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. Click on photos for full sized images.

Woodpeckers 169

Woodpeckers California South Dakota Chad 169

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. On the whole, people do not value them.

Endangered Species 160

Endangered Species South Dakota Woodpeckers Sheep 160

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. When the South Dakota ferret numbers began dropping, they captured nine animals in hopes of starting a captive breeding population. Second chances like this are the stuff of legend.

Ferrets 180

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

According to eBird, the chronology of my life list includes White-Headed Woodpecker at No. Lifers included Painted Redstart, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Arizona Woodpecker, and Rivoli’s, Violet-crowned, Lucifer, and Broad-billed hummingbird. I am a westerner who has lived in San Francisco and Portland my entire birding life.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) In Flight, photos by Larry Jordan Driving home from work last week I finally saw my first Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) of the fall. Lucky for me, these beautiful and unusual woodpeckers can be found nearly year round in the oak savannah along the road I travel daily.

Woodpeckers 195

Woodpeckers South Dakota Jordan United States 195

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

Turkeys, 3 or 4 species of woodpeckers, all kinds of song birds grace our view constantly. All conditions are perfect here in central South Dakota for the waterfowl travelers. We feed them year around here and are “blessed&# to have a wild variety and abundance of birds. Almost time for hummers to make there appearance.

2011 150

2011 Deer Birds South Dakota 150