November 23, 2008 - South Dakota Birds and Mount Rushmore

Here are a few more photos from our recent trip to the Black Hills and the Badlands in South Dakota.

I was in the Badlands early one morning enjoying the sunrise and watching some bison graze. This Western Meadowlark flew straight at my windshield and then veered off at the last moment and landed on a fence near me. The pink and blue sky made a nice background for this photo. The Western Meadowlark is the state bird of six of our states (Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming)

meadowlarkwesternbadlandsnatpark20081018

This is a Townsend’s Solitaire. It’s a rather plain looking bird but has a beautiful, melodious song. True to its name, it is usually found alone. They often perch at the top of a tall tree and sing to defend their territory. Townsend’s Solitaires are mostly found in the western United States and far western Canada. They nest in the high mountainous areas and drop down to lower elevations in the winter. Some of them grow adventurous in the winter and even come to Minnesota. This photo was taken in the Badlands.

solitairetownsendbadlandsnatpark20081018

This photo of a Black-billed Magpie, also taken in the Badlands, gives you a good, close look but doesn’t show the long tail which is at least as long as its body. Magpies are noisy and gregarious, often traveling in a flock of 6–50 birds. They like open country with some trees around. Using sticks and mud, they build huge nests up to four feet high. The nests usually have a side entrance.

magpieblackbilledbadlandsnatpark20081017

We saw many flocks of Wild Turkeys on our trip. Some hunters will, no doubt, be enjoying Wild Turkey this week for their Thanksgiving meal, but most of us will opt for the domestic variety instead. These photos of Wild Turkeys are from Custer State Park in the Black Hills.

turkeywildcusterstateparkblackhills20081016

Domestic Turkeys are not known for their intelligence, but the wild ones are quite wary. They spend their days walking around and foraging, but are unusually strong fliers when they need to escape in a hurry. Acorns are one of their favorite foods so they are often found in areas with lots of oak trees

turkeywildheadcusterstateparkblackhills20081016

A trip to the Black Hills isn’t complete without going to see Mount Rushmore. Here, the famous sculpture is framed by a tunnel on a road leading to the park.

mountrushmoreblackhills20081014