s Sparrow, Lark Bunting, and Sage Thrasher breed here.
Birding Thunder Basin.
Looking for McCown’s Longspurs.
Birding editor Ted Floyd was one of the field trip leaders.
The pale sennetti race of Common Nighthawk breeds on the high plains.
White-tailed Jackrabbit.
Western Meadowlark.
Black-tailed Prairie-dogs.
Juvenile Hooded Larks trick a fair few birders into thinking they’re looking at a Sprague’s Pipit!
Adult Horned Lark
Male Lark Bunting.
Pronghorn.
Swift Foxes!
Foothills and canyon walls in the southwestern black hills are covered in mountain mahogany and Rocky Mountain juniper, providing breeding habitat for Virginia’s Warbler.
Birding Roby Canyon.
Juniper Hairstreak.
Edwards’s Fritillary.
The Elk Mountain fire occurred in 2001, making this a 14-year-old burn. It still supports a healthy population of Lewis’s Woodpeckers.
Lewis’s Woodpecker.
Red-headed Woodpeckers also use old burns.
A pack of male Bighorn Sheep on Elk Mountain.
Pale Crescent.
A trio of male Dickcissels set up territories in Crook County, Wyoming in this exceptionally wet summer.
Mixed-grass prairie near Buffalo, South Dakota, is prime breeding territory for Baird’s Sparrow and Chestnut-collared Longspur.
Baird’s Sparrow.
Male Chestnut-colalred Longspur coming in for a landing.
Sharp-tailed Grouse on a power line!
Short-eared Owl.
Male Chestnut-collared Longspur.
Upland Sandpiper.
Marbled Godwit.
Male Bullock’s Oriole
Male Yellow-headed Blackbird.
Our third field trip started by traveling up Spearfish Canyon. We stopped in broad-leafed riparian habitat at Bridal Veil Falls and Roughlock Falls. We birded spruce areas along Hanna Creek and Ward Draw before continuing south to Black Fox Campground and the Kinney Burn.
Bridal Veil Falls.
Riparian paper birch grove in Spearfish Canyon.
This Black-headed Grosbeak was ridiculously tame!
Male Black-headed Grosbeak.
Watching White-throated Swifts and Violet-green Swallows in Spearfish Canyon.
White-throated Swift.
Picking watercress for lunch along Little Spearfish Creek.
Looking for dippers at Roughlock Falls.
Adult American Dipper.
Juvenile American Dipper.
The Usnea-lichen-draped boughs of Black Hills Spruce proved adequate enough for a Northern Parula to set up territory this summer!
Participants engage in friendly conversation after seeing the parula near Hanna.
Preparing to walk into the spruce forest to look for Pacific Wren and Three-toed Woodpecker.
Black Hills Spruce forest.
Here, Lewis Burke (green jacket) gazes at his 600th ABA Area bird…
..this female American Three-toed Woodpecker.
Birding the Kinney Burn.
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell.
The Kinney fire occurred in September 2012, making this burn not quite 3 years old and perfect for Black-backed Woodpecker.
Watching a Black-backed Woodpecker in the Kinney Burn.
Female Black-backed Woodpecker.
Clark’s Nutcracker.
Finally, on the last morning we visited Mount Rushmore via the scenic Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road.
Bison at Custer State Park.
Watching a mother and kid Mountain Goat at The Needles in Custer State Park.
Mountain Goats at The Needles.
We stopped at Mount Rushmore at the end of the rally.
Did that look like fun to you? Then consider joining the ABA for our next rally to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, where we’ll search for specialties of the Pacific Northwest rain forest, such as Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Varied Thrush, and Sooty Grouse. We’ll also see elite shorebirding spots and hunt for Black Turnstone, Surfbird, and Pacific Golden-Plover. Register now!
June 17-21, 2015
Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Virginia’s Rail
American Coot
American Avocet
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Upland Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Wilson’s Snipe
Wilson’s Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Short-eared Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
White-throated Swift
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (mostly intergrades)
American Kestrel
Western Wood-Pewee
Dusky Flycatcher
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Say’s Phoebe
Cassin’s Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Plumbeous Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Gray Jay
Pinyon Jay
Blue Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Clark’s Nutcracker
American Crow
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch (“Great Basin” and “Eastern”)
Brown Creeper
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
House Wren
American Dipper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend’s Solitaire
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Sage Thrasher
European Starling
Sprague’s Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Chestnut-collared Longspur
McCown’s Longspur
Ovenbird
Virginia’s Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer’s Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Baird’s Sparrow
Song Sparrow
“White-winged” Dark-eyed Junco–a Black Hills area breeding endemic!
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole
House Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Join the American Birding Association at www.aba.org!
Source: http://blog.aba.org/2015/07/memories-from-abas-2015-spearfish-rally.html
