10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

As I got out of my car, about fifty feet from Manzanita Lake, I heard the loud drumming of a woodpecker. I didn’t know what species of woodpecker it was, but I knew it was just in the clearing on the other side of the road. Range map courtesy of South Dakota Birds and Birding. Siegel and, D. Craig, editors.

Woodpeckers 170

Woodpeckers California South Dakota Chad 170

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2013

Severe fires create snags, they germinate seeds and sprout fungus, and most of all they create food and habitat for insects that in turn feed birds like Black-backed Woodpecker and Olive-sided Flycatcher , and encourage even some generalists like other woodpeckers and wrens.

Endangered Species 161

Endangered Species South Dakota Woodpeckers Sheep 161

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

The first resurrection, or more properly resurfacing, of the black-footed ferret happened in 1964, in Mellette County, South Dakota. American scientists, realizing belatedly how embarrassing it was to know so little about a species right in the heart of their own continent, rushed to study this remnant population.

Ferrets 184

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 184