Bird# 461 — Sharp-tailed Grouse

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Roger

tympanuchus (from tympanum, drum, and echein, to have) phasianellus (little pheasant)

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Peter Norbeck Visitor Center — Custer State Park, South Dakota

I knew I had a chance to see Sharp-tailed Grouse in the Black Hills, but I figured any sighting would be a quick look as one flew across the road in front of the car.

We stopped at the visitor center and got out. Immediately, I saw two grouse foraging in the grass along the fence behind the building. I took some photos, went inside the visitor center, then went back out and watched them some more. They were very talented at staying in the shade under the fence. We hung around for about 20 minutes, and when we left, they had started to wander off into the prairie on the other side of the fence.

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Bird #460 — Red-naped Sapsucker

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Roger

sphyrapicus (from sphyra, hammer, and picus, woodpecker) nuchalis (from nucha, nape, and –alis, belonging to)

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Custer State Park — Wildlife Loop Road

On Saturday morning we drove the roads in Custer State Park. The weather could not have been more perfect. I had everyone watching and listening for the life birds I had a chance to see, including Pinyon Jays. We were driving a stretch with groves of trees in the prairie when my wife heard jays. I stopped and jumped out. I didn’t see them, but I’m sure they were Blue Jays. But while I was out of the car, I heard a woodpecker in the trees behind the car.

I saw it fly across the road into a small tree. The light angle was wrong, but I could plainly see that it was a sapsucker and that it had extensive red on its throat. I couldn’t see the back of its head, but before I could get a better look, it flew back across the road into a grove about 40 yards away. I saw it briefly after it landed, but then it disappeared. I kept looking and in the next few minutes spotted a Red-shafted Flicker and one (or maybe two) immature Red-headed Woodpeckers. I never saw the sapsucker again, but based on range and the field marks I did see, I’m sure it was a Red-naped Sapsucker.

NOTE: In the spring of 2017, I began entering my sightings onto the eBird database. I had seen two sapsuckers in Arizona in April, 1984. At that time, Red-naped Sapsuckers were considered a subspecies of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, which I’d often seen. I was entering a lot of data quickly and didn’t stop to think. But eBird was programmed otherwise and changed those two sightings to Red-naped Sapsucker. So technically, I saw my lifer on April 3, 1984. But I’m not going to change the orders of my lifer list.

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Wildlife Loop Road

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Roger

We spent Saturday morning driving the roads through Custer State Park, with a side trip into Wind Cave National Park.

The bison were penned in, I know, but it didn’t feel like they were — those parks are large.

Western Meadowlark — They were by far the most frequently-seen bird in the prairie-portions of the park.

Snapseed3

Burrowing Owl and Black-tailed Prairie Dogs

The majestic Pronghorn.

He was only about 15 yards off the road and seemed inclined to stick around — until I grabbed the Red Chair and tried to get a photo.

When we drove back from Wind Cave into Custer State Park, the burros were waiting for us. They didn’t move as I got closer. I joked that I was going to drive between them. I got closer and closer until I was right on top of them, but they still didn’t move. I edged slowly between them and my right rearview mirror bumped the white one on the nose. It jerked its head back a bit, but still didn’t move.

Mountain Bluebird

A young Pronghorn — and a bunch of flies

A flock of Bighorn Sheep were wandering around in a campground. One old couple were sitting in their lawn chairs about 10 yards away.

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Mt. Coolidge

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Roger

We stuck closer to home on Saturday and drove the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park — after eating breakfast at Baker’s Bakery, of course. Our first stop was the Mount Coolidge Fire Tower.

In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge came to the Black Hills for a three-week vacation and liked it so much that he stayed for three months. His visit resulted in a great deal of publicity for the region in general and for the proposed Mount Rushmore monument in particular and is credited for making the region a tourist hot spot.

The fire tower is still in active use by Custer State Park.

Harney Peak is on the right. At 7,242 feet, it is the highest point in the United States east of the Rockies. Just to the left of the peak are the Needles. We skirted Harney Peak several times during the week and our lodge was only a few miles away from it, but this is the only time I actually saw it.

Mount Rushmore

The view to the southeast.

Crazy Horse Memorial. Note all the trees killed by pine beetles.

A closer look

Harney Peak is in the right distance of my Red Chair shot.

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Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Roger

Devil’s Tower is cool, but if you’re not a rock climber, there isn’t a lot to do there. Even the park web site, under “Things To Do” only lists hiking and looking at a sculpture of smoke.

We spent a couple minutes in the visitor center, then hiked the 1.3 mile paved trail around the base. I took a ton of photos because, well, there was this gigantic rock tower RIGHT THERE and taking pictures seemed like the thing to do. But the pictures all look pretty much the same, so I will only post a sampling. Trust me, these are all separate photographs, taken as we made our way counter-clockwise around the tower from the visitor center.

Turkey Vultures and Rock Doves circled the plateau.

The base trail was high above the surrounding plains, and we occasionally got a view. This one is looking east back toward the Black Hills.

There was at least one guy climbing the tower this day. You can see his red shirt near the edge.

The hike was easy, the view was impressive, the weather could not have been more pleasant and the company was amazing.

Supposedly, some people find the tower sacred. There were prayer flags tied to trees along the trail.

After we circled the tower, I ran back to the car and got the chair. It was hard to find a place for a photo — the tower was so large and so close. But I finally settled on this shot.

And that was about it. We paused to look at the prairie dog town near the entrance, then headed back to South Dakota.

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