May 27, 2012 - South Dakota Prairie Bird Workshop - Part 1

Wilson’s Phalaropes were a common sight at the Prairie Bird Workshop I attended near Fort Pierre, South Dakota. This is a female and, unlike most other bird species, she is more colorful than the male. (More about this in the next photo.) Wilson’s Phalaropes are classified as shorebirds but, as you see in this photo, they can also swim. They often swim rapidly in a tight circle and pick off food items that are brought to the surface by the churning of the water.

PhalaropeWilson'sfemalebreedingplumageMilbankarea20120513

The female Wilson’s Phalarope, on the right, is noticeably larger than the male, on the left. In addition to the female being more colorful and larger than the male, they are non-conformists in the bird world in another way. The female courts the male and after she lays the eggs, she leaves and lets him incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. She might then find another male and start all over again with him. They nest in prairie wetlands of the United States and Canada.

PhalaropeWilson'smalefemalebreedingplumageMilbankarea20120513

Another bird that nests on the prairies is the Chestnut-collared Longspur. This is a male and he shows the colorful face pattern, the black belly, and the namesake “chestnut collar”. The female is much less colorful; she’s brown and white all over.

LongspurChestnutcollaredSouthDakota20120510

Upland Sandpipers are another member of the shorebird family but they are found on the prairie, not along the shore. They are often seen perched on a fence post or utility pole, presumably looking for food or watching for predators. To me, the head always seems disproportionately small for the body. Another distinguishing feature is their large, dark eye.

SandpiperUplandFortPierrearea20120512

Here’s a bird that had us stumped for a while. It made only a brief appearance and no one got a very good look at it. I managed to snap a couple of photos before the bird disappeared. After downloading them to my computer and showing them to the workshop leaders, they decided it was a Warbling Vireo. It’s often overlooked because it’s a plain, nondescript little bird that tends to stay high in the tree tops. It has a pretty distinct song, though, so birders often hear it even if they don’t see it.

VireoWarblingFortPierrearea20120511

We saw several American Avocets and they were in breeding plumage. In winter, the head and neck are white or gray, but in summer they turn rusty-colored, as shown in this photo. Here’s a link to one of my photos showing the winter plumage.

http://www.earlorfphotos.com/Birds/Birds-1/5685565_PXvJ44#!i=350424162&k=MHhh6

AvocetAmericanFortPierrearea20120513