June 22 - Badlands, Rushmore, and Crazy Horse
Our flight to south Dakota and Rapid City was another opportunity for some great sight seeing. The Black Hills came into sight, their tightly spaced Ponderosa Pines giving them the "black" appearance. The change from the prairie land of the north to these unique hills (the highest at 7,242 feet) was interesting as was the Badlands to the east, stunning in their starkness, unusual shapes, multi-colored layers, and impressive scale.

We stopped for lunch after a short stop at the park headquarters; a very nice lunch just nest door. We drove the loop road and enjoyed many pull-offs for scenery and vistas, as well as prairie dogs and our first Pronghorn Antelope.

We made a run over to Mount Rushmore which was truly inspirational. The museum, carvings, and the whole memorial is really well done and tasteful. We all really enjoyed it. Not far from here is the Crazy Horse Memorial, still, and perhaps for many more years, under construction. Just the face is complete; the arm and area where the horse's head will be are just roughed-out. It too is an amazing sight and scale that is hard to fathom. The whole of Mount Rushmore fits on the head of Crazy Horse! It will be a wonder of mankind when complete, as it will be the world's largest sculpture in three dimensions.

We headed to our hotel (Creekside Lodge) in Custer. This is the newest addition to the historical state game lodge and wonderfully luxurious with fine food and wines. We must come back!

June 21 - Prairies and Pot Holes
Ron Martin met us at 5AM at our B and B to guide us through the prairies east of Minot. His expertise in putting us on the birds and in the proper habitat was well worth the guide fees.

Ron, in his self effacing way, provided us with stunning looks at Baird's Sparrow (North Dakota's #1 Star Bird), displaying Sprague's Pipit and its tireless hour long flights, impressive sparrow selection, and a visit to the nest of a Ferruginous Hawk. Chestnut-collared Longspur was truly a highlight for us all as well as hearing numerous Yellow Rail clicking in defence of their territories.

The morning included many other great birds before we headed back into town to enjoy our lunch on the porch of the B and B. Afterwards, we headed south to Garrison Dam in search of some new species. Large lakes and potholes yielded Horned Grebe on a nest, a look at a second year California Gull, close views of American White Pelican, Western Grebe at a distance, and many Common Tern.

We arrived back at Dakota Rose to enjoy some time on the porch with Ron and then a fine dinner at Dakota Rose. Ron made the day one of the best!

June 20 - On to North Dakota
We were able to fly direct to Minot without a fuel stop which gave us some more time on the ground in North Dakota. We dropped our luggage at the lovely B and B, Dakota Rose, met Carol and Jim Carr the owners, and picked-up some sandwiches before heading east to Salyer NWR.

Like many refuges in the NWR system, this refuge is a series of impoundments divided by elevated roads on which one can drive. Birding was stupendous with many fine looks at Black Tern scouring the waterways along the road. Marsh Wrens called everywhere as did countless Sora, who after many attempts to draw one out...remained elusive.

Eared Grebe were present in impressive numbers (100+) including a large raft of feeding and interacting, brightly plumaged individuals. The watering holes and cattail marshes were widespread, hosting many Black-crowned Night-Heron, ducks of many species, and a large colony of Franklin's Gull; a great refuge and greatly worth the visit.

Dinner in town at a restaurant called "10 Main Street" was fine food and service despite my abscessed tooth and one-and-a-half hour wait at the emergency room to get some antibiotics.

June 19 - Sax and Zim
We met Kim in Floodwood, MN before heading to the Sax/Zim roads; primarily dirt roads through farm lands, outstanding grasslands, and prime tamarack spruce forest.

Our first Mourning Warbler delighted all. The day included much searching for Great Gray Owl (none allowing a visit) and short hikes into bogs and long the dirt roads. Olive-sided Flycatcher, Lincoln's Sparrow, Boreal Chickadee, Palm Warbler, Alder Flycatcher, a spectacularly plumaged Blue-headed Vireo, and the impressive wildflowers and plants all made for a fabulous north woods experience.



















Oh...and I forgot to mention the close encounters with Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Leconte's Sparrow, Sedge Wren, and more.




















Kim was an unequalled source of information on the local plants, geology, history, and of course bird ecology. We vowed to keep in touch.

June 18 - Minnesota Forests

Just got airborne before the weather arrived on our way from Houghton Lake, MI to Grand Rapids, MN (forgot the Magnolia Warbler at breakfast!). Nice flight with a stop in Rhinelander, MN for refueling. Horned Lark and Savanna Sparrows graced the tarmac.

Arrived in Grand Rapids and checked into the very nice Timberlake Lodge and were joined for lunch by John and Doug.

Headed off after to meet-up with Kim Risen, clearly one of MN's top two birders. He showed us a Connecticut Warbler in the first hour of birding near Savanna Portage State Park.

The afternoon included many warblers and superb habitat for Great Gray Owl along a road I had visited on the 2005 MN/ND trip.

We stopped at Minnesota National Golf Club for dinner before heading out for an attempt at Yellow Rail. Lightning and heavy rain ended any chances at seeing the bird. The King Air spent the night in the hanger to stay out of the way of any hail.

June 17 - Kirtland's Warbler

Kathy, the inn keeper, did a great job with a 6AM breakfast so we could depart at 630AM. Made the meeting spot in Grayling just in time for the 7AM briefing for the USFW tour of the nesting grounds of the Kirtland's Warbler. The friendly guide had the three cars caravan along the "4 Mile road" to the junction with Stephen Bridge Road where we turned west to a sand road running through the Jack Pine habitat which is so specific to the warbler. We immediately could hear the warbler singing but it took some effort due to the overcast and cool conditions to get us all a look at this so sought after target of North American species. My recent purchase of a laser pointer helped incredibly in getting people to quickly see the target. The warbler was actively feeding.

(not my photo - too bad!)

From here we went to Hartwick Pines State Park which had a wonderful visitors center and fine hardwood and hemlock forest. Birds included great looks at Evening Grosbeak, Purple Finch, and nesting Pileated Woodpecker.

Not too far away was Wakly Lake, east of Grayling. Nice walking trails along the lake with a loon pair and young.

We enjoyed a great dinner at our hotel; nicely done!

A Little Birding Around Here

Went out the other day with friends and fellow birders Jim D., Nick B., and Glenn W., on a mid-Long Island Sound search for pelagic species. Lately, there have been many storm-petrels, shearwaters, and jaegers reported from Block Island Sound as well as a few reports from Connecticut waters.

We traveled to deep water out near Bell 4 and into about 200 foot depths where we were able to attract a lovely group of Wilson's Storm-Petrels right up to the side of the boat. I hope you enjoy my photos.

More on my Northern Tier adventure to come.

AG

June 16 - RTPI and on to Michigan
Great breakfast at The Oaks and then over to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute for a maxi tour with Mark Baldwin. Stupendous tour of artwork, archives, and artifacts. Peterson has some great art from other artists, received as gifts, which was mostly archived. Turns-out that Mark and I have many mutual acquaintances including Liz Gentile, Paul Spitzer, and Bill Burt.

Mark kindly took us over to the airport and after farewells, off we went across Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Nice weather and views of Canada. John gave us a fine landing on our shortest runway (4,000ft). After a bit of a wait for the car, we went to the hotel in Prudenville on Lake Houghton. Very commercial area with many lake houses and pontoon boats. Nice hotel with large, clean, rooms. Very nice owners (Matt and Kathy - Springbrook Inn).

Went to lunch on the lake and then birded the many marshes up the west side of the lake. Many Black Terns cruised the wetlands. Great views of t his stunning tern. Highlights included three Trumpeter Swans, Least Bittern, two Bald Eagles, Northern Parula, Least Flycatcher, and countless Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Hairy Woodpeckers.

Back at the hotel, we had a nice dinner at the Tiki Bar with burgers, fish sandwiches, and more. Very kind locals took care of us and were happy to talk and share wildlife stories and locations. Off for Kirtland's Warbler tomorrow!