RE: Minnesota to the Missouri birding workshop - May19 - 22 Bob Janssen and I just finished our 4 day workshop for 20 people that started Thursday on the Minnesota border and birded while traveling across South Dakota to Ft. Pierre and ended Sunday. It was a chance for those of us who are Minnesota "Easterners" to work on our ID skills of prairie birds we only rarely get a chance to see. a.. 153 total species seen including 23 species of shorebirds Some highlights included:
Two Golden Eagles soaring over Ted Turner's 220 square mile Bad River Ranch. Three Ferruginous Hawks "working" a prairie dog town on the national grasslands. Two dozen Prairie Chickens displaying on a single lek. Sprague's Pipits - one on the 50,000 acre Triple U ranch (the location for the movie Dances With Wolves) while we ate our picnic lunch and another displaying over the national grasslands south of Ft. Pierre Western Grebes, 12 Red-necked Phalaropes, 5 Black-bellied Plovers, Sharp-tailed Grouse, California Gull, literally dozens of Burrowing Owls in prairie dogs towns, 2 Bell's Vireos, several Black-headed Grosbeaks, 100+ Lark Buntings, Lazuli Bunting, and an amazing Yellow-breasted Chat that could perfectly mimic both a Belted Kingfisher and a Crow. Now that we know what these Western birds sound, look, and act like; we are ready when they decide to come East for a visit to our part of the world. Doug Buri Milbank, SD www.itctel.com/buri/PRAIRIE www.itctel.com/buri/SPARROW www.itctel.com/buri/SHOREBIRD ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
