Date: 2/21/26 1:30 pm From: David Strom via groups.io <djstrom...> Subject: [sd-birds] Outdoor Campus West Survey 2-21-2026
The weekly survey at the Outdoor Campus West was conducted on February 21, 2026, by Judy Hengen, Rachel Benton, Laural Bidwell and Jackie Stucky-Strom. 22 species were identified with a total of 407 individuals. The survey was shortened due to low temperatures and wind chill.
Canada Goose-14
Gadwall-1
Mallard-173
Green Wing Teal-3
Bufflehead-2
Rock Pigeon-11
Eurasian Collared Dove-20
Downy Woodpecker-2
Hairy Woodpecker-1
Northern Flicker-3
Blue Jay-3
American Crow-2
Black Capped Chickadee-9
European Starling-28
Townsend's Solitaire-1
American Robin-94
House Sparrow-5
House Finch-6
American Goldfinch-5
Dark-eyed Junco-22
American Tree Sparrow-1
Red Wing Blackbird-1
Start time: 7:30 AM, 12 degrees, Sky- 80& clear, Wind-0
End time: 9:30 AM, 20 degrees, Sky-80% clear, Wind-2/3
Date: 2/19/26 5:03 pm From: Devin Pitts via groups.io <devin.a.pitts...> Subject: Re: [sd-birds] nswo and birding with border collies
I went there this afternoon to have another stab at re-locating the Saw-whet, and while I didn't find that particular owl I did find this Long-eared Owl instead. Been a crazy winter for these owls around and near Watertown!
Date: 2/16/26 12:46 pm From: Judy Hengen via groups.io <judyhengen...> Subject: [sd-birds] Canyon Lake Park Survey, RC, Pennington Co. Feb. 16, 2026
Canyon Lake Park Survey, Rapid City, Pennington County
Feb. 16, 2026 7:15 AM – 9:10 AM
Surveyors: Rachel Benton, Laural Bidwell, Judy Hengen, Jackie Stucky-Strom
Conditions: Temp: Start: 33 End: 43 Wind (Beaufort Scale): 0
Cloud Cover: clear Weather: sunny, bright Lake Ice 0%
SPECIES: 24 INDIVIDUALS: 379
Canada Goose 68
Gadwall 97
American Wigeon 5
Mallard 71
Redhead 3
Bufflehead 15
Common Goldeneye 5
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser 8
Rock Pigeon 11
Eurasian Collared-Dove 3
American Coot 17
Great Blue Heron 6
Bald Eagle 3
Belted Kingfisher 3
Downy Woodpecker 5
Northern Flicker 3
Blue Jay 2
Black-capped Chickadee 4
European Starling 4
Townsend’s Solitaire 1
American Robin 5
House Sparrow 25
House Finch 14
Date: 2/16/26 12:38 pm From: Chris Anderson via groups.io <canderson1...> Subject: [sd-birds] Pileated Woodpecker, Moody Co.
Today I took a drive to go check on a relatively new Bald Eagle nest between Dell Rapids and Trent in Moody County. There were two eagles at the nest, but with the windows down, I also heard a handful of loud, slow pounding sounds from one of the trunks below the nest. I parked the car and soon thereafter a Pileated Woodpecker shot out of the woodlot and over to the west side of the Big Sioux River. It went back and forth a couple times during the time I was there.
A little while earlier, I also observed one small mixed flock of Canada, Cackling, and Greater White-fronted Geese flying north. Not too many other birds around.
Chris Anderson
Sioux Falls, SD
Date: 2/15/26 4:52 pm From: D. George Prisbe-Przybysz via groups.io <prisbe.przybysz...> Subject: [sd-birds] again with the trus
this is crazy. after a day of driving back roads through codington, grant, and roberts county and visiting exotic sites such as albee and marvin, not many birds to report, although several mature bald eagles was encouraging. anyroad, on the last leg of our journey home we came upon two trumpeter swans in a cornfield in deuel county, east of goodwin. this caused me to wonder if these are the same two trumpeters that i observed two days ago near estelline? as the swan flies the distance between sites is about 21 miles.
george prisbe wasserstadt
--
"poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - lawrence ferlinghetti, american poet
"People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities." - Voltaire
"the world knows many religions, but Nature has but one truth" - manly p hall
Date: 2/15/26 7:05 am From: David Strom via groups.io <djstrom...> Subject: [sd-birds] Outdoor Campus West Survey 2-14-2026
The weekly survey at the Outdoor Campus West was conducted on February 14, 2026, by Judy Hengen, Rachel Benton and Jackie Stucky-Strom. 25 species were identified with a total of 385 individuals.
Canada Goose-12
Gadwall-1
Mallard-62
American Wigeon-2
Ring Neck Duck-1
Buflehead-4
Rock Pigeon-19
Eurasian Collared Dove-34
Red Tail Hawk-1
American Kestrel-1
Downy Woodpecker-2
Northern Flicker-3
Blue Jay-10
Black Capped Chickadee-11
Pygmy Nuthatch-5
European Starling-38
Townsend's Solitaire-9
American Robin-50
Cedar Waxwing-35
House Sparrow-12
House Finch-35
American Goldfinch-2
Dark Eyed Junco-34
American Tree Sparrow-1
Song Sparrow-1
Start Time: 7:15 AM, 24 degrees, Sky- Clear, Wind-0
On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 6:10 PM D. George Prisbe-Przybysz via groups.io
<prisbe.przybysz...> wrote:
>
> just minutes ago. two trumpeter swans in cornfieid just west of
> estelline, hamlin county.
>
> george prisbe
> watertown
>
>
> "poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - lawrence
> ferlinghetti, american poet
>
> "People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities." -
> Voltaire
>
> "the world knows many religions, but Nature has but one truth" - manly p
> hall
>
>
>
Date: 2/13/26 2:08 pm From: D. George Prisbe-Przybysz via groups.io <prisbe.przybysz...> Subject: [sd-birds] leow at pelican
today, just before noon, i came upon a long-eared owl doing a great impression of a broken branch. it was perched about 10 up in thick decidous along a hiking trail.
"poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - lawrence ferlinghetti, american poet
"People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities." - Voltaire
"the world knows many religions, but Nature has but one truth" - manly p hall
Date: 2/10/26 1:39 pm From: D. George Prisbe-Przybysz via groups.io <prisbe.przybysz...> Subject: [sd-birds] nswo and birding with border collies
in recent years, most of my birding time happens when exercising my dogs. today, at eckman gpa north of watertown was another such outing. though my dogs can be a distraction, they often alert me to birds that i otherwise may have not noticed. case in point, their search for cottontails caused a small group of purple finch to rise out a thicket and perch in plain sight. while on many other occasions my dogs have alerted me to birds flying overhead that i otherwise may have missed. just minutes after the purple finch sighting i parted the boughs of a cedar tree (something that i have learned one has to do thousands of times with no reward) right at the location of a northern saw-whet owl. either my proximity (just a couple of feet) or the presence of my dogs caused this often quite tame bird to flush immediately. unfortunately, i was not able to relocate the owl.
george prisbe watertown
--
"poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - lawrence ferlinghetti, american poet
"People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities." - Voltaire
"the world knows many religions, but Nature has but one truth" - manly p hall
Date: 2/9/26 1:12 pm From: gabrunner73 via groups.io <gabrunner73...> Subject: [sd-birds] Hawks Ft. Pierre National Grassland
Headed out Friday and Saturday with main goal of finding hawks. A Sharp-shinned Hawk was in our front yard before we could even leave (Pierre)! We looked on the west and east side of Ft. Pierre National Grasslands on Feb. 6 and just the east side on Feb. 7. We found 6 Rough-legged Hawks (1 dark morph), 7 Ferruginous Hawks (1 dark morph), 3 Northern Harriers, and 3 Bald Eagles. One Golden Eagle was about 400 yards away and photo heavily cropped. A Golden Eagle the second day may have been the same one as it was in the same area. Multiple flying hawks in the distance were not identified. A large flock of Lapland Longspurs was also seen.
Date: 2/9/26 10:53 am From: Judy Hengen via groups.io <judyhengen...> Subject: [sd-birds] Canyon Lake Park Survey, RC, Pennington Co. Feb. 9, 2026
Canyon Lake Park Survey, Rapid City, Pennington County
Feb. 9, 2026 7:15 AM – 9:45 AM
Surveyors: Rachel Benton, Laural Bidwell, Judy Hengen, Jackie Stucky-Strom
Conditions: Temp: Start: 40 End: 46 Wind (Beaufort Scale): 0 - 1
Cloud Cover: 100% Weather: muted light Lake Ice 0%
SPECIES: 27 INDIVIDUALS: 526
Canada Goose 154
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 94
American Wigeon 9
Mallard 98
Redhead 13
Bufflehead 16
Common Goldeneye 5
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser 6
Rock Pigeon 24
Eurasian Collared-Dove 7
American Coot 16
Great Blue Heron 5
Bald Eagle 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Northern Flicker 2
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 6
European Starling 18
Townsend’s Solitaire 2
American Robin 9
House Sparrow 18
House Finch 10
Song Sparrow 1
Date: 2/6/26 6:18 pm From: David Strom via groups.io <djstrom...> Subject: [sd-birds] Outdoor Campus West Survey 2-6-2026
The weekly survey at the Outdoor Campus West was conducted on February 6, 2026, by Judy Hengen, Rachel Benton, Laural Bidwell and Jackie Stucky-Strom 24 species were identified with a total of 481 individuals.
Canada Goose-21
Gadwall-1
Mallard-105
Ring-neck Duck-25
Bufflehead-5
Rock Pigeon-9
Eurasian Collared Dove-14
Wilson's Snipe-1
Downy Woodpecker-2
Northern Flicker-7
Blue Jay-9
American Crow--2
Black Capped Chickadee-16
Pygmy Nuthatch-4
Red Breasted Nuthatch-1
European Starling-30
Townsend's Solitaire-6
American Robin-96
Cedar Waxwing-55
House Sparroww-9
House Finch-22
American Goldfinch-17
Dark-eyed Junco-23
Northern Cardinal-1
Start Time: 7:15 am, 25 degrees, Sky-Clear, Wind-0
Date: 2/6/26 4:39 pm From: D. George Prisbe-Przybysz via groups.io <prisbe.przybysz...> Subject: [sd-birds] SEOW
thanks to a tip from owen mcelroy, this evening i was finally able to add short-eared owl to my codington county list. i am sure that i am in deficit territory when considering the balance between the help that others have given me, as opposed to the degree that i have helped others. thanks owen!
george prisbe watertown
--
"poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - lawrence ferlinghetti, american poet
"People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities." - Voltaire
"the world knows many religions, but Nature has but one truth" - manly p hall
Date: 2/6/26 1:42 pm From: D. George Prisbe-Przybysz via groups.io <prisbe.przybysz...> Subject: [sd-birds] solo bowa
earlier today, while once again scanning the cedar waxwing flock at pelican lake, i got the surprise that i was hoping for - one lone bohemian waxwing. a textbook example of the species with distinct white, red, and yellow on the wings. this is my first sighting of this species in codington county.
george prisbe watertown
--
"poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - lawrence ferlinghetti, american poet
"People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities." - Voltaire
"the world knows many religions, but Nature has but one truth" - manly p hall
Date: 2/5/26 7:29 pm From: Michael M. Melius via groups.io <pingothenbingo...> Subject: Re: [sd-birds] beginning of migration??
I had a similar experience on the 3rd, here in the SW corner of the state,
seeing a couple small flocks flying north. Horned Larks are usually scarce
in the winter until February, then suddenly, here they come! I think I also
saw two along Lower Spring Creek Road that already were on breeding
grounds. A good year to search for the earliest-ever nest record, perhaps.
Elsewhere along that creek, nests in a small heron rookery blew away,
completely, in the mid-December wind storm. There were six or so, used just
a couple years--a marginal place for herons. High in a rather spindly
cottonwood. Anyway, I'd observed a Golden Eagle perched in that tree twice
last fall, so was really looking forward to watching it build a nest there.
It's over a quarter mile from the road. It can find a better site, I
suppose.
A large rookery along French Creek near Hwy. 79 was apparently reduced by
the windstorm, as well.
Michael Melius
Folsom
On Wed, Feb 4, 2026 at 8:44 PM N Drilling via groups.io <dril0008=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> The past three days, I have been seeing a lot of small flocks of Horned
> Larks in Day County. Some winters, the larks never leave, but this winter,
> they disappeared in late December. It seems they may be coming back. And as
> a result of more small birds out there, I am suddenly seeing the small
> raptors that eat them - Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks and Merlins -
> cruising low over the corn stubble and plowed bean fields.
>
> Nancy Drilling
> Rapid City/Aberdeen
>
>
>
Friday night presenter will be Roger Dietrich sharing his fabulous photos of birds seen on his trip to Peru.
Saturday keynote speaker Wii be USD alumnus Jay Carlisle. His presentation title is "Tracking Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus) Through the Annual Cycle." Annual Cycle" Highlighting our findings from curlews tracked from SD & ND in comparison to other breeding areas. I'd also plan to cover some of the key threats we've identified, important non-breeding regions and habitats, etc.
Date: 2/5/26 11:52 am From: jociebaker115 via groups.io <jociebaker115...> Subject: Re: [sd-birds] beginning of migration??
Informative. Thanks for sending, Jocie
From: <sd-birds...> <sd-birds...> On Behalf Of N Drilling via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, February 4, 2026 6:45 PM
To: <sd-birds...>
Subject: [sd-birds] beginning of migration??
The past three days, I have been seeing a lot of small flocks of Horned Larks in Day County. Some winters, the larks never leave, but this winter, they disappeared in late December. It seems they may be coming back. And as a result of more small birds out there, I am suddenly seeing the small raptors that eat them - Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks and Merlins - cruising low over the corn stubble and plowed bean fields.
Date: 2/5/26 6:55 am From: Eric Harrold via groups.io <gentilis03...> Subject: Re: [sd-birds] Goshawk
Unfortunately, this is probably what results in the death of some goshawks. Obviously, it should not, but the philosophy of many keepers of domestic fowl is to shoot-shovel-and shut up.
On Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 06:50:06 AM MST, Jeff Hansen via groups.io <jeff.hansen.sd...> wrote:
My sister sent me this picture of a goshawk that took a chicken right outside her kitchen window. I'm sure it's a goshawk. This is sanborn county.
Jeff Hansenhttps://www.youtube.com/BackyardBirdsUS
Date: 2/4/26 5:45 pm From: N Drilling via groups.io <dril0008...> Subject: [sd-birds] beginning of migration??
The past three days, I have been seeing a lot of small flocks of Horned Larks in Day County. Some winters, the larks never leave, but this winter, they disappeared in late December. It seems they may be coming back. And as a result of more small birds out there, I am suddenly seeing the small raptors that eat them - Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks and Merlins - cruising low over the corn stubble and plowed bean fields.
Date: 2/2/26 11:28 am From: Judy Hengen via groups.io <judyhengen...> Subject: [sd-birds] Canyon Lake Park Survey, RC, Pennington Co. Feb. 2, 2026
Canyon Lake Park Survey, Rapid City, Pennington County
Feb. 2, 2026 7:15 AM – 9:30 AM
Surveyors: Rachel Benton, Laural Bidwell, Judy Hengen, Jackie Stucky-Strom
Conditions: Temp: Start: 38 End: 47 Wind (Beaufort Scale): 1 -3,
gusts of 4
Cloud Cover: 50%, high cirrus Weather: Sunny, wind gusts. Lake Ice
40%
SPECIES: 25 INDIVIDUALS: 741
Cackling Goose 8
Canada Goose 344
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 69
Mallard 162
Redhead 17
Bufflehead 24
Common Goldeneye 19
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser 3
Rock Pigeon 17
Eurasian Collared-Dove 5
American Coot 16
Great Blue Heron 5
Bald Eagle 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 6
European Starling 6
American Robin 1
House Sparrow 22
House Finch 4
Date: 2/1/26 3:54 pm From: David Strom via groups.io <djstrom...> Subject: [sd-birds] Survey Outdoor Campus West 2-1-2026
The weekly survey at the Outdoor Campus West was conducted on February 1, 2026, by Judy Hengen, Rachel Benton and Jackie Stucky-Strom. 30 species were identified with a total of 426 individuals.
Canada Goose-10
Gadwall-3
Mallard-72
Green Wing Teal-11
Ring-neck Duck-39
Bufflehead-5
Rock Pigeon-6
Eurasian Collared Dove-20
Wilson's Snipe-1
Great Blue Heron-2
Red Tail Hawk-1
Downy Woodpecker-2
Northern Flicker-5
Blue Jay-7
American Crow-3
Black Capped Chickadee-8
White Breasted Nuthatch-1
Pygmy Nuthatch-6
Red Breasted Nuthatch-1
European Starling-20
Townsend's Solitaire-10
American Robin-53
Cedar Waxwing-17
House Sparrow-7
House Finch-33
American Goldfinch-35
Dark-eyed Junco-42
Song Sparrow-1
Red Wing Blackbird-3
Northern Cardinal-2
Start Time: 7:30 AM, 23 degrees, Sky- 100% cloud covered, Wind-0
Date: 2/1/26 9:09 am From: Ricky Olson via groups.io <olsonr088...> Subject: [sd-birds] Pierre etc
This last storm front brought in more geese and other waterfowl. At Pierre Red Breasted Merganser & a Black Scoter. At Big Bend Dam a male Long-tailed Duck & Barrows Goldeneye.
At Fort Randall Dam Long-tailed Ducks & Barrow's Golden eye still being seen.
Pierre seems to be the only dam with a flock of gulls. Here: around 80 Herring Gulls A couple immature Glaucous A few Iceland & Iceland Thayer's About 30 Ring-billed
Thanks again to Emily of the Friends of the Big Sioux River for a very interesting and informative presentation last night at our winter meeting.
Also, I am doing a feeder survey of members of any of our interactive groups. Just send me your approximate location,( i.e.: NW Sioux Falls, 2 miles south of Hartford, etc.) and the number of feeders. You can send the info to me, to our list serv, or to our Facebook page.
Another request, we are starting this year's eagle nest survey for the state. The eagles are now on, or working on, their nests. If you have a nest in your area (in or near Sioux Falls), see if you can detect any activity. (i.e. eagles on the nest, in the nest tree or adjacent trees, etc.) Let me know. Location is important. We monitor nine nests in the SF area, but likely there are a few we have missed. So far, the only report is for the Worthing nest. Other nests are: N. Cliff, , Redwood Blvd (two nests), Ellis Rd/Family Park, Beaver Lake area, S. Split Rock Blvd., E. Rice St., Makoce Waste Prairie.
