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Apr 20 2019

Birding Dakota Nature Park in Brookings

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments
Dakota Nature Park Trail Guide South Dakota Birds and Birding
Trail map for Dakota Nature Park in Brookings. The reclaimed landfill is represented by the large upland area on the northeast side of the park, while trails wind past the lakes and wetlands created from reclaimed gravel pits on the south and west sides. Click on the map above for a larger view.

Yesterday my son had an all-day event in Brookings, South Dakota. I drove him up, and thought I’d spend the day birding. Brookings is “only” an hour north of where we live, yet in our 25+ years in South Dakota, I’ve done very little birding in the area. Noting that birders recently had posted some nice finds at Dakota Nature Park on the south edge of Brookings, that’s where I started the morning birding.

I will be back! I thoroughly enjoyed the data, spending most of the morning walking the extensive trails around a park that’s much bigger, and much nicer, than I was anticipating. The northeast side of the park is a massive, grassy mound…the capped and reclaimed old Brookings landfill! The lowland areas south and west of here are lowland trails that snake in around wetland and water habitats that were formed from abandoned sand and gravel pit operations. There are paved trails through much of the park, as well as some gravel trails and boardwalks. There are benches, pagodas, and other structures scattered along the trails that allow for a short rest, or provide a nice place to just sit and watch the wildlife. The visitor’s center on the far southwest side of the park is wonderful as well. It’s a very nicely done building (donated by the Larson family I was told, of Larson Doors in Brookings), with displays focused on learning and appreciating wildlife. They also have some nice feeder complexes where you can just sit and enjoy the birds the come to partake.

I started at a parking lot on the far east side of the park, and just started walking unknown (to me) trails. As I walked, the trails kept going, and going, and going. Not realizing the park was so large I ended up spending over 2 1/2 hours here. Not only is there a lot to explore, but from a bird perspective, there’s a really nice mix of habitats. The ponds and wetland themselves are of course a big feature, but the trails also wind past grasslands, shrubby areas, areas of deciduous forest, and strip of pine trees on the far north side. Because of the varied habitat, the birds I found for the morning were also varied, ranging from an Osprey prowling the ponds for fish, to Savannah and Field Sparrows near the “grassy mound” of the reclaimed landfill. For the morning I found 43 species, including a number of first-of-year. For a mid-April day in South Dakota when a majority of songbird migrants and summer residents haven’t arrived yet…that’s pretty darned good for one location. (my eBird list for the day is shown below).

Despite the drive, I will be back! With such a wonderful variety of habitats, and with such wonderfully done trails and facilities, this should be a definite destination for birders who happen to be in the Brookings, South Dakota region.

Dakota Nature Park eBird Recording South Dakota Birds and Birding
Bird list for the day, noting 43 species. Several first-of-year, including a calling Sora and another flushed Sora (both quite early for this area), Osprey (not common in eastern South Dakota), and several species of songbirds.

Nov 01 2015

Gorgeous Fall Birding

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

Osprey in flight - Pandion haliaetus

An osprey circling over Lake Alvin, near Sioux Falls.

In about, oh, 2 weeks, I’m likely to bemoan the fact that I live in often frigid South Dakota.  Winter here isn’t for the faint of heart, and even moving just one state up from where I grew up (Nebraska), it’s clearly, much colder here. But, I have to admit…May through October are usually freakin’ spectacular in terms of weather.  Yes, we get some hot muggy days, but more often than not, we have some truly wonderful weather from late spring through mid-fall.

The weather this fall has been above-and-beyond wonderful, with crisp nights, but typically sunny and warm days.  Today, November 1st, and it was sunny most of the day, high of about 65, with nary a breeze.  I took the opportunity to go birding this morning, with the intention of doing my first real hard searching for Saw-whet Owls.  People banding them in the state have been catching them, so clearly they’re moving through.  I bush-whacked through thick cedar stands for about 3 hours this morning with nary a hint of an owl.  Not only no owls, but not a bit of “whitewash” (the white-stained tree branches and ground below their frequent roosts), and no pellets.  My guess is that it’s still just too early.

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed Hawk protecting a kill. Another was just a few feet away, hoping for a bite.

It still was a wonderful day to get out and walk around, and I did have other birds that “saved the day”.  First, an Osprey circling over Lake Alvin, just south of Sioux Falls.  Osprey aren’t a species you see all that often around here, so it was nice to get good close looks at him.

Near there I came across a pair of (young?) Red-tailed Hawks, hanging out on the ground on the edge of a tilled field.  One was clearly protecting something that it had caught, with it’s wings spread a bit and hovering over the prey like a protective umbrella. This bird was feeding while another was sitting about 10 feet away.  You definitely don’t think of raptors like this “sharing”, so I would bet that 2nd bird ended up going hungry.

American Robin - Turdus migratorius

American Robin gorging on berries in a cedar tree. An awfully common species…but in frigid South Dakota, one I’m not likely to see much of for the next 5 months!

The other thing of note this morning were the scads of birds gorging on berries of cedar/juniper.  We get a few American Robins that actually over-winter here, but overall most move south of South Dakota a little ways.  This time of year though you certainly can see many Robins gorging on berries in preparation for winter.  It wasn’t just Robins, and there were also many Cedar Waxwings joining the feast.  I know encroaching eastern red cedar isn’t a popular thing for many, but one thing you do have to admit is they provide a heck of a lot of good habitat and food for some species of birds.

One last nice bird to end the birding portion of the day…a beautiful male Red-bellied Woodpecker at our feeder at home.  We live across the street from the Big Sioux Recreation Area, a State Park with a lot of mature forest.  You often see (and hear!) Red-bellied Woodpeckers in the park, but it’s not very often one makes the effort to cross the street and visit my yard.

Great way to end a gorgeous fall birding day in South Dakota!

Jul 23 2015

Fishing and birds, a great combination!

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

Black Hills Rainbow Trout

My son with one of the big rainbow trout he caught. This one was at Grace Coolidge walk-in area below Center Lake.

Just back from yet another trip, but thankfully this one was ALL pleasure and no work.  My son and I went to the Black Hills for several days to go trout fishing.  The Black Hills can be incredibly busy in summer, particularly as the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis comes close.  That’s still a week and a half off, but even so, crowds are starting to build in the Hills.  The big tourist attractions and towns like Hill City and Deadwood were certainly bustling, and motorcycles were everywhere.

The thing I like about fishing the Black Hills though?  Isolation and intimate settings, even amidst the madhouse of the Hills near Rally time.  Several little reservoirs with easy access are in the Black Hills, and those can be busy.  However, with a short hike, you can always find a spot to fish alone.  The last several days were no exception, as my son and I had some truly incredible fishing, all to ourselves.

Grace Coolidge Creek walk-in area is a 3 mile or so stretch below Center Lake, with 6 or 7 small dams providing deeper pools in what is otherwise a very small stream.  Couple with the natural pools, there are plenty of spots for surprisingly large trout to be found.  We found that out very quickly on our first day when my young son caught a trout that may be bigger than any I’ve ever caught…a gorgeous, fat, 19″ Rainbow Trout in one of the dammed pools.  Despite the incredible fishing, in an entire day of walking up and down the creek, we ran across a total of 1 family hiking, and 1 other fisherman.

Even areas right next to major roads can be very productive and “isolated”.  We also spent quite a bit of time on Spearfish Creek, south of the town of Spearfish.  Spearfish Canyon is designated a “scenic highway” and the road can indeed get quite a few tourists.  However, it’s not hard at all to find a spot to fish without interruption or competition.  Spring Creek, as it flows out of Sheridan Lake, is similarly on a paved highway, yet my son and I had our pick of locations to fish.  Overall, a great fishing trip, one where we easily could have kept our daily and possession limits of 5 and 10 trout, respectively.  Most of the Rainbows and Browns we caught were 8-12 inches, but there were several over 14″ in addition to the 19″ beauty my son caught.

It wasn’t really a birding trip, but I did of course keep my eyes open while fishing. I was a bit disappointed in failing to see one of my favorite species, the American Dipper.  Last time my son and I fished Spearfish Creek, we had an active nest near our favorite pool and had fun watching the parents forage for food.  No Dipper, but we did enjoy watching an Osprey fishing the same pool on this trip, as well as many Violet-Green Swallows dipping and diving over the water in search of insects.

Another favorite species of mine in the hills are Mountain Bluebirds.  A great spot to find them is in a very large grassy area north of Deerfield Lake.  Many bluebird boxes are found on the fence posts surrounding the pastures, and we saw dozens of Mountain Bluebirds along the fencelines.

A great trip!  Back to reality, with no trips in sight…

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