Vol 25, 1973 - Northern State University

Transcription

SOUTH DAKOTA
BIRD NOTES
Official Publication
of
SOUTH DAKOTA ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION
(Organized 1949)
Vol. xxv. No.1
MARCH. 1973
Whole No. 96
.
, ,~.
"
,
~':'
Golden Eagle at Badlands National Monument August, 1971
-National
Park Service Photo by Don Higgins
SouthDakota Bird Notes, the Organ of SouthDakota Ornithologists' Union, is sent to
all members whose dues are paid for the current year. Sustaining Members $10.00,
Adults $4.00;Juniors (10-16)$2.00.Family Membership (husband and wife) with one
subscription to Bird Notes $6.00. Libraries (subscription) $4.00. Single and back
copies: Members $1.00,Non-members $1.50. All dues should be remitted to the
Treasurer, Nelda Holden, Route 1, Box 80,Brookings, S. Dak. 57006.All manuscripts
for publication should be sent to Co-Editor Don Adolphson, 2604Arrowhead Drive,
Rapid City, S. Dak. 57701.Orders for back numbers should be sent to the Librarian,
H~rman P. Chilson, Webster, S. Dak. 57274.Published Quarterly.
Vol. XXV. No.1
March, 1973
Whole No. 96
In This Number. ..
President's Page, Byron Harrell
3
Organo-Chlorine Insecticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in a Ross' Goose,
Thomas C. Dunstan, Yvonne A. Greichus and Gerald M. Polcyn
4
Nesting of Woodcockin Brookings County, South Dakota, John M. Gates
6
Cover Picture of Badlands Golden Eagle, Don Higgins
7
Songsand Sounds of Baltimore Oriole, Adeline M. Siljenberg
8
A Preliminary List of Breeding Birds for Lyman and Brule Counties,Doug
Backlund
9
Songsand Sounds of Robin, Adeline M. Siljenberg
10
General Notes of Special Interest-Evening Grosbeaksand Purple Finches at
Pickerel Lake, Red-breasted Mergansers at Fort Randall, Black Duck in
Hughes County, Emperor Geesein Marshall County, Winter Observations at
Burke State Recreation Area, Woodcock Near Webster, West River Owl Notes,
Bohemian Waxwings Observed Lake Burke, Evening Grosbeaks Sighted
at Lake Burke, Possible Mountain Bluebird Sighted Near Lake Burke
11
Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Spring Meeting
14
Great Horned Owls Drawing, Harold Messner
14
In Memoriam, Dr. Willard N. Rosine
15
1973SDOU Spring Meeting
16
OFFICERS 1971-72
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treas.urer
Co-ed~tor
C,!-edlt.or
LibrarIan
Byron Harrell, 1215Valley View Circle, Vermillion 57069
Bruce Harris, Clear Lake 57266
June Harter, Highmore 57345
Nelda Holden, Rt. 1, Box 80, Brookings 57006
Winona Sparks, Nemo 57759
Don Adolphson, 2604 Arrowhead Drive, Rapid City 57701
Herman P. Chilson, Webster 57274
DIRECTORS
For Term Expiring 1973: Bill Lemons, Meckling; Charles Rogge, Sioux Falls; Don Adolphson,
Rapid City; Nelda Holden, Brookings; Lee Eberly, Vermillion.
For Term Expiring 1974: Herman Chilson, Webster; Bruce Harris, Clear Lake; N. R. Whitney
Jr., Rapid City; L. M. Baylor, Rapid City.
For Term Expiring 1975: Byron Harrell, Vermillion;
Sioux Falls; B. J. Rose, Pierre; June Harter, Highmore.
2
J. W. Johnson, Huron;
Herbert Krause,
SOUTH DAKOTA BIRD NOTES
L
President's
Ptlge~
WITH THE season bringing daily
changes in the birdlife we are welcoming
spring. We're also looking forward to our
field meeting at Martin, S. Dak. Those of
you who have previously visited LaCreek
National Wildlife Refuge will probably
want to return; for those who have not
this will be a good opportunity to become
acquainted with a very interesting birding area. I am sure we will all want to
see some of the Trumpeter Swans; it is a
pleasure to note that this bird which had
been exterminated in
the state can again be
listed as a resident of
South Dakota because
of the program at
LaCreek Refuge to
reintroduce it. The
, meeting is set for
M e m 0 ria I
Day
weekend; we hope that
this date provides
opportunities for many
to attend and hope that conflicts do not
keep anyone away. It is almost always a
dilemma to choose the best dates for a
meeting. I hope that you will all be
making plans to be there.
Those of you who have free time in
mid-May may wish to take advantage of
an invitaQon from the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union to attend their spring
meeting at Halsey, Neb. May 11-13. I
don't know how many of our readers are
MARCH,1973
aware that there is a National Forest
there in the central part of that state, the
result of aforestation experiment of
many decades ago. I was pleased that
their invitation came from Bill Huntley,
the N.D.O.U. President, who completed
his master's degree thesis on kingbirds
with me a few years ago. Their spring
meeting also includes a paper sessionas
well as an evening talk by Dr. Paul
Johnsgard on Snow Geese.
With the publication of eachissue of the
Sout~ Dakota B~rd Notes. and the fall
meetmg and sprmg meetmg our members are made aware of the more visible
aspects of the life of S.D.O.U. In the last
is~ue. I stres.sed. the important contributlon of edItorIal work. Also of great
importance to the continuity of our
organization but also somewhat behind
the sc~nesis the work of ~ur Treasurer,
for w.Ithout the processmg of memberships. and due~ and careful
boo~eepmg we ObVIously coul~ not
functIon. ~elda Holden h~s b~en~om~ an
excellent Job, her contrIbutIon m tIme
and effort has been invaluable.
It is with great sadness that I learned
of the death of one of the Board of
Directors, Will Rosine, who had been a
valued member of S.D.O.U. for a long
time. I know we will all miss him, but I
wished here to express my personal
feeling of 10ss.-Byron E. Harrell
..,I
3
~~--
-
" .
..
Organo.Chlorine
Insecticides
~
and Polychlorinated
Biphenyls
in a Ross' Goose
Thomas
Macomb,
C. Dunstan,
Illinois
pestit:ide
61455;
Laboratory,
polcyn,
Department
Yvonne
A.
South
Biology Department,
of Biological
Greichus,
Dakota
Sciences,
Experiment
State
University
Western
Station,
University,
Brookings,
Illinois
Biochemistry
South
University,
Department-
Dakota
57006;
Gerald
M.
of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
THE PURPOSE of this paper is to the bird expired several days later. A
report on the analysis of a wild caught thorough examination of the carcass
Ross' Goose (Chen rossii) for the showed no gunshot wounds.
presence
of organo-<:hlorine
and polychlorinated
.1).
insecticides
biphenyls
(PCB).
Few Ross' Geese have
In
late April, 1970 a crippled male (left
testis 4 mm x 10 mm) was found on a
farm pond four miles west and two miles
north of Vermillion, South Dakota (Fig.
The goose was captured by hand and
examined for broken bones and gunshot
wounds. The joint of the humerus and
radius and ulna was badly damaged and
South
Dakota
as the
been reported
general
in
wintering
area for this species is in the Central
Valley of California (Dzubin,l965) with a
few being reported from Louisiana
(Smart, 1960). Dzubin (1965) suggested
that an eastward shift is occurring
because of habitat changes so therefore
this specimen may have been migrating
towards the Perry River Region of the
.
A. SAND
-LAI<E
REFUGE
MISSOURI
ABERDEEN
RIVER
RAPID
BROOKIN!S
.CITY
I
-80
MILES
~
I
96850'
4
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
.Northwest Territories, which is the the procedure described by Greichus et
major breeding grounds for the species al. (1968),and Dalgren et al. (1971).
(Ryder, 1967),or toward the Hudson Bay
area where a few also breed.
On occasion wintering or migrating
Ross' Geese are seen in South Dakota.
RESULTS..
.
MacInnes and Cooch (1963)reported the
The results of the analysIs are gIven m
presence of three Ross' Geesein the Sand Table 1:
Lake Refuge area and two more near
Brookings, South Dakota (Fig. 1).
Several others have been shot, and in
1970one was photographed among a fl°.ck
of Can.ada Geese (Branta candensIS)
near PIerre, South Dakota.
METHOD OF ANALYSIS
Subcutaneous fatty tissue and breast
muscle were sampled and analyzed by
DISCUSSIONOF RESULTS
Small quantities of dieldrin, and DDE
were found in the fatty tissue but only
DDE was detected in the breast muscle.
The amounts found were negligible indicating that this individual
was
relatively free of insecticide. PCB was
very low.
Table 1. Results of insecticide and PCB analysis of subcutaneous fatty tissue and'
breast muscle.
~
C\
~
C\
~
~
C\
~
t
s
->~
>
.:.
~..
~
.S
"C
.--f-
"C
W
C
...eC
~
'0;
C
C
C
C
C
.,
."C
C
C
In parts per million
'u
:;:
-u
10 .,
con
f-.S
aI
u
0..
wet wt.
Fatty Tissue
3.226 3.050 2.736 0.09
0.28 -a
-a
0.37 <5.0
Breast Muscle
3.120 0.869 0.064
0.09 -a
-a
0.09 (1.0
-a
a
experimental level
<0.1
LITERATURE CITED
eggs, and faeces. Analyst, 93:323-325.
Dalgren, R. B., Y. A. Greichus, and R. L. MacInnes, C. D. and F. G. Cooch. 1963.
Linder. 1971.Storage and excretion of
Additional eastern records of Ross'
polychlorinated
biphenyls in the
Goose (Chen rossii). Auk, 80:77-79.
der, J ...e
P 1967Th b edingb '
pheasant.
J. Wildl. Mgmt.,f 35:823-828.R
A 1965 A t d
. t. g yRo
re
10I ogy 0f
D b
zu m,.
.s
u y 0 mlgra m
, Goo . th P
R.
R .
,
.ss
se m
e
erry
Iver
N th
t T .t '
C eglon,
d.
Ross
Geese
m western
Saskatchewan.
Co d
67'511-534
or wes
erri orles.
ana Ian
G .nhor, Y . D La . b
d C Ga ett
Wildlife Service Report, No.3. 56p.
relC us, ., .m,
an
.rr
.
.1968. Efficiency
of extraction of Smart, G. 1960. Ross' Goose taken at
metabolically incorporated HEOD
Horseshoe Lake, Illinois.
Wilson
(Carbon-14) from pheasant tissues,
Bulletin, 72:288-289.
.
MARCH,1973
5
Nesting of Woodcock in Brookings
County,
South Dakota
JohnM. Gates
ON APRIL 27, 1972,during the course
of a field trip with the SouthDakota State
University ornithology class at Oakwood
Lakes State Park, one of the students by
chance flushed a nesting woodcock
(Philohela minor). The hen flew up at the
student's feet and fluttered 30-40yards in
plain view of 18 students taking part in
the trip. The time was approximately
4:30 p.m. The nest contained four eggs,
but since the weather was cold and rainy,
we immediately vacated the site so the
eggs would not become chilled.
On the following afternoon, April 28, I
returned to the site with another group of
ornithology students. As we cautiously
approached the nest site, the hen flew up
and alighted a short distance off to one
side of the group. At the edge of the nest,
about a foot from the nest bowl, huddled
four newly hatched young. All four were
completely dry and probably were
several hours out of the egg. Apparently
the hen had been brooding the young at
the nest when we arrived on the scene.
The time was approximately 4:00 p.m.
Again, because of inclement weather, we
remained at the nest no longer than five
minutes.
The next morning, April 29, I again
visited the site with Mrs. Nelda Holden
and Mr. Bruce Harris. The weather had
moderated somewhat, and the area
within 25 yards or so of the nest was
thoroughly searched. No sign of the hen
or young was found, however.
The nest was located at the base of a
peninsula, locally known as McIntosh
Island, which juts into West Oakwood
Lake from the eastern shoreline. It was
6
situated in a brushy clearing and concealed under a small gooseberry clump.
One of the interesting aspects of this
nesting record was the earliness of its
starting date. Sheldon (1967)states that
one egg is laid per day until the normal
clutch of four eggs is complete, and Bent
(1927)gives the incubation period of the
woodcock as 20-21days. Allowing 25days
for egg-laying and incubation, this nest
must have been started about April 2. In
Massachusetts, where most of Sheldon's
work was concentrated, less than 25
percent of woodcock were reported as
hatching before the end of April. In
Maine, Sheldon reported no known
hatching dates before the first of May.
According to Sheldon (1967), the
principal
breeding range of the
American woodcockconsists of the Great
Lakes States, New England, the
maritime provinces of Canada, and the
southern districts of Ontario and Quebec.
The western limits of the breeding range
run roughly diagonally
from the
southeast to northwest corners of Min.
nesota, corresponding in general to the
ecotone between the originally forested
and prairie regions of the state. In
Minnesota, Roberts (1932) records the
woodcock as being "infrequent" or "very
unusual" on the western prairies. The
1960A.O.U. checklist lists the woodcock
as formerly breeding in South Dakota,
but on what basis this statement is made
I have no knowledge. Over and Thomas
(1946)regarded the woodcock as a rare
visitant in SouthDakota and reported one
specimen from as far west as Beadle
County. Chilson (1968) reported the
woodcock as present at Fort Sisseton in
the late 1800's, but that it had disapSOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
I
\
peared from the region by 1935.In recent
years, breeding woodcock have also been
recorded near Vermillion (Bruce Harris,
personal communication); however, the
details of these records are unknown to
me.
It is not inconceivable that the woodcock may be nesting in considerably
larger numbers in eastern South Dakota
than is generally realized. In the past two
springs (1971 and 1972), I have had
reported to me three observations of
woodcock in Brookings County. All were
made by students sufficiently
well
acquainted with the bird in other parts of
the country that I consider the identifications reliable. Based on personal
field experience with woodcock in
Minnesota and Wisconsin, Oakwood
Lakes State Park contains a large
amount of habitat ideal for breeding
woodcock. A series of singing-ground
observations in the park is planned for
the spring of 1973 to check on the
possibility that woodcock may be nesting
at this station in fairly substantial
numbers. Although woodcock males are
known to engage in courtship activities
on spring migration (Sheldon 1967),these
observations should give some indication
of the probability that additional birds
may be found nesting in the park.
LITERATURE CITED
Bent, A. C. 1927.Life histories of North
American shorebirds (Part I). U. S.
Natl. Mus. Bull. 142. 420pp.
Chilson, H. P. 1968.Knickerbocker's 1869
list of the birds of Fort Wadsworth,
Dakota Territory. Published by the
author. 12pp.
Over, W. H., and C. S. Thomas. 1946.
Birds of South Dakota. Univ. South
Dakota Mus. Nat. Hist. Studies No.1.
200pp.
Roberts, T. S. 1932.The birds of Minnesota. Univ. Minnesota Press. Vol. I.
691 pp.
Sheldon, W. G. 1967. The book of the
American
woodcock.
Univ.
Massachusetts Press. 227 pp.
COVER PICTURE
The Golden Eagle on the cover was found in the
Badlands National Monument in the spring of 1971. The
fledgling had probably glided from its nest and had been
abandoned by its parents. The eagle was raised and
released at the Monument.
-By
MARCH,1973
the National Park Service Personnel
~
7
4:
Songs and Sounds of Baltimore
Oriole
Adeline M. Siljenberg
WHEN THE first week of May rolls
around on the northern midwest prairies,
you will hear the arrival song of the
Baltimore oriole before you see him. One
year, I drew near to find him among the
leaves of a tall cottonwood and he flew,
flaunting his orange banner in the
morning sunlight.
Another year, a pair, male and
female, blithely announced their return
from the old boxelder tree at the northwest corner of our house. Each
caroled two notes, he, a lower, "Come
here," and she, a higher, "Catch me." At
one point in this exchange, these calls
fused into a duet creating sound impressions of enduring nature in my
memory.
This musical conversation continued
for two or three minutes attended by
coquettish movements of the pair, who
shifted about on the tree's limb, close
together, first one and then the other,
touching bills in entrancing rhythm.
It is a marvel the variety of sounds
these birds' throats can produce.
Richard H. Pough says, "As a rule, each
individual (Baltimore oriole) has a
recognizably different song." No wonder
identification by song alone is difficult!
Like a feathered Pied Piper of Hamlin,
a young Baltimore oriole ensnares my
ears' attention every spring with incessant practicing of a routine phrase.
This refrain consists of sevennotes in the
middle register of the piano, the first an
introductory whistle like an orchestral
tune-up or warm-up with a barely perceptible pause before the ever-repeated
motif: 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, double-tongued
whistling, the first note a quarter higher
than the second.
Another variation of this exercise is to
repeat once or twice the last three notes
descending on the scale. Another
arrangement the young singer pursues is
to hurry over two introductory notes
8
causing a breathless effect, rather incredible in sound, followed with threenote phrases ascending to the pitch of the
beginning two notes. These phrases vary
in length up to 12 or more notes.
Sometimes the bird drops the tone after
uttering the first note of the second
phrase of three notes. These constitute a
lively almost agitated warble regularly
accented, and with a triple-tongued effect.
The adult Baltimore oriole at times
phrases notes resembling those of the
robin or rose-breasted grosbeak. Or, one
could reverse this observation to remark
on the similarity of the robin's warbling
to that of the oriole.
.
The singing of the Baltimore oriole
may well-nigh dominate the neighborhood during the month of May, the
courting season. The whistled melodies
sound as if they are conceived by human
thought. Calls include a two-note whistle
of rising inflection, four notes, 10notes of
minor nature, and an intrigu~ng melody
which if played on the piano approximates the following six notes:
middle C, middle G, middle F, A (below
middle C), middle C in two-step rhythm.
Or double quick time. This observation
was made and played at 7:30 in the
evening.
I've watched a female Baltimore leave
the nest the third week in May singing a
three-note phrase of a descending minor
tone. And too, this species sings frequently during the heat of August days. In
early September and into the second
week, they may pipe a few notes. These
summer songs may well be heard at
daybreak.
There may be sweeter, more
melodious bird songsters than the
Baltimore oriole, but none can excel him
in ringing tones of exuberance and
clarion quality.-22 South Pine, Vermillion, S. Dak. 57069
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
I
A Preliminary
List of Breeding Birds
for Lyman and Brule Counties
Doug Backlund
THIS LIST of nesting records was Blue-winged Teal
recorded from May 6 through June 20th, Shoveler
1972.I am a high school student, so I was Wood Duck
able to get out only on weekends until the Turkey Vulture
end of May, and then it was possible to be Marsh Hawk
out three or four times a week. I was Sparrow Hawk
working mainly along the Missouri River
Red-tailed Hawk
breaks and the White River area, but I
Greater Prairie Chicken
was able to make some trips to Reliance Sharptailed Grouse
and some marshes in that area. Several Bobwhite Quail
species such as the Double-erested Ring-necked Pheasant
Cormorant and the Great Blue Heron Sora Rail
were nesting on the Missouri River,
Killdeer
which is the county line for both Lyman
Marbled Godwit
and Brule counties, so I listed these birds
Franklin's Gull
for both counties as there are quite .a few Morning Dove
colonies of each.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Only those birds nesting during the
Screech Owl
month of Mayor June have been included
Great Horned Owl
in the list; no migrants are listed, to the
Burrowing Owl
best of my knowledge. This preliminary
Short-eared Owl
list of 76 species includes 51 species Common Nighthawk
observed during the breeding season (0),
Belted Kingfisher
but assumed to be nesting birds, and 25 Yellow-shafted Flicker
species (N) for which nests or broods Red-headedWoodpecker
were located.
Downy Woodpecker
There appears to be very little
Eastern Kingbird
published data for these counties, and I
Western Kingbird
hopeto work up a more complete list in a
Tree Swallow
year or two.
Bank Swallow
~
>Rough-winged Swallow
5
c
Barn Swallow
Species
u
~
>-J
8
.!
2
m
Western Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-erested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Mallard
Pintail
Green-wing Teal
0
0
N
N
-0
N
0
0
0
Common Crow
-Black-eapped
Chickadee
N
House Wren
N
Catbird
Brown Thrasher
0
Robin
0
Eastern Bluebird
0
Loggerhead Shrike
MARCH,1973
Cliff Swallow
Purple Martin
Blue Jay
Magpie
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-0
N
-0
N
-0
0
N
0
0
0
-0
0
0
00
0
00
N
0
0
0
N
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
N
0
0
N
0
0
0
0
0
N
0
N
N
N
0
0
0
0
0
N
N
00
0
0
0
0
0
N
0
0
N
N
N
N
N
0
I
0
9
-.-
Starling
Warbling Vireo
Bell's Vireo
Yellow-throat
Yellow-breasted Chat
House Sparrow
Bobolink
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
0
N
0
0
0
N
0
0
0
N
N
0
N
0
0
0
Indigo Bunting
0
0
-Dickcissel
0
0
-American
Goldfinch
0
0
0
Rufous-sidedTowhee
0
0
-Lark
Bunting
0
0
N
Grasshopper Sparrow
0
0
N
Lark Sparrow
0
N
Savannah Sparrow
-0
0
Field Sparrow
0
0
N
Totals
69 (17N) 64 (17N)
0
0
A single Bald Eagle (adult) was
N
recorded in Lyman County on two dates
0
during June and July, but there was no
0
evidence of nesting, Chamberlain.
I
Songs and Sounds
Adeline
of Robin
M. Siljenberg
All the front yard's a stage, and male
(natural); (2) A (flat) above middle G
robin actors fan out over the greening
(natural); (3)C(sharp)abovemiddleC;
lawn to run, lower their heads to listen,
and (4) C (natural) above middle C.
and probe hopefully in the earth for
Robins have other themes in their
worms.
repertoire, and at times their songs
Later in this month the first nest will be resemble the ringing whistle of the
completed, and the male sitting in
Baltimore oriole and the rolling warble of
an almost bare Chinese elm tree has the rose-breasted grosbeak. Then, too,
ample reason to nearly burst with
robins are excellent ejaculators. A whit,
melody. Should his hearer attempt a
a couple of squeaks, and chortles are
feeble mimicry of his caroling, the robin
common sounds, even a squeezed
may make a weak comeback that causes screech. Their after-sunset lullaby can
the listener to laugh and induces the
suddenly change to a scold, cluck, and
robin to retire in disgust with human
back to warbles, ending abruptly at half
efforts at robin singing.
past the eight o'clock hour, or at dusk.
The chirping and warbling of the robin
A six-week-<>ld robin utters sounds
continues all day from early morning
foreign to the usual pattern, one like a
until late in the evening. Richard H.
kingbird's and another unlike any other
Pough says, "Daybreak is the robin's
bird's, strictly his own. A handsome male
favorite song period," but dusk in sumrobin can speak a single ringing note like
mertime is equally favored, this ob- a young bird's distress call that may
server has noted. The length of. deceive the listener as to its source if the
time for making robin music is short in
bird is out of sight.
our northern midwest climate and robins
With moods ranging from robustly
pursue its brief span tirelessly with labor
cheerful to pensive, this solid bird~itizen
and song.
entertains us, and enhances the summer
Their chirruping song has a definite
scene until late fall, although his intheme which can be picked out on the
cessant vocalizing may at times weary
piano. The sequence of its pattern
even the dedicated bird-watch.er.-22
resembles these notes: (1) middle G
South Pine, Vermillion, S. Dak.
10
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
!
"
~a'1
Nolesof Specia'11n~
EVENING GROSBEAKS AND PURPLE Mergansers. We went to the other shore
FINCHES AT PICKEREL LAKE-In the where the light was better, and there
late fall of 1972,Donnan Miotke informed were easily over 2000birds in the conme that he had Evening Grosbeaks and centration. Along with them, for the sake
Purple Finches at his feeding station on of comparison perhaps, were about 350
the shore of Pickerel Lake. I asked him to Common Mergansers, usually staying in
keep a daily record and told him that I small groups apart from the Redwould write it up for "Bird Notes." The breasted. Their white bodies and blacker
following notes are from his records: wings stood out in the group. When the
Nov. 10. 1972-15 Evening Grosbeaks flock of Red-breasted Mergansers finally
arrived, and three Purple Finches were spooked, there seemed to be an acre of
at the feeder for the first time; Nov. 19- white foamy water under their paddling
20, 1972-Five Evening Grosbeaks were feet as they ran along the surface in takeat the feeders; Nov. 21-22,1972-only one off. It was a memorable sight indeed.grosbeak was seen each day; Nov. 23-24, Herbert Krause, Sioux Falls
1972-No birds at all; Nov. 25, 1972-only
+ + +
one grosbeak; Nov. 26, 1972-Five BLACK DUCK IN HUGHES COUNTYgrosbeaks were present, and a female On Oct. 15, 1972,while hunting in northwas banded; Nov. 27, 1972-Five western Hughes County, in a cornfield
grosbeaks at the feeders; the purple near Oahe Lake, I shot a Black Duckfinches have been feeding regularly for only the third time that I have bagged
three weeks; December, 1972-No this species in South Dakota over the
grosbeaks were seen all month; Jan. 6, course of 39years of record keeping.-R.
1973-one grosbeak was back at the V. Summerside, Pierre
feeder .-Herman Chilson, Webster
+ + +
+ + +
EMPEROR GEESE IN MARSHALL
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS AT COUNTY-Five Emperor geese were
FORT RANDALL-on Nov. 22-23,1972, sighted on Oct. 4, 1972,on Cottonwood
Kelly Krause and I went to the spill Lake and a few days later on Roy Lake,
waters below the Fort Randall Dam. It by Harvey Binger of the South Dakota
was about four o'clock in the afternoon of Department of Game, Fish and Parks.
Nov. 22,and the cloudy weather made the U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents Dave
light grayish. But we saw six birds on the Fisher and Howard Lovrien confirmed
water near shore. I knew by outline that the identification.
Emperor geese
they were mergansers and said so to closely resemble the blue goose;
Kelly: "I guess they are Common
Mergansers." But when we got nearer
and I put my glasses on them, I saw the
reddish head, the crest, the gray body,
the white area on the wing, and I knew we
had Red-breasted Mergansers, birds I
have seen only twice in my life. Then we
examined the spillway waters, and there
were hundreds
of Red-breasted
MARCH. 1973
however, the Emperor's normal range
is in Alaska. There are no observations of
Emperor geese reported in "South
Dakota Bird Notes" nor in the check lists
of recorded species at the four National
Wildlife Refuges in South Dakota. Thus,
this is probably the first reported observation of the Emperor Goose for the
state.-Herman Chilson, Webster
11
-
WINTER OBSERVATIONS AT BURKE Robin, Townsend's Solitaire, Mountain
LAKE STATE RECREATION AREA- Bluebird, Golden-crowned Kinglet,
This area is located two miles east of the Bohemian Waxwing, Cedar Waxwing,
town of Burke, S. Dak. in Gregory Evening Grosbeak, Purple Finch,
County. The total size of the area is 160 Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin, American
acres including the lake which is ap- Goldfinch, Red Crossbill, Slate-colored
proximately 40 acres in size.
Junco, Oregon Junco, Tree Sparrow,
Twenty-five years ago approximately Song Sparrow and Harris' Saparrow.half of the land area surrounding the lake Galen L. Steffen, Burke, S. Dak.
was planted to conifer trees, including
+ + +
several kinds of pine trees, cedar trees
and spruce trees. These conifers provide 'Y°ODCOCK NEAR ~BSTER-The
the wintering birds with both food, in the first Woodcock to be se~n m ~.ay County
form of the cedar berries and shelter for over 40 years was Identified on the
from the cold winter winds. Many rows of M~rvi? Lu~tke farm in Morton. To,,:"apple trees were planted at this same ShIp,five mIles east of Webster, m mldtime, and their small fruit provides food Novem~er, 1972. .
for many kinds of wintering birds. There
Marvm Ludtke, hISdaughter Gretchen,
are also many large cottonwoods and and his son Rolfe were walki~g in the
other deciduous trees surrounding the yard when Gretchen spotted a bIrd under
lake and along the creek below the a red ced~r tree. The bird was scratchi".g
spillway. A small part of the area is still and turnmg o,:er the leaves under thIS
in native grasses. Birds can obtain water cedar tree, WhIChwas only 10 f~et ,~rom
the year around at this area, as the creek th~ corner ?f the house. She saId,', Dad
below the spillway is always open for a thIS loo.ks.lIke a ~mall pheasant.
short distance before it begins to freeze Marvm Immediately spotted the long
over.
bill and the ~tripes ~n the head and was
...pretty
certam that It was a Woodcock.
~e? I thmk of thIS area, I thmk of.an Mter checking some bird books in the
oaSIS m. a d~sert, as the surrounding house, he was positive that it could be
countrysIde IS mostly .far~land and nothing else.
pastureland, and offer~ lItt~e m ~he way
Marvin said, "That bird could really
of foo? or shelter for wmtermg bIrds. S?, turn the leaves over in nothing flat," and
the bIrds, naturally co?gregate on thIS added, "This was the first Woodcock that
area when th~y are l°o.kmg.for a place to I have ever seen."
spend the wmter. .ThIS wmter, 1972-73, The Woodcock stayed around for aphas bee~ an especI.ally good one to ob- proximately one and a half to two hours
serve bI~ds at thIS area. There .are before it left. When Marvin came back
s~vera~ kmds of the less common bIrds from feeding his cattle it had disapwI."termg there that do not normally get peared.
'
thIS far south every year.
The birds I have observed at this area
this winter are as follows: Goshawk,
Golden Eagle, Sharp-tailed Grouse,
Ring-necked Pheasant, Great Horned
Owl, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Red-bellied
Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy
Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-billed
Magpie, Common Crow, Black-capped
Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch,
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,
12
Marvin has proven to me in the past 10
years that he can spot the unusual and
rare birds which come into his area. He is
careful of his identification, and I fully
believe that he saw a Woodcock.
The last Woodcock was shot in Day
County in the 1920's (see Chilson,
"Knickerbocker's 1869List of Birds" in
"Bird Notes," Vol. XX:33). Youngworth
and Lundquist (Wilson Bull., 1935)did
not see a Woodcock in the 1930's acSOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
"
l
.Dakota
.be
cording to "Birds of Fort Sisseton, a
Sixty-Year Comparison."-Herman
P.
Chilson
+ + +
WEST RIVER OWL NOTES-Shorteared owls were abundant during 1972,
not only in the western part of South
and forth between the creek and the
apple trees. The birds dwindled in
numbers after that and the last sighting
was of a flock of 20to 25birds on Jan. 15,
1973.-Galen L. Steffen, Burke, S. Dak.
but throughout the state. There
were 57 sightings and four nests found
during the breeding seasonas reported in
"South Dakota Bird Notes." In a few
square mile area, 10miles southeast of
Rapid City, as many as 10to 14owls could
seen on the prairie in the early
evenings during May and June. Two
nests containing nine young were found
in this area during May, and another
young owl, from a different nest, was
found later in the summer.
The barn owls nested successfully for
the fourth consecutive year near Hot
Springs, Fall River County. The young
were not banded. Fewer great-horned
owl nests were found during the 1972
breeding season than in former years.
Only five active nests were observed,
whereas about 20 nests are usually
found in the western one-third of the
state. Two young were banded in each
nest.
On Feb. 6,1973, a long-eared owl was
seen roosting in a wooded area along
Horse Creek, Butte County. Long-ea~ed
owls usually have been seen roostIng
there during the last four winters and as
~any as three have beenobserved.at o~e
bme.-Donald G. Adolphson, Rapid City
EVENING GROSBEAKS SIGHTED AT
LAKE BURKE-Gn Dec. 21, 1972,while
birding at Lake Burke, two miles east of
Burke, S. Dak., I was pleasantly surprised to find a small flock of 15Evening
Grosbeaks. When first sighted the birds
were feeding on fallen apples underneath
the apple trees, at which time I made the
count of 15.
It would be hard to mistake these birds
for any other bird, especially the males
with their beautiful yellow gold and black
and white markings. The huge beak on
both sexes is also diagnostic.
On Jan. 31, 1973,Mr. Don Wilson accompanied me to the area, and we saw a
larger flock of 30 to 40 of these birds
feeding on cedar berries. We were able to
get as close as 20 feet to them as they fed
and moved around in the cedar trees.Galen L. Steffen, Burke, S. Dak.
BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS OBSERVED
AT LAKE BURKE-I first saw these
birds at Lake Burke on Nov. 28, 1972,
when I observed a large flock of at least
100birds feeding in the apple trees.
The were easily identified by the rusty
undertail coverts, and the yellow and
white markings on the wings. Also, the
absence of yellow on the belly was noted.
The peak in numbers for these birds
was on Dec. 11,when I counted 95 sitting
in a clump of trees, and would estimate
there were at least 50 more flying back
The bird was in sight for only a few
minutes, but during this time I was able
to get a good look at it with an 8-power
binocular at a distance of about 75 feet. I
noted the sky blue color of the plumage
on the back, head and sides, and the
whitish area on the belly from the legs
back to the tail. Also, the dark, slender
bill was seen quite plainly. Upon
checking my field guides, I can find no
other bird that looks like the bird I saw
except a male Mountain Bluebird.-L.
Steffen, Burke, S. Dak.
+++
MARCH,1973
+ + +
+ + +
POSSIBLE MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD
SIGHTED NEAR LAKE BURKE-Gn
Dec. 14,1972,I sighted what I believe was
a Mountain Bluebird near Lake Burke
two miles east of Burke, S. Dak. The bird
was observed in a group of small trees in
a pasture a short distance from the lake.
13
i'
I'l MI );, iC
,..,'
_Ii~,
~n ,
.i!1 ...,
""
~'(f
~
f'
NOU S
TA ~
~li1~lti8,
,';~'Il~
?~,j
",
~
l
--
, ,.
"
prmg
M
t"
ee mg
The Nebraska Ornithologists' Union
will hold its spring meeting, May 12-13,
1973,at Halsey, Nebraska, which is about
60miles south of Valentine and 15miles
east of Thedford. Interested SDOU
members are invited to attend this
meeting. For additional information
write to NOU President Bill Huntley, 1037
Redwood, Crete, Nebraska 68333.
151f~
i<J}"!i'
t)/s';
5," ,
Ii'l:;
i
...::
" ,~
,,;1
~ ~rl
j
j
Great Horned Owls
-Ink
14
1-
Drawing by Harold Messner, Rapid City
~
I
~:
~
.In memoriam
DR. WILLARD N. ROSINE
at Sioux Falls,
."
South Dakota. Will, as SDOU members affectionately knew Dr.
Rosine, was a longtime member of SDOU, and at the time of his
death he was serving his second term as an SDOU director.
During this affiliation with SDOU, he contributed papers to BIRD
NOTES and presented papers at annual meetings.
Dr. Rosine earned his B.A. degree at Augustana College,
Rock Island, Illinois, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the
University of Colorado. Since 1952, he served as a professor of
biology at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and his
colleagues credit him with significant contributions
to the
outstanding calibre of instruction in biology at Augustana. In
addition, he provided exceptional leadership in curriculum
development at the college. A special satisfaction for Will in his
service at Augustana was his teaching an ornithology course for
many years. Through this course he led many students to a
sophisticated understanding and appreciation of birds. He also
taught ornithology at the Black Hills Natural Sciences Field
Station in the summers of 1971 and 1972.
SDOU members lament Will's passing, but feel deep
gratitude for the opportunity to know him and to benefit by his
generous sharing of his knowledge and friendship. They are
pleased that a memorial scholarship fund has been established
in honor of their distinguished friend, Dr. Willard N. Rosine, at
Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
)
Dr. Willard N. Rosine died February 26,1973,
MARCH. 1973
,!J
,"
15
1973 SDOU Spring Meeting
Friday-Monday, May 25, 26, 27 and 28, 1973
Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge, Martin, South Dakota
FRIDAY, MAY 25
7 :00 p.m. to 10:00
p.m.-American
legion
dining
room at Martin.
Check in for birdlists,
maps, plans, latest information
and a challenge
to
help
find
some
Field trips
"rare
birds."
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
7:00 p.m.-Banquet
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Field
someone
trips
Headquarters
Service
$10.92.
Crossroads
will be available
room.
Sunday
on refuge
Someone
as the banquet
on
from
by
the
speaker.
arrangements
for
will gather
at Refuge
for the lunch and "call off." The refuge
will supply
hot coffee
the trees,
or in our
shelter
depending
on the weather.
May 28 for those who stay over.
The Following
$10.00 + tax.
Candlelight
dining
SUNDAY. MAY 27
morning.
We are working
lunches
tours
Harold's
be available
noon. The group
under
Extra personal
Service personnel.
American
legion
in the
to supply
and tables
SATURDAY, MAY 26
and in area. Tours will
on refuge
Lodgings
Motel-I-single
are Available
$8.00+;
Inn Motel-I-single
Motel-I-single
$8.32;
$5.00;
at Martin:
2-Room
$10.00+;
2-Room
2-Room
$12.50;
$7.80;
2-0ouble
bed
2-0ouble
bed
2-0ouble
bed
$7.80++.
(++Facilities
appropriate
The Following Restaurants
Hi-Way Cafe and Vesta's Steak House
at Merriman,
Nebraska.
Camping
facilities
are available
units canRefuge
be accommodated
Wildlife
Headquarters.
are Available:
at Martin, S. Oak. and Sand Cafe
":(
at Martin's
by special
to rates)
City Park and a few mobile
authorization
at lacreek
National
,
:'7
: '
Those attending should see the majority of these interesting species during
Memorial Day weekend: Western and Eared Grebes, White Pelicans, Double-erested
Cormorants, Trwnpeter Swans, Cinnamon Teal, Wood Ducks, Black-erowned Night
Herons, American Avocets, Long-billed Curlews, Upland Plovers, Burrowing Owls,
Bell's Vireo and Yellow-breasted Chats. Many other species can also be found.
16
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
j
South
Dakota
Bird
Notes
of
SOUTHDAKOTA
ORNITHOLOGIST'S
UNION
(Organized1949)
X'i< 1/
Vol.~No.2
JUNE, 1973
Whole No. 97
AmericanBitternin Pennington
County
-Photo
by Keith E. Evans
-
SouthDakota Bird Notes, the Organ of South Dakota Ornithologists' Union, is sent to
Adults $4.00;Juniors (10-16)$2.00.Family Membership (husband and wife) with one
copies; Members $1.00,Non-members $1.50. All dues should be remitted to the
Treasurer, Nelda Holden, Route 1, Box 80, Brookings, S. Dak. 57006.All manuscripts
for publication should be sent to Editor June Harter, Highmore, S. Dak. 57345.Orders
for back numbers should be sent to the Librarian, Herman P. Chilson, Webster, S.
Dak. 57274.Published Quarterly.
Vol. XXVI, No.2
June, 1973
Whole No. 97
In This Number. ..
Horned Grebe Breeding Records in North-Central South Dakota, H. F. Duebbert
and J. T. Lokemoen
Goshawk Nests in the Black Hills, Fred Wild
GoldenEagle Correction
Notes on the 1972Hawk Migration in Northeastern SouthDakota with
Observations on Gyrfalcon, Prairie Falcon and Goshawk,Bruce Harris
Burrowing Owls in Mellette County, South Dakota, Charles A. Berdan and
Raymond L. Linger
Roster of Participants at Lacreek NWR May 25-27,1973
Birds Seenat SDOUMeeting May 25-27,1973,Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge
General Notes of Special Interest-Hybrid Pintail-Mallard in Lyman County,
Brant in Sully County, Songsand Soundsof Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
Red-bellied Woodpeckers Observed at Burke Lake, Townsend's
Solitaire Sighted at Lake Burke, Deuel County Notes-Specimen
Records in Barred Owl and Le Conte's Sparrow, Whooping Cranes
in Codington County, Red Crossbills Wintering at Lake Burke
The Early Birds
In Memoriam, Herman F. Chapman
19
20
22
23
24
26
28
28
30
33
34
OFFICERS 1971-72
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Editor
Librarian
Byron Harrell, 1215Valley View Circle, Vermillion
Bruce Harris, Clear Lake
June Harter, Highmore
Nelda Holden, Rt. 1, Box 80, Brookings
Herman P. Chilson, Webster
57069
57266
57345
57006
57345
57274
DIRECTORS
Rapid City; Nelda Holden, Brookings; Lee Eberly, Vermillion.
For Term Expiring 1974: Herman Chilson, Webster;
Jr., Rapid City; L. M. Baylor, Rapid City.
For Term Expiring 1975: Byron Harrell, Vermillion;
Bruce Harris, Clear Lake; N. R. Whitney
J. W. Johnson, Huron;
Herbert Krause,
~"'--
18
-~-
President's
Pflge~
0
prm,
b
t
u
I
we
are
a
so
aIding,
'
t
meres
the
t
d
'
m
e
.e~tor
and
also m aidIng the
authors of papers ~nd
short notes, One actIon
taken by the, Board
was, to authorIZ~ the
presIdent to appoInt an
Ed't
'I
f I f?rla
0
w
C
o~mI
'tt
h Ive mem ers,
om
manuscrlp
~e
to
s
correctIon,
complete,
marks
it will
for
the
typesetter,
go off to the
,
Ie
carl
IS
mg
every
en
ong,
a
sen
th
'
t
d
t
m
M
t
'
hope that the work can be spread around
the committee so that both careful
thought and promptness of return can be,
accomplished, The editor will then
determine whether or not the paper
needs to be returned for additions or
changes by the author, In that case
pertinent reviewer comments will be
t I
Wh
th"
I 'f '
mee
maar
m,
ere was con"
"d
abl d 's
'
f
dit
'
I
I'
the
edItor
wIll
complete
the
work
on the
SI er e I cusslon 0 e orla po ICY,
,
, ,
,
We are concerned with errors that get manus~rlpt-further
editIng, spellIng
" t
'
f th When ma terla' I f or an Issue
'
,
, ,
,
so or,
IS
t
IT IS with great pleasure that I announce that the SDOU Board of Directors
have appointed June Harter of Highmore, South Dakota, as the new editor of
"South Dakota Bird Notes" beginning
with the next issue, I am sure she would
appreciate some good contributions,
When the Board me t a t our fIe
' Id
g
II
L-
and
printer,
We hope these new procedures do not
discourage readers from writing up their
observations, and we hope no one is offended if they are asked for further information, Even our reviewers' papers
,
,
wIll be sent to other
reVIewers,
comments
and
questions
raised
hopefully
help
the
novice
prepare
The
will
a
"
WI'll bbe re ferr~l"d Th
be
mfm ers
WI , e
,
,
se .ectedon the basIs of
t~elr ~xperlence, ,theIr knowledge of the
bIrd lIfe ,ofa ~a~tIcular part of t,he state,
and theIr willIngness to reVIew and
return promptly the papers sent t? the~,
We hope ,to announ.cethe commIttee m
the next Issue of BIrd Notes,
better
paper and
remInd
the
old tImer
that experience
alone
is not
a guarantee
that something important may be
forgotten, If it turns out that the reviewer
misunderstood what the author wrote,
then that should be a warning that
something needs to be rewritten with
greater clarity, I think these new
procedures will be valuable from
everybody's point of view,
For the author who submits a paper,
the sequence of events will be the same,
but after the editor receives the paper,
she will examine it, do some preliminary
editing, determine which member of the
Editorial Committee would be most
appropriate reviewer, and send it.
Someone not on the committee might
also occasionally be asked to help, The
reviewer will read the paper carefully
and then write out his comments which
may include evaluation of identifications
reported, listing of additional
information needed, suggestions for the
editor, and suggestions to the author, We
I would also like the Editorial Committee and others to think about the best
ways to handle mistakes that have
already appeared in print, Since Bird
Notes regularly prints an index at fiveyear intervals, it might be especially
important to get corrections in at the end
of that period so that the user of the index
will be exposed to a correction that he
should be aware of, The Editorial
Committee should periodically review
the procedures to see that they are doing
the job of making "South Dakota Bird
Notes" a journal we can all be proud of.Byron E. Harrell
JUNE,1973
19
Horned Grebe Breeding Records
in North-Central South Dakota
H. F. DuebbertandJ. T. Lokemoen
FOR OVER 80 years, the exact status
of nesting by Horned Grebes (Podiceps
auritus) in South Dakota has been uncertain. Thus, we believed it was
desirable to publish our three records for
1972, one of which was verified by a
photograph (Figure 1). On May 22 we
observed a pair of Horned Grebes constructing a nest in a seasonally-flooded
freshwater wetland in McPherson
County. The wetland was within a square
mile of native mixed-grass prairie
utilized for grazing in the NW1/4,Section
24,T. 126N.,R. 71W., about 12miles east
of Eureka. On June 8 we visited the nest
and found that it contained seven eggs.
One adult was observed at the nest site on
that date. The pond was about two acres
in size and contained 18inches of water at
the nest. Vegetation surrounding the
nest was predominantly
common
spikerush (Eleocharis palustris) which
was also used to construct the nest.
Spikerush comprised about 75 perce~t of
the vegetation in the pond and occurred
in association with shortawn foxtail
(Alopecurus aequalis), sloughgrass
{8eckmannia syzigachne), and falseaster (8oltonia latisquama). Emergent
vegetation covered about 80 percent of
the water surface in an open stand that
permitted unrestricted swimming by
grebes. The nest site was visited again on
June 13 when it contained one pipped egg
and four unpipped eggs. Shell fragments
in the nest indicated the other two eggs
had hatched. A blind was set up near the
nest on June 13and photographs obtained
of the adults and two young.
Two other breeding records were
obtained in 1972on the basis of flightless
young with a pair of adults. One was
recorded on June 29 when a pair of
I
!
.!
20
Horned Grebes and one recently hatched
young were observed in a 25-acre
seasonally flooded wetland in Edmunds
County. This pond was in the NW1/4,
Section 20, T. 122N.,R. 72W., about five
miles southeast of Bowdle. The ecology
of this pond was similar to the one in
which the nest was observed except that
the pond was bordered by cropland.
Another record was obtained on July 27
when we observed a pair of adult Horned
Grebes with two flightless young (twothirds adult size) on a semipermanent,
fresh, openwater pond with a fringe of
cattail (Typha spp.) in McPherson
County. This pond was in the NE 1/4
,
Section 15, T. 125N., R. 71W., about 12
miles ESE of Eureka.
A thorough search of the ornithological
literature indicated that recent nesting
by the Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
in South Dakota has not been well
documented. Earliest records were
obtained during the 1880'sand 1890'sby
egg collectors within the state. Card
records for 12sets of Horned Grebe eggs
collected in South Dakota are on file at
the Migratory
Bird and Habitat
Research Laboratory, U.S. Bureau of
Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Laurel,
Maryland. Nine sets taken on June 23,
1885at Huron were in the collection of J.
P. Norris, Jr. Two clutches collected on
June 4 and June 23, 1885at Cavour were
in the collection of J. W. and J. Mailliard.
One set, collected on June 25, 1895 in
Lugenbeel County by I. S. Trostler was in
the collection of Fred Dille. The above
data were from the files of A. C. Bent.
Present location of the eggs is unknown.
According to the Check-list of North
American Birds, Fifth edition (American
Ornithologists
Union,
Baltimore,
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
.
NestingHornedGrebesin McPhersonCounty
-Photo
Maryland, 1957, 691 pp.) the breeding
range of the Horned Grebe in the central
United States extends as far south as
northern Nebraska and northeastern
Iowa. A. C. Bent (Life Histories of North
American
Diving
Birds,
Dover
Publications, Inc., New York, 1963, 239
pp.) listed two Nebraska nest records but
none for South Dakota.
by Duebbert and Lokemoen
the Sand Lake NWR, Waubay NWR, and
Madison WMD stated that breeding had
beenindicated by observation of nests or
occurrence of adults during the nesting
season. Lacreek NWR and Lake Andes
NWR supplied negative responses. As
experienced ornithologists are well
aware, the close similarity between
horned grebes and eared grebes has
of all U.S.
often led to difficulty in making positive
identification.
Because of this fact, and
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife,
National Wildlife Refuges, and Wetland
Management Districts in South Dakota
were contacted about possible horned
grebe nesting in their areas. Managers of
since we did not personally observe the
above records, we cannot verify the
authenticity of them-Northern Prairie
Wildlife Research Center, North Dakota
58401
In the fall of 1972,managers
JUNE,1973
21
,-~."
,I
Goshawk Nests in the Black Hills
Fred Wild
AN EARLY observation of a nesting
pair of Goshawks near Keystone was
made in 1938 by Behrens according to
Pettingill and Whitney in "Birds of the
Black Hills." A nesting pair was seen
near Sylvan Lake in June 1965 by
members of the Wilson Society. During
1972,I observed three nests in the Black
Hills National Forest in Lawrence
County.
I
:1
THE FIRST NEST
On March 21, 1972,Jim Furnish was
administering a timber sale on the Nemo
District south of Middle Boxelder Creek
when a Goshawk passed near his head.
The bird came within five feet of Jim,
who took cover behind a tree. His
description of the large pronounced eye
The First Nest 1972
,
22
stripe identified the bird as a Goshawk.
The bird perched approximately 50 feet
from him and gave s~veral distress calls.
<SeeSouthDakota BIrd Notes, vol. 24,p.
42).
I went with Jim to the area on March
27, 1972,when we found a newly s.tarted
nest 30 feet above the ground In the
crotch of a forked pine. The sticks were
pine branches with usnea on them. The
sticks were stacked about one foot deep.
The pine was on a north-facing slope and
was marked for cutting. We did not see
the hawk during the morning. We
removed the marking paint from the tree
and discussed the situation with the
timber contractor. He said he would keep
his operation out of the small pocket and
try not to disturb the nesting area.
Returning several days later to
photograph the nest, I walked beneath
the dense forest canopy. The light was
subdued and my eyes were not fully
adjusted to the light. As I approached the
nest, I heard several loud high-pitched
cries similar to a short human scream. A
dark form hurtled down close to my face.
The rush of air moved the hair on my
head. Instinctively I was ready to run
from the area. I fought back the impulse
ana positioned myself behind a large tree
when I heard the second series of warning cries. The Goshawk made several
dives at me but was deterred by a stick
held over my head. The bird persisted
diving at me until I was 100yards from
the nest. At this point the bird must have
felt I was sufficiently repulsed and
returned to the nest. My actual fear of the
attacking goshawk made photography
nearly impossible. I found a need for the
protection of a stick in one hand while
trying to focus a camera with the other.
Jim climbed the nest tree in late July to
find only the remains of egg shells with a
thin leathery consistency. There were no
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
bones at the base of the tree to indicate
the remains of birds and mammals
brought in to feed the young.
We suspect pesticides may have
weakened the shells of these eggs. If the
pair return this spring we will collect an
egg shell for analysis at the State
Pesticide Laboratory in Brookings.
.THE SECOND ~EST
Guy VIrk~a was. walkI~g. thr°';1gh a
small openIng whIle ~ruIs.mg tI~ber
south of Buskal~ Creek m ~Id-ApriI. He
,,:as attacked without warnIng by a.large
bIrd and was forced to protect hImself
with a stick.
One evening after work, Guy agreed to
take me to the opening. Guy was
reluctant to leave the truck, but he gave
me directions to the nest. I was able to
obtain several pictures before an adult
returned to protect the nest.
I returned in early July and climbed
the nest tree. The nest was the same
unlined layer of sticks as the first nest.
The nest was 12inches in depth and 30
inches across. It was very strong with a
slightly concave surface. The tree was
straight (unforked) and the nest was
supported by the lowest live branch and
another dead branch.
streaked on the breast, less broadly
streaked on the belly with hastate spots
of bone brown."
I found no "butcher blocks" in the
vicinity of the nest and feel that most
food is brought whole to the nest. Bent
makes no mention of the butcher blocks.
The appearance of the young bird and
identification of bones beneath the nest
led us to believe that one or more young
had been fledged. Carcasses of four
squirrels and two cottontails were found
intact with wing feathers from two
Ruffed grouse and feathers from a
turkey. The nest dimensions were not
measured since the tree was limbless to
the nest. The structure was estimated to
be 45 feet from the gound.
SIMILARITIES IN THREE
NEST SITE OBSERVATIONS
1. Nests were on north or east facing
slopes in densestrands of Ponderosa pine
(180to 220 square feet of Basal Area).
2. A typical nest was in the top third of
a Ponderosa pine tree. The diameter
breast height of two trees was 14inches
and the third tree was 15 inches.
3. All nests were 75 feet from unimproved roads.
4. The openings associated with the
nests were one-eighth to one-half acre in
size and within 75 feet distance. All
openings were bisected by a road.
5. All nests were one-half to one mile
from a live stream.-Black
Hills
National Forest, Custer, S. Dak.
THE THIRD NEST
Darkness kept Guy Virkula and me
from searching for another nest he had
discovered near Tilson Creek. I was
anxious to see the third nest site to
compare similarities with tbe. other two.
After several hours of searching, my
CORRECTION
wife and I found the third nest on July 28,
Inadvertently,
the photographer's
1972.Later at dusk, on August 11,a young credit was in error for the golden eagle
Goshawk was observed in the opening on the cover of the March 1973 (Vol.
near the nest.
XXV, No.1) issue of "Bird Notes." InBent in "Life Histories of North terpretive Specialist John Stockert acAmerican Birds of Prey" (1937,p. 125) tually took the picture, and the credit
describes fresh juvenal plumage " ...should
have been: "National Park
The underparts are white, strongly
Service Photo by John Stockert." Thanks
tinged or washed with vinaceous cin- go to Don Higgins for calling this fact to
namon or pinkish cinnamon and broadly the editor's attention.
JUNE. 1973
23
Notes on the 1972 Hawk Migration
in Northeastern South Dakota
with Observations on Gyrfalcon,
Prairie Falcon and Goshawks
Bruce Harris
i
THE 1972FALL migration was an outstanding one for hawks in the northeastern counties. The flight of Red-tailed
and Marsh Hawks was exceptional, but
there were also several observations on
the rare species such as Gyrfalcon,
Goshawk and Prairie Falcon. In contrast
to this, Rough-legged Hawks and Bald
Eagles were not nearly so numerous as
in the fall of 1971.Bald Eagles were observed only twice, compared with 10
observations during a similar period in
1971.
The flight of Red-tailed and Marsh
Hawks began about September 25, and
was unusually heavy through October 10.
I cannot remember seeing more of these
species during a fall migration in South
Dakota. Unfortunately I did not keep a
record of numbers observed on any given
day, but it was not unusual to see 25-30of
these hawks during a day in the field. It
appeared that most of the birds were
moving through the area. the total must
have run into the hunm'eds during the
peak flight period. I have seen mass
movements of Red-tailed Hawks during
spring migrations in South Dakota but
this constant fall movement over a 'twoweek period was a new experience for
me. Marsh Hawks were observed
throughout the month of November
(several
the
on Nov.
unusual
30th)
numbers'
an
indication
of
this
of
species
in the area during the period
..birders
My fIrst 1972 observation
for one of the
an adult Goshawk soared over our home
at Altamont. The bird was also observed
by Gary Marrons and my son Mark. This
record was the first of a series of observations during the fall and winter that
was to include Goshawk, Gyrfalcon,
Prairie Falcon and a probable Peregrine
Falcon. Four of these records occurred in
Deuel County during the first week in
October, suggesting that there was an
unusual flight of rare raptors in the area
during that period.
Following the sighting on October 7, I
observed Goshawks (all adults) on four
more. occasions in. three !1eighboring
c.ountIes:.October 22 m HamlIn County, a
fme specImen.found?OR and broug~t to
a local taxIdermIst
for mountmg;
~ece~ber 16 on the. Brookings CBC, a
SIghting s~ared wIth Dave ~old~n;
January 28m Roberts County, a bIrd fIrst
sighted by Mark Harris as it was hunting
pheasants near a F & WS Game
Production Area (no kill was observed);
January 23 in D~uel. County, when a fine
adult came whIstlIng over my head,
apparently after pulling out of an unsuccessful attack on some prey. These
five sightings in four counties were
certainly unprecedented for me. It is
possible, but unlikely, that duplications
occurred. My impression that these
sightings
represented
inva~ion
of Goshawks
part
into
of
our
an
overall
region
~as
found
confIrmed
rare raptors occurred on October 7 when
of Goshawks during the hawk count on
24
by correspondence
wIth
in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Observers
at Duluth saw a large number
)
the shore of Lake Superior, far exceeding
anything recorded to date at that location
(pers. comm. Kim Eckert). In South
Dakota Goshawks nest in the Black Hills
and occur regularly in the west-river
country (although in small numbers)
each winter; in the east-river area no
nests have been recorded and there is a
sight observation about every 3-4 years,
usually one or two at the most. I had seen
them only once prior to 1972.
A red letter day came for m~ on Oc-
tober 8, 1~72,v:hen I .sa,:"I!1~ first Gyrfalcon, a life bird. This mdividual (gray
phase) flushed from a dead tree 2 N. and
3.W. of Tunerville in Deuel Co~nty. The
bird was no more than 100ya.rds away,
an~ I clea.rly noted the long tail, s~arply
pomted wmgs and the very large Size as
it flew off with rapid wing beats. I
followed the ro~te taken by the bird, and
saw, through bmoculars, what I assum~d
to be the. sam.e f~lcon about one mile
from the first sighting. It flew across the
road ahead of me at a distance of some
300yards. I ?oted .light speckling on the
ba.ckof the bird as it flew away. Although
this area was searched for more than an
hour on that day and the following, the
bird was not seen again. But another
observation on this rare species came for
me o~ October 29 at Rush Lake Public
Shootin~ Area, loca~ed 3 ~. and 5 S. of
Tunerville (about rune miles SE of the
first observation area). A Gyrfalcon
(also gray phase) flew out from a stand
of mature juniper trees overlooking the
lake, which was black with migrating
waterfowl. My sons, Mark and Gordon,
also saw this bird as it came within 40
yards of the car. We noted the long tail,
sharply pointed wings, striping on the
breast and the very large size. It flew to a
shelterbelt about one-half mile away
where it was flushed by Mark; it came
directly over his head, giving him the
opportunity to confirm the contour of the
bird. It is possible, but again unlikely,
that this could have been the same individual I observed on October 8.
JUN E, 1973
On November 15, I saw a bird at Lake
Cochrane, Deuel County, that must have
been either a Gyrfalcon or a Goshawk.
Weather conditions were poor, with
overcast skies and a brisk wind blowing
across the lake. I was duck hunting when
the bird was observed flying some 400
yards away, low over the water. My
binoculars were fogged up and of no
assistance to me, so I did not get much of
an impression of the bird other than its
being a large hawk with a long tail. It
flew directly toward a raft of mallard,
and they flushed several hundred yards
ahead of the hawk, something that rarely
would occur if the bird was a Marsh
Hawk. I concluded it was probably a
Gyrfalcon, as that species would be most
likely to harass ducks in the manner
described and to get the reaction from
the ducks' that I observed. There have
been at least eight records of Gyrfalcon
in South Dakota over the years, the most
recent one in 1968. But Gyrfalcons are
considered one of the rare hawks in South
Dakota.
The other Deuel County observations
on falcons during the first week of October were a Prairie Falcon nearGoodwin
on October 4 and an unidentified falcon
on October 8 near Fox Lake east of
Brandt. The latter bird was abo~t the size
of a crow, and I thought it looked like a
Peregrine Falcon, but light conditions
were bad and I did not have a satisfactory view of the bird, even though the
range was only about 200yards.
During the fall of 1960in northeastern
South Dakota, Lowry Elliott (SDBN,
1967,vol. 19,p. 4) observed 40Red-tailed
and 55 Marsh Hawks. Goshawks were
observed on August 23 and October 1;
whereas, a Peregrine Falcon was seen on
September 28, 29 and 30 (same bird).
Elliott kept a daily account of the hawks
seen in the area. From the large number
of hawks I observed in the same area I
can only conclude that the 1972 fall
migration was greater than the 1960fall
migration. This indicates that during
2S
ce!tain years a mass migration of hawks
still occurs through eastern South
recorded. I have recently received the
February, 1973issue of American Birds,
Dakota.
in which most regional editors com-
The 1972migration was certainly one of
the most memorable I have ever
mented on a heavy flight of Goshawks
throughout the country.-Altamont,
South Dakota
Burrowing
Owls in Mellette County,
South Dakota +
Charles A. Berdan and Raymond L. Linder
South Dakota Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit++
South Dakota State University, Brookings
+Funds to support this study were received from the National Audubon Society.
+ + The.Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit is supported jointly by South Dakota Department
of .Ga.me, FIsh and ,:,ar!<s; South Dakota State University; U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and
WildlIfe; and the Wildlife Management Institute.
A SURVEY of black-tailed prairie dog
(Cynomys
ludovicianus)
towns
was conducted in Mellette County
during the summer of 1972.The primary
objective of the survey was to determine
the number and acres of prairie dog
towns as a portion of a black-footed ferret
(Mustela nigripes) study (Linder etal.
1972).Prairie dog towns were located by
interviewing all ranchers. All towns were
visited and 26 percent of them were
mapped and measured; the number of
prairie dogs was estimated by counts of
animals above ground (Sheets 1970). All
burrowing owls (Speotyto cunicularia)
observed were recorded. During most of
the; summer, it was impossible to
determine whether owls were young 01'
adult.
One huridred fifty~ne prairie dog
towns that covered a total of 3171acres
were located in the County (Fig. 1). One
hundr(id fifty-five burrowing owls were
seen on '57 (36 percent) of the towns
26
between June 29and July 31. Location of
towns where owls were seenand number
observed are shown in Fig. 1. These
counts are n~t meant to be an estimate of
the population of burrowing owls in
Mellette County; however, they do show
that many prairie dog towns are used by
burrowing owls. Since prairie dog towns
are used. b~ h?th burrowing owls and
ferrets, It IS Important that they be
managed wisely.
LITERATURE CITED
Linder,~. L., R. B. Dahlgren, and C. N.
Hillman. 1972. Black-footed ferretpra~rie. dog interrelationships. Symposium on Rare and Endangered
Wildlife of the Southwestern States.
New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish.
pp. 22.32.
Sheets,R. G. 1970.Ecology of the blackfooted ferret a.nd ,the, black-tailed
prairie dog. M. S. Thesis, South Dakota
State University, Brookings, 42 pp.
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
¥
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JUNE, ~73
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27
!=~-.,"!
Roster of Participants at lacreek
NWR May 25-27, 1973
Mr. and Mrs. David Holden,Brookings,
S. Dak.
Arthur Holden,Brookings,S. Dak.
Harold and Ruth Burgess, Martin, S.
Dak.
Mr. and Mrs. Rolf Wallenstrom,Pierre,
S. Dak.
Lou Ann Wallenstrom,Pierre, S. Dak.
Jeff Wallenstrom,Pierre, S. Dak.
L. M. Baylor, Rapid City, S. Dak.
Herb Krause, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.
Ron Nelson,SiouxFalls, S. Dak.
Gil Blankespoor,Sioux Falls, S. Dak.
Fred Klawiter, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.
Dave Louro, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.
Tom Hays, Spearfish,S. Dak.
Jodey Sorenson,Rapid City, S. Dak.
B. J. Rose,Pierre, S. Dak.
Mr. and Mrs. R. V. Summerside,Pierre,
S. Dak.
Dr. N. R. Whitney,Rapid City, S. Dak.
Don Adolphson,Rapid City, S. Dak.
Dr. and Mrs. Mike Singsaas,Pine Ridge,
S. Dak.
L. R. and Ruth Palmerton,Rapid City, S.
Dak.
Byron Harrell, Vermillion, S. Dak.
Mark Harris, Clear Lake,S. Dak.
Doug Blacklund, Chamberlain,S. Dak.
Bill Lemons,Meckling,S. Dak.
Mr. andMrs. C. H. Rogge,SiouxFalls, S.
Dak.
Greg Koeln, Martin, S. Dak.
Esther Serr, Rapid City, S. Dak.
Mr. and Mrs. Willis Hall, Yankton, S.
Dak.
Fred Wild, wife and three children,
Custer,S. Dak.
WendellLong, Martin, S. Dak.
Mr. and Mrs. Linn McCoy, Martin, S.
Dak.
Carole McCoy,Martin, S. Dak.
Conrad and Judy Fjetland, Martin, S.
Dak.
Capt. Kennethand Pat Kessler, Ames,
Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Milton Schmite, Hot
Springs,S. Dak.
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth H. Husmann,
Brookings, S. Dak.
Jack and Bonnie Ritts, Martin, S. Dak.
Dick and Esther Edie, Brookings, S. Dak.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold V. Whitmus,LincoIn,Neb.
Mary AberdeenKetelle, Huron,S. Dak.
Bruce Harris, Clear Lake, S. Dak.
June Harter, Highmore,S. Dak.
Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Johnson,Huron,S.
Dak.
Robert Gossel,Hot Springs,S. Dak.
Dirk Hagemeyer,Bellaire, Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Max E. Pierce and son,
Sioux Falls, S. Dak.
Stella Weuppel,Rosebud,S. Dak.
Total personsregistered: 70.
Birds Seen at SDOU Meeting
May 25-27,1973
lacreek National Wildlife Refuge
Eared Grebe
WesternGrebe
28
Pied-billedGrebe
White Pelican
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
Double-erested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black-erowned Night Heron
American Bittern
Trumpeter Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard
Gadwall
Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
American Widgeon
Shoveler
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Swainson's Hawk
Marsh Hawk
Sparrow Hawk
Ring-necked Pheasant
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
American Golden Plover
Black-bellied Plover
Common Snipe
Long-billed Curlew
Upland Plover
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
White-rumped Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Sanderling
I
Hairy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Traill's Flycatcher
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Blue Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Common Crow
House Wren
Long-billed Marsh Wren
Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Curve-billed Thrasher
Robin
Swainson's Thrush
Loggerhead Shrike
Starling
Bell's Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Yellowthroat
American Redstart
House Sparrow
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Redwinged Blackbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Avocet
CommonGrackle
Wilson's Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull
Franklin's Gull
Forster's Tern
Common Tern
Black Tern
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
Yellow-shafted Flicker
Red-shafted Flicker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Brown-headed Cowbird
Blue Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Dickcissel
American Goldfinch
Lark Bunting
Lark Sparrow
Gray-headed Junco
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-eolored Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
JUNE,1973
29
l!!!!!-~"1 NDIesDf Spet;,,11n~~J
HYBRID
PINT AIL-MALLARD
IN
LYMAN COUNTY-Qn Oct. 23, 1972,
when John Fennell, of Rapid City, and I
were hunting at a stock dam in northern
Lyman County, John bagged a strange
duck that appeared to be a pintailmallard hybrid. The speculum ,,:,asthat
of. a mallard, but the lo?g, thIn neck
":Ithout the mallard'~ whIte collar, the
bIll color, and colorations of parts of the
body plumage were those of a pintail.
(Editor's Note: Mr. Summe~side shared
a. colored photograph of t?IS .duck; the
pIcture does suggest the lIkelIhood that
he is describing a pintail-mallard
hybrid.)-R. V. Summerside, Pierre
A light overcast, with blue haze cloaking
the Nebraska hills and hanging over the
Missouri River bottom, lending a purplish hue to its black loam, creates a
perfect backdrop for the grosbeak's
black and white wings and back.
Or, he may be seen in a cottonwood
timber of worthy length, breadth, and of
pioneer age, when its virgin floor cradles
a wild rose garden in the late week of
May and early June. The Rose-breasted
Grosbeak does not depart early for the
South, as he may be heard singing in
early September.-Adeline M. Siljenberg, Vermillion, S. Dak.
+ + +
+++
BRANT IN SULLY COUNTY-Qn Nov.
4-5, 1972,in western Sully County, I observed two small geese flying over
RED-BELLIED
WOODPECKERS
OBSERVED AT BURKE LAKE-Qn
Nov. 17, 1972,I observed a pair of Red-
winter wheat stubble frequented by
bellied Woodpeckers,a male and a
several thousand geese feeding off from
Oahe Lake. The small size and rapid
flight, the wary behavior, and the coarse
gutterall call-as described by Kortright,
a three-note "car-r-rup,"
uttered
frequently as they flew around the area
at quite an altitude-suggested that these
two geese were Brant.-R.
V. Summerside, Pierre
+ + +
SONGS AND SOUNDS OF ROSEBREASTED GROSBEAK-The
Rosebreasted Grosbeak holds the center of the
outdoors concert stage in the month of
May, weaving his sensuous song pattern
far into June. Millet's landscapes and
Debussy's tone poems come to mind
when this beautiful bird with the rosecolored breast patch sings.
Dawn is not too early to hear his rippling, rolling warble whose pleasing,
formless melody evokes mental images
of gentle waterfalls or playing fountains.
female, at Burke Lake State Recreation
Area which is located two miles east of
Burke, S. Dak.
I was able to study the birds with the
aid of an eight-power binocular for five
minutes at a distance of 30 to 50 feet. I
noted the woodpecker-like actions of the
birds, as well as the ladder back and the
red cap and hind neck.l could plainly see
the difference in the amount of red on the
head of the male as compared to the
female.
I observed the female on two occasions
after this, on Dec. 5 and 21,and although
I have looked for the birds on my visits to
the area since then, I have beenunable to
find either of the birds again.-Galen L.
Steffen, Burke, S. Dak.
+ + +
30
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE SIGHTED
AT LAKE BURKE-December 18, 1972,
a Townsend's Solitaire was sighted at
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
;.':"""
.tail
Lake Burke, two miles east of Burke, S.
Dak.
The first thing to catch my attention
when I sighted
the bird was the conspicuous white eye ring which showed up
very plainly.
Also noted was the slender
shape, grayish color, white edging on the
and the buff spots on the wings.
I was able to study the bird for several
minutes with an eight-power
binocular
at
a distance
of 50 to 60 feet. On Dec. 21,
another
bird was sighted
in the same
area, and I would suppose it would be the
same one.-Galen
L. Steffen,
Burke, S.
Dak.
+ + +
was brought
in on the radiator
of an
automobile,
thus opening the question of
its being killed in Deuel County. But the
weather had produced
a very heavy fog
on the 12th, and it is possible that the bird
might have struck a nearby building, and
dropped
to the ground
where
it was
picked up. Two days later, on Sept. 14, I
collected
a Le Conte's
Sparrow
at a
slough two miles west and one and onehalf
miles
north
of Tunerville.
The
habitat was quite similar to that in which
I observed Le Conte's Sparrow near Lake
Alice, Deuel County, during October, 1971
(SDBN's
V. 24:45), and the bird was
easily
observed
and approached,
as with
the 1971 observation.
DEUEL
COUNTY
NOTES-SPECIMEN
RECORDS
FOR BARRED
OWL AND
LE CONTE'S
SPARROW-on
Jan. 14,
1973 I found a Barred
Owl in the ditch
along U.S. Highway 77, three miles north
of Clear Lake. The bird had evidently
been struck by a car, and was somewhat
crushed, but it was easily identified
as a
Barred
Owl.
Weather
during
the
preceding
two weeks had been marked
by continuous
below-zero
temperatures,
with a severe
ice storm
coating
all
The
vegetation
Barred forOwl
six evidently
days during
winters
the period.
in the
state occasionally,
judging
available
(8) records.
specimen is only the third for the
the others
being
from
Yankton
Sparrow,
whIch IS also a brIghtly
colored
bIrd,
but among
the sparrows
that
migrate
through
South
Dakota
(excluding
the
Sharp-tailed)
only
the
Grasshopper
Sparrow
seems
very
County
(Twedt, V. 16 :98) and Roberts
County (Harris, V. 20:65). There are also
sight
records
from
Day,
Union,
and
Custer counties;
several of these records
suggest nesting
for the species in South
Dakota. The Deuel County specimen will
be deposited at South Dakota University,
similar to Le Conte's, and that species is
not nearly as bright
buffy on head and
breast
as the
Le
Conte's.
Habitat
preference
should
help to identify
the
species
in question;
it would
be very
unlikely that the Grasshopper
Sparrow, a
bird of the dry, upland
prairie,
wouJd
Vermillion.
Occurrence
of Le Conte's Sparrow
in
Deuel
County
was
verified
by two
specimens
during
the fall of 1972. On
Sept. 12, a bird was picked
up DOR in
Clear
Lake
by Walter
Rose,
former
GF&P employee.
Walter found the bird
in a location
where he theorized
that it
occur near the wetlands
that Le Conte's
Sparrow favors.
It is quite possible that
Le Conte's Sparrow nests in some of our
northern
counties,
and has been overlooked
during
the breeding
season.-
This
state,
JUNE,1973
from
the few
I observed
Le Conte's Sparrow
again
Oct.
1, 1972 near Fox Lake,
east of
Brandt,
Deuel County.
On this occasion
at least two, and possibly
three, birds
were observed.
One was obviously
a
juvenile,
accompanied
by a brightly
plumaged
adult.
My experience
with
Le Conte's Sparrow is that it should be
rather easily identified
in adult plumage
by the buffy coloring
that characterized
the species.
I am not fa.mIl~ar wIth th~ Sharp-taIled
Bruce
1973
Harris,
Altamont,
S. Dak.
Feb.
25,
31
WHOOPING CRANES IN CODINGTON
COUNTY-Four adult Whooping Cranes
spent nearly a week resting and feeding
in fields near Wallace, S. Dak. The
cranes were first observed on April 17by
Palmer Paulsen, a farmer living northeast of Wallace, who reported the observation to South Dakota Game, Fish
and Parks personnel. Federal personnel
of the Waubay National Wildlife Refuge
were then notified, who maintained
surveillance on the birds until they
departed on April 23. These personnel
included Refuge Manager Robert
Johnson, Assistant Manager Kent Hall
have been two pair. Refuge personnel
observed them displaying and feeding as
such on numerous occasions. Courtship
display of these rare cranes is impressive, mainly because of their large
size and beauty, even though displaying
was always of short duration.
.
Because of local news medIa cov.erage,
several
hundred
are.a resIdents
responded to the oppo.rtumty of a l?~k at
these .rare, stately bIrds. Most VIsItors
were Impressed by a look at the cra~es
and tho.seasked agreed that the speCIes
should Indeed be preserved.
and Biological Technician Ed Fromelt.
The area that attracted the cranes is
located three miles east and a half mile
north of Wallace, S. Dak. A slough of
about 70 acres in size provided water
and a roosting site, with adjacent wheat
stubble and summer fallow fields
providing feeding areas. At daybreak or
shortly after the birds would leave the
slough flying downwind a short distance
into the fields. Feeding was then interrupted only by periodic visits to the
slough for water and an occasional courtship display.
Although individual birds could not be
recognized the foursome appeared to
At approximately 11:45a.m. on April
23, Hall and Fromelt heard one of the
cranes let out several "whoops," the first
that were clearly audible. Newly appointed commissioner of the South
Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission Lawrence Kellogg was also
present. Soon all four birds were airborne, gaining altitude steadily while
circling. Within 10 minutes they were
barely visible as tiny white specks, which
gradually disappeared in a northwesterly direction, leaving us to only speculate
on their presence here and their next
stop.-Kent F. Hall, Assistant Refuge
Manager
WhoopingCranesin CodingtonCounty,April, 1973
32
I.
SOUTH
DAKOTA
BIRD
NOTES
Cit~c";'
I
RED CROSSBILLS WINTERING AT
LAKE BURKE-My
first sighting of
what I thought to be Red Crossbills was
made on Dec. 1, 1972.A small flock of 20
birds was observed on this date and on
several occasions after this. However, it
was not until Dec. 22, that I was able to
get close enough to the birds to plainly
see the crossed mandibles, and the ab-
sence of wing-bars, which would identify
them as Red Crossbills.
The flock of between20and 25birds has
spent the winter at this area, feeding on
the bumper crop of spruce cones. Mr.
Don Wilson of Burke was also able to
observe these birds with me on several
occasions.-Galen L. Steffen, Burke, S.
Dak.
The Early Birds
For the past 40years I have recorded the earliest dates of the most early birds to
come in the spring to SouthDakota. A few Robins, Grackles and Meadowlarks always
stay all winter. My record is of the main migration and I have not attempted to find
the first arrivals. I give the average date.
'"
'0
Co
tU
Species
Sparrow Hawk
Killdeer
Robin
Western Meadowlark
Red Winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
-~
"Q3
~
3-26
3-15
3-4
3-12
4-2
3-29
'"
tU
~
'0
C
tU
~
<t;
4-1
3-20
3-12
3-12
3-25
3-25
tIC
~
M
M
.~
~
4-1
4-1
3-1
3-20
4-1
3-20
C
~
~
8
M
tU
.c
:=
.-c
~
3-24
4-1
3-1
3-20
3-25
3-30
~
4-1
4-3
3-14
3-14
3-20
3-31
C
~
-'6iJ
§
.-='
'"
M
~
~
'0
t
.c
'0
M
tU
.c
'"
~
~
00 <I: U
3-27 4-10 3-25 3-20
3-20 4-1 3-20 3-19
3-1 3-18 3-12 3-6
3-10 3-19 3-10 3-12
3-20 4-1 3-20 3-15
4-10 4-15 4-11 3-20
-Harold W. Wagar
Editor's Note
By the time this issue is printed my family and I will be settled in
Puerto Rico. Marion and I want to thank everyone in South Dakota who
have been sokind to us during the past five years we spent on the prairie
and the seven years we spent in the Black Hills. Please note that all
manuscripts for publication should be sent to June Harter, Highmore, S.
Dak. 57345.-Don Adolphson
JUNE,1973
33
3n
memoriam
HERMAN F. CHAPMAN
Feb. 9, 1888 -April 8, 1973
During his last year, Herman's health had been steadily
failing, rapidly in his last month. He died in the night of April 8.
More than any other, he was responsible for the founding of
"South Dakota Ornithologists'
Union," as related by Herbert
Krause ("Bird Notes" 13:60) in his all too brief biography. For
the next 20 years he worked tirelessly, first to keep SDOU going,
later for its expanison, both in numbers and area of coverage. He
was no less intent, often outspokenly so, in conserving SDOU's
limited resources in time and space in "Bird Notes" for increasing and publicizing general knowledge of non-game bird
species of South Dakota. Not because he was against study of
game species-he
was an avid hunter until his very late years,
and was active in setting up the present Department of Game,
Fish, and Parks. But that field was being covered by
professionals. SDOU should stick to its own area, where the need
was greatest: non-game birds.
Those of us who labored well or ill in that neglected field
found Herman always a warm friend, a constant inspiration,
often a goad to more activity, but ever a stern disciplinarian for
the careless or wandering mind.
Everyone will want also to know of Lois, his wife and constant companion in the field. She is still living, though in poor
health, in a nursing home in Sioux Falls. Sadly, her memory has
suffered as well as her physical health.
-J. W. Johnson, Huron
34
SOUTH DAKOTA BIRDNOTES
c~
r~,.
.h
'~
I ~~~~~~4
""'" "'" ,., "~
""""'f'
\
/
~,.,
~
' ,\\Im~
l'I)'I..t:~I~,) 1111II
...f/
~~/(lfl(II"'",
111,.,,(
,~~-=-."
~.,//I'r="""~I'"
rrrG'
C"
Ii
Itl,', {ff
~~:II'.'d:~"""."
1
.,'111/"11,"'-,
,.../1"
=~--\~ I "-~I,
(
V ,/-"""-I
(
\\
~
~
~
II
Y~
~ -{~,.
\
~
\{\\1
"
"::...
\
~ ";Prfo".
H. F. Chapman, His Vision: S.D.O.U.
JUNE,1973
35
SouthDakotaBirdNotes
of
SOUTHDAKOTA
ORNITHOLOGIST'S
UNION
(Organized1949)
Vol. 25. No.3
SEPTEMBER.
1973
Whole
CommonFlicker
-Photo
by Willis Hall
No. 98
South Dakota Bird Notes, the Organ of South Dakota Ornithologists' Union, is sent to
Adults $4.00; Juniors 00-16) $2.00.Family Membership (husband and wife) with one
copies: Members $1.00, Non-members $1.50. All dues should be remitted to the
Dak. 57274. Published Quarterly.
Vol. 25. No.3
September,
Whole
1973
No. 98
In This Number. . .
39
40
46
47
48
Avian Fossils in South Dakota, D. G. Adolphson
Volume Number Correction
Book Review, J. W. Johnson
Clothes-Line Cafe, Margerey R. Arbogast
General Notes of Special Interest-Peregrines
Hatched in
Captivity, Red Crossbills at Pickerel Lake, Gray-crowned
Rosy Finches in Gregory County, Surf Scoter, Changes in Names,
Pine Siskins at Pickerel Lake, Mockingbird in Aberdeen, Curve-billed
Thrasher's Stay at Gann Valley, Snowy Egrets and White-faced Ibis,
Songs and Sounds of Black-billed Cuckoo
About Birds, Irma Weyler
Winter Meeting at Sioux Falls
OFFICERS
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Editor
Librarian
50
55
56
1971-73
Byron Harrell,
1215 Valley View Circle, Vermillion
Bruce Harris, Clear Lake
57069
57266
57345
57006
57345
57274
DIRECTORS
Rapid City; Nelda Holden, Brookings;
Lee Eberly, Vermillion.
Jr.,
For Term Expiring 1974: Herman Chilson, Webster;
Rapid City; L. M. Baylor, Rapid City.
For Term Expiring 1975: Byron Harrell,
Sioux Falls; B. J. Rose, Pierre; June Harter,
38
Vermillion;
Highmore.
Bruce Harris,
J. W. Johnson,
Clear Lake; N. R. Whitney
.
Huron;
Herbert
Krause,
President's Poge
I AM happy to announce the formation
of the Editorial Committee for South
Dakota Bird Notes. Four of our members
have kindly agreed to serve in this
capacity. The persons selected are
knowledgeable about birds in particular
and about special parts of the state in
particular. The committee will consist of
Herbert Krause, Sioux Falls; Bruce
Harris, Clear Lake; J. W. Johnson,
Huron;
and
Les
Baylor, Rapid City. As
described in the last
issue, each paper will
be
read
before
publication by one of
these
committee
members or at times
by another
knowledgeable person as
well as by the editor.
Any pa per by an
Editorial Committee member will be
read by a different member. We hope
this procedure will contribute to the
qualitative improvement of the journal.
-A high standard of accuracy can
be
encouraged
by
the
Editor
and the Editorial Committee. They
cannot, however, have as much effect on
the quantity of material published which
is determined by the efforts of active
members preparing papers and on
financial resources. At the present time
we are financially able to publish more
papers than we have been receiving. This
certainly does not mean that there is a
dearth of things left to learn about South
Dakota birds; the forthcoming CheckList will indicate there is still much to
learn. Does the shortage indicate that
less field work is being done or that less
SEPTEMBER,1973
of it is being prepared for publication in
"Bird Notes." Perhaps the Check-List
Committee members have written less
because of the many hours devoted to
their important task. Perhaps effects of
age and moving out of the state has not
been balanced by new young members
and those who have moved into the state.
I can speculate but I do not know the
reason; I mention it now since we all
should be aware of the problem.
Two approaches come to mind. One
way is to encourage the preparation of
notes or papers on observations already
made or being made in the normal activities of our members. It is hard to say
how effective periodic exhortations on
this subject may be. I suspect the CheckList will help to provide the observer
information he needs to decide on the
importance of his observations.
Another
approach
is
through
organization or projects. Goal directed
observations are much more likely to
provide publishable material than are
casual ones. The cooperative effort of the
Check-List has already provided some
direction. In a limited way we have done
this in scheduling our field meetings in
interesting parts of the state. We could
organize our own special surveys such as
of colonial species. We could make
special efforts to fill in details of breeding
ranges of selected species; important
data would come from such an effort on
even our common species. Special
studies of banding returns of birds
captured in South Dakota could be made.
When the Check-List is completed, it
might be a good time to initiate some sort
of cooperative study.-Byron E. Harrell
39
AvianFossilsof SouthDakota
D. G. Adolphson
THE
IDENTIFICATION
and
classification of avian fossils, the forerunners of modern birds, help us understand the process and direction of
evolution that has produced the birds we
now see and enjoy. The study of the
specimens
and their ancient
environment sheds light on the ecological
conditions of past ages, including such
factors as climate, plants, food supplies,
competition, landscapes, and reasons for
extinction.
Ancient
bird forms have been
preserved as fossils throughout most of
the world. Because of the fragility of
avian remains, however, the fossils are
not common in all sedimentary rocks,
but are restricted to certain fine-grained,
relatively undisturbed geologic formations. Most avian pones found as
fossils are from the limbs of the birds.
Due to their fragile nature, complete
specimens or even skull fragments
rarely occur.
Although the first known appearance of
birds was during the Jurassic age in
Europe, they did not appear again until
the Late Cretaceous age (see Table 1).
Jurassic forms were terrestrial;
the
known Cretaceous forms were aquatic,
and the known Tertiary forms were
terrestrial.
The most ancient bird fossil found in
South Dakota (Macdonald, 1954) was
uncovered from the Pierre Shale of Late
Cretaceous age in Custer and Pennington
Counties. The bird was a flightless
toothed water species and was of the
Order Hesperornithiformes.
There are
no living members of this order.
Twenty-five remains dating from the
Oligocene,
Miocene,
and Pliocene
Epochs of the Tertiary period, have been
40
found in southwestern South Dakota
representing the Orders Ciconiiformes
(herons and storks),
Anseriformes
(water-fowl), Falconiformes (birds of
prey), Galliformes (chicken-like birds),
Ralliformes (cranes and rails), and
Strigiformes (owls).
Bird species represented include One
flamingo, four ducks, two geese, two
buteos, three Old World vultures, two
quail, one grouse, one guan, three with
characteristics
like chachalacas, five
cranes, and one owl.
The following list of avian forms
(Macdonald, 1951; Harksen and Macdonald, 1969) is compiled by fauna,
formation or age depending upon the
availability of information regarding the
individual specimens or species.
The faunal list has been kept in the
most simplified practical form, listing
Order, Family, Genus, and Species. In
some cases, the Subfamily is shown;
however, in other cases the Species is
shown as indeterminate. The name of the
person describing the type and the year
the type was described is given after its
species name.
CRETACEOUS
LATE
CRETACEOUS-PIERRE
SHALE
Order Hesperornithiformes
Hesperornis regalis Marsh, 1872
TERTIARY
EARLY
OLIGOCENECHADRONIAN-CHADRON
FORMATION
Order Galliformes
Family Cracidae
Procrox brevipes
Tordoff and Macdonald, 1957
Order Ralliformes
Bathornis veredus Wetmore. 1942
Era
Period
Quaternary
Epoch
Holocene
Pleistocene
Pliocene +
<:)
'0
N
0
c
u
Modern Man
Stone-age man
Great variety of
mammals. Elephants
widespread.
Flowering
Oligocene+
Ancestral pigs and
apes.
Ancestral horses,
cattle and elephants
appear.
Extinction of Dinosaurs
and Ammonites
40
Late+
Cretaceous
Early
60
70
135
Mammals and Flowering
plants slowly appear.
Dinosaurs
Jurassic
at
25
Paleocene
::E
12
full development.
Ancestral dogs and bears.
- Tertiary
0
rn
<l)
plants
Age of Time
(millions of years)
.01
lto2
Miocene+
Eocene
<:)
'0N
Life-form
and Ammonites
abundant. Birds and
mammals appear.
180
Table l.--Geologic time scale for the last 180million years (after Holmes, 1965,p.
157).
+Epochs in which avian fossils have been found in South Dakota.
MIDDLE OLIGOCENE-DRELLANBRULE FORMATION (LOWER)
Order Ralliformes
Badistornis aramus Wetmore, 1940
Bathornis d. celeripes Wetmore
Order Anseriformes
Anatidae,
indeterminate
(Eggs)
Farrington, 1899
Order Falconiformes
Buteo grangeri Wetmore and Case,
1934
LATE OLIGOCENE-WHITNEY ANBRULE FORMATION (UPPER)
Order Galliformes
Family Cracidae
Palaeonossax senectus Wetmore, 1956
Cracoidid n. gen.
Order Ralliformes
Gnotornis aramieltis Wetmore, 1942
Bathornis cursor Wetmore
SEPTEMBER,1973
EARLY
MIOCENE-MONROE
CREEK
FORMATION-SHARPS
FORMATION
Neognathae.
indeterminate
Macdonald, 1972
Order Falconiformes
Family Accipitridoe
Subfamily Aegypiinae
Arikarornis macdonaldi Howard, 1966
Order Galliformes
Family Phasianidae
Subfamily Odontophorinae
Miortyx aldeni Howard, 1966
MIDDLE MIOCENE-FLINT
HILL
FAUNA-BATESLAND
FORMATION
Order Ciconiiformes
Family Phoenicopteridae
Megapaloelodas connectens Miller,
1944
41
Order Anseriformes
Family Paranyrocidae
Paranyroca magna Miller and Compton, 1939
Family Anatidae
Subfamily Dendrocygninae
Dendrochen robusta Miller, 1944
Subfamily Antinae
Querquedula integra Miller, 1944
Order Falconiformes
Family Accipitridae
Subfamily Buteoninae
Indeterminate buteonine Miller, 1944
Subfamily Aegypiinae
Palaeoborus
rosatus
Miller and
Compton, 1939
Order Galliformes
Family Cracidae
Ortalis pollicaris Miller, 1944
Family Tetraonidae
Tympanuchus stirtoni Miller, 1944
Family Phasianidae
Subfamily Odontophorinae
Miortyx teres Miller, 1944
Order Strigiformes
Family Strigidae
Strix dakota Miller, 1944
EARLY PLIOCENE-BIG
SPRINGS
CANYON
FAUNA-OGALLALA
GROUP
Order Anseriformes
Family Anatidae
Branta sp. Compton, 1935
Nettion greeni Brodkorb, 1964
Order Fa1coniformes
Family Accipitridae
Neophrontops dakotensis Compton,
1935
CRETACEOUS
Seas covered much of central North
America during the Cretaceous period
which ended about 70 million years ago.
The climate was rather uniform and
warm.
During this period the only known birds
in existence on the North American
continent were diving, fish-eating birds
of the shallow, warm seas which once
covered the Great Plains and two tern42
like birds which inhabited the edge of the
seas.
I
LATE CRETACEOUS
Remains
of one of the extinct
Cretaceous birds, Hesperornis, which
means "Western
Bird,"
was first
discovered in December, 1870,by Marsh
(1872) near Smoky Hill River in Western
Kansas. It was a flightless marine form
about three feet in height equipped with
sharp conical teeth and had habits very
similar to those of the Loon. The bird
swam the warm shallow seas diving and
catching fish.
Remains were first found in South
Dakota (Green, 1962) near Fairburn,
Custer County, by James D. Bump in 1946
and recently in a quarry near Rapid City,
Pennington
County. Other recent
discoveries have been made in different
statigraphic
horizons
in widely
separated
geographic
locations
in
Canada.
TERTIARY
During the Tertiary period, which followed the withdrawal of the. Cretaceous
seas, a blanket of continental sediments
was deposited from Saskatchewan to
Texas along the eastern front of the
newly forming
Rocky Mountains.
Erosional processes acting on these
sediments in South Dakota created the
White River Badlands. The Badlands
extend from the southeastern slopes of
the Black Hills eastward to the south
central part of the state. Fossil bird
remains have been found in strata of the
Oligocene,
Miocene, and Pliocene
Epochs of the Tertiary Period. The
fossils range in age from 40 to 11 million
years. Rocks of the Paleocene and
Eocene Epochs are missing in southwestern South Dakota.
EARLY OLIGOCENE
The Early Oligocene in South Dakota is
represented by the Chadron Formation
of the White River Group. The Chadron is
I
l
a light-greenish sandy clay underlying
the Brule Formation and forms the basal
formation of the White River Group. It
rests unconformably on the Pierre Shale.
Procrox brevipes was discovered in a
fresh-water limestone deposit at the top
of the Chadron Formation in Pennington
County. This fossil cracid is the oldest
known species of the family. The bird
was a medium-sized cracid with outstanding flying ability and probably was
a tree-top dweller. It had shorter legs and
toes and thicker claws than modern
members of the family Cracidae including the curassows,
guans, and
chachalacas, which are Neotropical in
distribution and range in the present day
from the lower Rio Grande Valley,
Texas, south to Argentina.
Bathornis veredus was described by
Wetmore of the American Museum of
Natural History to have crane-like
characteristics.
MIDDLE OLIGOCENE
All birds found in strata of the Middle
Oligocene age in the Badlands are from
the Scenic Member of the Brule Formation. The Brule directly overlies the
Chadron Formation and consists of the
Scenic and Poleslide Members. Clay
sediments of the Scenic are uniform,
widely distributed and are abundantly
fossiliferous.
The petrified egg is believed to be of an
anatine bird (duck family) which would
seem to indicate the presence of aquatic
birds in the early Tertiary
times
<Farrington, 1899),
Badistornis aramus and Bathormis d.
Celeripes were identified by Wetmore
(1942) to be crane-like birds.
A nearly complete skull of the genus
Buteo was discovered in 1932.This group
of birds is widely distributed over the
world today. It includes the species in
North America such as the redSEPTEMBER,1973
shouldered and red-tailed hawks. Buteo
grangeri was slightly larger than the
modern red-tailed hawk. Hawks of this
general type are also found in the
Pliocene and Miocene of Late Tertiary
time, especially in the deposits of Sioux
County, Nebraska. This form from South
Dakota carries the line back earlier and
demonstrates the antiquity of origin of
certain extant forms of birds of prey
(Wetmore and Case, 1934).
LATE OLIGOCENE
Fossils from the Late Oligocene were
found in the Poleslide Member of the
Brule Formation in the Badlands. Fossil
mammals
are numerous and wellpreserved in the strata.
Galliformes found include a guan
(PalaeonossaxL This record extends the
historical distribution of the strictly
American family Cracidae back into the
Upper Oligocene. The modern families
are now Neotropical in distribution. The
two ralliformes, Gnotornis aramielus
and Bathornis cursor, had crane-like
characteristics (Wetmore, 1942).
EARLY MIOCENE
Neognathae,
indeterminate
was
identified (Macdonald, 1972) from two
bone fragments collected from ant
mounds in the Monroe Creek Formation,
Shannon County. This is the only indication of birds in the Monroe Creek
Formation and "possibly they (bone
fragments) belonged to a bird about the
size of a quail, but further identification
is not possible (Macdonald, 1972,p. 11)."
In 1964, members of the Los Angeles
County Museum, Los Angeles, California
found a new genus and species of raptor
and a new species of quail in the Sharps
Formation,
Shannon
County. The
Aegypiinae
specimen
represents
a
diurnal raptor comparable in size of the
red-tailed hawk, Buteo borealis, but
more closely resembling the North
43
American fossil members of the Old abundantly in the Late Oligocene of
France.
World Vulture subfamily (Aegypiinae).
The goose, Paranyroca
magna. is
These species were more eagle-like than
the living members of the group. believed to be a large bird, swan size, but
Arikarornis macdonaldi (Howard, 1966) with characteristics of the diving ducks.
is one of the smallest of the fossil
Fossil bone fragments indicate that
Aegypiinae and represents a new genus
Dendrochen robusta is a tree-duck, the
and species. North American records of
earliest known record of this group.
the Aegypiinae are represented from
Tertiary horizons in Nebraska, South
Querquedula int~gra is very close to
Dakota, Oregon, California, Mexico,
the genera of ducks living in North
Nebraska, New Mexico, and Nevada.
America today.
Howard (1966) states that there is a
The incomplete fossil bone suggest that
possibility of a generic relationship
between A. macdonaldi (Sharp's For- the indeterminate buteonine represents a
mation raptor) and the Flint Hill buteonine hawk or small eagle about the
aegypiine, Palaeoboues rosatus.
size of a turkey vulture.
Miortyx
aldeni.
this
galliform
fragment of left humerus was collected
by H. Garbani of J. R. Macdonald field
party, in a gully near Sharp's Corner,
Shannon County. The specimen
is
characterized by the American Quail
(Howard, 1966). M. aldeni is the largest
in size of the fossil quails found in Tertiary deposits from Saskatchewan, South
Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, Kansas, and
Florida.
MIDDLE MIOCENE
Field parties from the Museum of
Paleontology
of the University
of
California (Miller, 1944) collected fossil
vertebrates from a quarry known as
Flint Hill, Bennett County, South Dakota.
Specimens were found in a stream
channel lens of silt, in the upper part of
the Batesland Formation, at the edge of a
small area of Badlands. Ten bird forms
were found from eight different families.
There were three new genera and seven
new species described by Miller (1944).
Miller and Compton (1939), in an earlier
expedition to the area, described one new
genus and family and one additional
species from this horizon.
.
Megapaloelodas connectens is the first
flamingo to be found in the Tertiary of
North America.
Flamingos
appear
44
Palaeoborus rosatus is from the Old
World vulture group which is found from
the Miocene to the Pleistocene.
Modern relatives of the galliform bird
Ortalis pollicaris are Neotropical in
distribution.
Tympanuchus stirtoni was the same
size as the modern prairie chicken and is
closely related to the grouse.
Miortyx teres is related to the North
American quail. Howard (1966) found a
generic relationship between M. aldeni
(Sharp's Formation quail) and M. teres
(Flint Hill quail).
The fossil, Strix dakota, was the size of
the screech owl and is closely related to
the barred owl. It is the only known
representative of the order Strigiformes
in the Tertiary of North America after
the Eocene. S. dakota was short-legged,
robust and forest-dwelling.
EARLY PLIOCENE
The fossil
birds,
Branta
and
Neophrontops
dakotensis.
were
preserved in the Big Springs Canyon
fauna of the Ogallala Group and were
collected by Museum of Paleontology of
the University of California (Compton,
1935), The area is near the source of the
Little White River, Bennett County. The
fossils were found in a channel filled with
rather coarse unconsolidated sandstone
and clay balls.
Compton (1935) described Branta from
a fragmentary end of a humerus which
does not agree in size with any of the
described species of this goose from the
Early Pliocene. Branta represents eit}ler
a new species or a small race of Canada
goose Branta canadensis.
Neophrontops dakotensis is closely
related to the Old World vulture
Neophron and Compton suggests that
Neophrontops
may
represent
a
migration of Neophron types to North
America.
Fossil remains of the teal duck, Nettion
greeni, were found by Morton Green and
Robert W. Wilson, July 22, 1963from the
lower part of the Ash Hollow Formation
of the Ogallala Group near Tuthill,
Bennett County (Brodkorb, 1964). N.
greeni is similar to certain southern
hemisphere teals. It probably was able to
rise from the water in rapid vertical
flight (Brodkorb, 1964).
SUMMARY
The ecological aspects of the geological
period can only be described when a
large assemblage of fossils are found
from a fauna horizon. Habitats can be
described for the Big Spring Canyon
fauna, Early Pliocene, and the Flint Hill
fauna of Middle Miocene of the midTertiary. Remains of geese and relatives
of vultures in Early Pliocene indicate an
environment of open plains and humid
climate.
Miller (1944) states the evidence of the
fossil birds suggest "The Miocene, as
generally agreed, was a less arid and
warmer epoch than the Pliocene in this
region-the
river valleys of Bennett
County were even better wooded and the
grasslands probably less continuous and
SEPTEMBER,1973
possibly restricted
among the trees."
to small openings
Comparison of the fossil birds with
their modern descendents shows that
many families and some genera were
established during the Miocene epoch
and have remained relatively stable
since. Evolutionary change of birds in
Late Tertiary was less rapid than in
mammals. No avian fossils are known
from Late Miocene deposits in South
Dakota. Descriptive conditions of the
Early Oligocene, Late Oligocene and
Early Miocene epochs in South Dakota
are difficult because of the scarcity of
representatives.
REFERENCES
Brodkorb, Pierce, 1964,A Pliocene Teal
from South Dakota: Quarterly Jour. of
the Florida Acad. of Sci., v. 27, no.!.
Compton, L. V., 1935, Two avian fossils
from the lower Pliocene of South
Dakota Am. Jour. Sci. 5th Ser., v. 30,
no. 178, p. 343-348.
Farrington, O. C., 1899,A fossil egg from
South Dakota: Field Col. Mus., Pub. 1,
p. 191.200.
Green, Morton, 1962,South Dakota birds
with teeth: South Dakota Bird Notes, v.
14, no. 1, p. 14-16.
Gregory, J. T., 1942, Pliocene vertebrates from Big Spring Canyon, S.
Dak.: Univ. Calif. Publ. Bull. Dept.
Geol. Sci., v. 26, p. 307-446.
Harksen, J. D., and Macdonald, J. R.,
1969,Type sections for the Chadron and
Brule Formations of the White River
Oligocene in the Big Badlands, South
Dakota: S. Dak. Geol. Survey, Report
of Invst. No. 99, p. 9-21.
Holmes, Arthur, 1965, Principles of
Physical Geology, Ronald Press Co.,
New York.
45
--
Howard, Hildegard, 1966, Two fossil
birds from the Lower Miocene of South
Dakota: Los Angeles County Museum
of Natural History, Los Angeles, Calif.
Macdonald, J. R., 1951,The fossil vertebrata of South Dakota: Guide Book
Fifth Field Conference of the Society of
Vertebrate Paleontology in Western
South Dakota,
The Museum
of
Geology of the S. Dak. School of Mines
and Technology, p. 63-74.
, 1954, Prehistoric Birds:
South Dakota Bird Notes, v. 6, No.2, p.
24,27.
,,, ,... .,. ,.
Macdonald, L. J., 1972, Monroe Creek
(Early Miocene) Microfossils from the
Wounded Knee Area, South Dakota: S.
Dak. Geol. Survey, Report of Invst. No.
105.
actions of the Kansas
Science, vol. 70, no. 1.
Academy
of
Wetmore, Alexander, 1942, Two new
fossil birds from the Oligocene of South
Dakota: Smithsonian Inst. Misc. ColI.,
v. 101, no. 14, Pub. 3680, p. 1-6.
. , . . . . , . . . , ., 1956,A fossil guan from the
Oligocene of South Dakota: Condor, v.
58, no. 3, p. 234-235.
Wetmore, Alexander, and Case, E. C.,
1934, Skull of a fossil bird from the
Badlands of South Dakota (abstract):
Science N. S., v. 76, p. 546.
1934, A new fossil hawk
from the Oligocene beds of South
Dakota:
Michigan
Univ.
Mus.
Paleontology Contro., v. 4, no. 8, p. 129132.
, . , . , , , ' . . . .,
Marsh,
O. C., 1872, Preliminary
description of Hesperornis regalis,
with notice of four other new species of
Cretaceous birds: Am. Jour. ScL, v. 3,
no. 3, p. 360-365.
Miller, A. H., 1939,Avian fossils from the
lower Miocene of South Dakota (abstract): Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., v. 50, no.
12, pt. 2, p. 1973.
,.,.,..,.,.
,,1944, An avifauna from the
lower Miocene of South Dakota: Calif.
Univ. Dept. Geol. ScL Bull., v. 27, no. 4,
p. 85-99.
Miller A. H., and Compton, L. V., 1939,
Two fossil birds from the lower
Miocene of South Dakota: Condor" V.
41, no. 4, p. 153-156.
t
Blackand WhiteWarbler
Tordoff, H. B., and Macdonald, J. R.,
1957, A new bird (Family Cracidae)
from the early Oligocene of South
Dakota: Auk, v. 74, no. 2, p. 174-184.
Walker, M. V., 1967, Revival of Interest
in the Toothed Birds of Kansas, Trans46
-Courtesy
Wilson Bulletin
CORRECTION
The "Bird Notes" for June, 1973,
should be numbered Vol. XXV instead of
XXVI.
BookReview
J. W. Johnson
BORN TO SING, An Interpretation and
World Survey of Bird Song, by Charles
Hartshorne. Indiana University Press.
1973. Illustrated
with sound spectrograms, tables, and musical scores. xvi
+ 304pp., including Glossary, 15pages of
references, divided: I Books and articles; II Sound recordings, 32 pages of
Index, divided: Birds, Persons, and
Topics. $10.00.
A fast once-{)ver of this book made
clear my peculiar lack of competence for
its review. Discouraged, I let it lay for
weeks, convinced it was completely
outside any reasonable handling on my
part, yet unwilling not to do what I
could to bring it to the attention of people
interested in birds and their songs. I
knew of no one both able and willing to
take the time to review it. Then, in search
of inspiration--()r more probably, an
excuse, I found it in the first page of the
preface.
"The primary aim of this book is to
advance what P. Szoke has well called
biomusicology, the study of music not
just in man but in musical or singing
animals generally. Szoke reasonably
holds that to work in this field one should
be expert both in musicology and in the
appropriate branches of biology, especially ornithology. Few persons can
altogether meet these requirements. The
deficiency I feel most painfully is in
music."
While proficient in none of these, my
most obvious lack is in music. Thus I
cannot judge how well founded is the
author's feeling of inadequacy. Hence,
with these caveats of both author and
reviewer, the reader is warned. But
anyone interested in the subject may yet
find enjoyable adventure in this new
SEPTEMBER,1973
assessment of material, giving another
dimension in understanding of birds and
their music. I can only hope his pleasure
in the book is equal to mine.
The author has worked in widely
separated parts of the United States and
has spent a total of seven years in other
countries: Japan, East Africa, Mexico,
Costa Rica, Panama,
Nepal, and
Australia, to name a few. In addition to
his own field work and recordings, he has
made wide use of data collected by
others, an obvious necessity in a search
for meaning and purpose in this area. His
field is thus worldwide. But the great
availability of material from Europe,
North and Central America has not been
allowed to obscure that from Asia,
Africa, South America, and Australia.
While modern technology accounts for
most of the data used and has made
serious study in this field possible,
detailed
descriptions
by earlier
musically oriented listeners are also
quoted.
While birds have the main focus,
mammals,
including
marine,
amphibians, and insects are not at all
ignored. Available data on them are
considered where appropriate.
Early, the author arranges common
qualitative musical terms, such as unity,
diversity, profound, beautiful, etc. into a
rational order for ease in understanding
and describing birds' songs and comparing them to human music. This serves
to make broadly understandable
his
analysis of individual singing.
The data make clear that birds seem
not to have the mental equipment for
sustained musical compositions. Most
bird songs last less than 20 seconds. But
birds do have advantages. For one, they
can sing more than one note at a time.
(Continued
on Page 54)
47
Clothes-Line Cafe
Margerey
WHEN WE put sunflower seeds and
suet in our feeders on the clothes-line, we
welcomed all winter birds and their
watchers to our back yard. One might
consider us optimistic to expect birds to
find us here so close to the business
district of Aberdeen but we knew there
were some factors in our favor. Many
migratory birds find us each year, trees
and shrubs are abundant and it is the
nature of birds to go where there is food.
Other factors were the plentiful supply
of sunflowers raised by local farmers and
their generosity in allowing us to gather
all we wanted after the harvesters had
done their job. Before too much snow had
fallen we collected about 150 big heads.
We thought they would be enough to feed
the birds all winter. We were wrong. The
first few seed heads attracted so many
Red Cross bills , Pine Siskins, Purple
Finches, Evening Grosbeaks and others
that by the end of November we had to
resort to buying seeds.
Buell
Luce
helped
with
the
preparations for our project. He furnished the transportation to and from the
fields, converted coat hangers into
holders for the sunflower heads (Fig. 1)
and made some practical feed trays from
corrugated boxes, 3f4x 3f4inch sticks and
an assortment of washers and screws
(Fig. 2).
We began by hanging the sunflower
heads with the seed side turned up. Then
we found that we could deter the House
Sparrows when we reversed the seed
heads and it didn't seem to bother the
siskins and cross bills. It also prevented
an accumulation of snow on the seeds.
48
R. Arbogast
The birds responded well to our invitation. One morning 110 little Pine
Siskins fought for places on the four
feeders. A siskin with beak open, head
low, wings and tail spread looks quite
fierce. At least holding their own with the
siskins were 15 Red Crossbills. All they
had to do to settle a dispute was to thrust
their caliper-like beaks in the direction of
the siskins.
The gentle timid Purple Finches were
another matter. They stood no chance
with the siskins so they waited patiently
on the trees and wires or ate seed that
was spilled on the ground until the others
had eaten their fill and moved on. In
response to that situation we sprinkled
seeds on the ground even though it tended
to attract more House Sparrows. Sixteen
was the highest number of finches
counted at one time.
Other birds included a pair of Whitebreasted Nuthatches. When they wanted
something to eat they just zoomed in,
scattered birds in all directions, selected
a seed or peanut, flew off to eat it, then
zoomed back for more.
The Chickadees, Hairy Woodpeckers
and Downy Woodpeckers did not come as
regularly nor stay as long as they did in
previous years. The competition might
have been too much for them.
On some days, as a bonus, the Evening
Grosbeaks would stop by for a snack.
Seven was the most we ever had at one
time, but they were at the Luce place
every day in numbers up to 19. Mr. Luce
also was favored with the continued
presence of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Other bird guests were a Fox Sparrow
on Oct. 31and Nov. 1, a Common Grackle
with a broken wing that stayed until Jan.
----
8, and a pair of Common Flickers that
came occasionally.
As the time approached when we would
have to say good-by to our winter friends
we noticed some of their changing colors.
The golds and black of the siskins, the red
and black of the crossbills, and the
raspberry of the finches became fresher
and brighter. During the season I had
watched the plumage of one young
crossbill change from yellow, red and
gray to mostly all red and black.
The winter of 1972-73was a wonderful
experience. As our clothes-line cafe
closed for the season we were thankful
for the pleasure provided by our guests.
We hope they will return.-514
South
First Street, Aberdeen, S. Dak. 57401
(The author has confirmed the fact
that the siskins ate sunflower seeds on
the seed heads and in the trays after the
crossbills had departed.-Ed.)
A
-
Squeeze Shut
1- Straighten
Out
Fig. 1. Coat Hanger Holder
Bend to Make
/ a Platform
for Heads
12-inches
For Smaller Trays
---.------.---------
Use Single Center
Pole
15xl0xl-inches
Fig. 2. Feeding Tray
SEPTEMBER,1973
49
GenerfJ/
Notesof SpecifJ//nterest
PEREGRINES
HATCHED IN CAPTIVITY-Twenty-one young Peregrines
were the products this year of a captive
breeding program which many persons
thought impossible. They were the first
to be produced by the Cornell Raptor
Program of Ithaca, New York.
The previous two springs brought
success in eagle and buteo production but
the Peregrine score both seasons was
zero. Through careful handling and
commodious flight cages, the Cornell
project has provided an environment in
which peregrines can breed. For many
years there has been a question as to
whether peregrines would breed in
captivity. In the wild, peregrine courtship and pair
bonding
involves
magnificent flight displays which cannot
be reproduced under captive conditions.
All the young Peregrines were hatched
in special incubators. Many were handfed but some were cared for by adult
birds.
The Cornell program is designed to
keep a viable stock of peregrines
available for breeding in the wild as soon
as chlorinated hydrocarbon
residues
decline
in the environment.
The
peregrine once bred in most eastern
states but was extirpated in the region by
the early 1960's. Their known susceptibility to hard pesticides indicates that
peregrines probably were eradicated by
the chemicals.
The Massachusetts Audubon Society
maintains an account which helps support the raptor program. Tax deductible
contributions may be made by sending a
check made out to Peregrine Fund50
Massachusetts Audubon Society. The
address is Massachusetts
Audubon
Society,
Lincoln,
MA
01773.Massachusetts Audubon Newsletter
+++
RED CROSSBILLS AT PICKEREL
LAKE-Agnes and I were surprised to
see a male and female Red Crossbill
feeding on our corn cobs on April 4, 1973.
This is the first time in over 20 years that
we have seen them eating corn.
On April 8, one male Red Crossbill ate
sunflower seeds at our hanging Mason
jar feeders. At different times in the past
we have sighted them feeding on the
ground and in the trees, but this was the
first time that they fed at our hanging
feeders.
These beautiful birds fascinate us
because we never know when they are
going to appear, or what they are going to
do next.-Herman
P. Chilson
+++
GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES IN
GREGORY COUNTY-Dn Sunday, Dec.
2, 1972,I received a telephone call from
my employer, Mr. Dean Frank, whose
place of business and residence is located
two miles west of Burke along Highway
18. Knowing of my interest in birds he
called to tell me about six unusual birds
that were feeding on his lawn, and, as he
explained it, flying against the picture
window of his house as though trying to
get inside. I at once drove out there,
taking my binocular and "Golden Field
Guide." However, as is so often the case,
the birds were gone when I arrived. We
searched the area around the buildings
but we could not find them. I asked Mr.
Frank to look through my field guide to
find a picture of the birds he had seen.
When he came to the illustration of the
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, he said,
"Those are the birds I saw. No doubt
about it." As the birds could not be found
again that day, I was unable to verify his
sighting. I thought that if the birds stayed
in the area I would get a chance to see
them while I was at work in the days that
followed.
However, the finches were not seen
again until Dec. 26. On that day, as I was
going to my car about 4 :30 in the afternoon, I noticed several birds that
looked different. They were on the roof of
a building with a small group of House
Sparrows. After I got the binocular and
field guide from my car, Mr. Frank and I
walked to where we could get a close look
at the birds. We both observed them with
the eight-power binocular at a distance of
25 feet. We noted the gray crowns contrasting with the black foreheads, and
the pinkish coloring on the wings and
sides. I asked Mr. Frank if they were the
same kind of birds he had seen earlier in
the month. He said they were exactly the
same. Upon checking the illustration in
the field guide I was able to confirm our
sighting of Gray-crowned Rosy Finches.
The colors and markings on the birds we
saw matched the illustration in the
"Golden Field Guide." In fact, I have
never seen a better illustration in any of
my other bird books.
We watched the finches until dark and
saw them go to roost under the eaves of
the building the way sparrows do. We
saw a total of five finches. However, in
the days that followed, Mr. Frank noted
that six birds were always present.
Bent's Life History states that it is a
common practice for these birds to roost
under the eaves of buildings, and, in
some cases, inside of open buildings. I
also found that Bent lists them as being
seen only casually east of the Black Hills.
Upon checking my back issues of "South
SEPTEMBER,1973
Dakota Bird N;otes," I found only one
other record of a sighting east of the
Black Hills. That was the single Bird
sighted at Volin in 1961(Bird Notes XIII :
36).
On Jan. 17, 1973, Mr. Don Wilson,
Burke, had an opportunity to observe the
finches in company with Mr. Frank and
me. We don't have a record of the last
date they were present, but Mr. Frank
saw them nearly every day until approximately the first of March.-Galen
L. Steffen, Burke, S. Dak.
+++
SURF SCOTER-Dn Oct. 17, 1972, Mr.
Gerald L. Peterson, a student at South
Dakota State University from Wheaton,
Minn., submitted for identification a
duck obtained while hunting the previous
day. The specimen proved to be an immature female Surf Scoter (Melanitta
perspicillata). It was shot Oct. 16 at the
north end of Lake Traverse,
approximately one-fourth of a mile south of
what is locally known as Reservation
Dam (Section 23; T. 127N., R. 47 W.). Mr.
Peterson was hunting on a resident
Minnesota hunting license, and although
the exact kill site was in Minnesota,
according to Mr. Peterson, it was" . . .
only 100or so yards removed. . . " from
the South Dakota line. The specimen has
been preserved as part of the South
Dakota State University bird collection
in the Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries Sciences.
In Roberts' "Birds of Minnesota"
(1932: 276), the Surf Scoter is reported as
occurring rarely throughout Minnesota
on migration, with several records from
the southwestern and western portions of
the state, particularly in the Heron Lake
vicinity. Apparently it is more regular in
occurrence on Lake Superior, where
most observations
are obtained in
51
autumn and consist of females or young
of the year.-John M. Gates, Brookings,
S. Dak.
(South Dakota has five records, all
specimens, of the Surf Scoter, with the
first occurring in 1914.-Ed.)
+++
CHANGES IN NAMES-When
the
Thirty-second Supplement to the A.O.U.
Check-List was published in The Auk in
April (90: 411-419)it effected a number of
changes in the South Dakota Check-List.
Some of the changes involved the Latin
names only and complied with revisions
in the International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature.
Other changes were
made for taxanomic reasons or to in
some way improve upon the common
names.
Since the policy of South Dakota Ornithologists' Union is to follow current
A.O.U. usage the following list, in
check-list order, covers the changes in
common names as they pertain to the
birds of South Dakota. Contributors of
articles to "South Dakota Bird Notes"
should note the changes before submitting material to be published. An
asterisk denotes the new species name.
Common Egret is now Great Egret+.
Blue Goose and Snow Goose+ are color
morphs of the same species, which
regularly interbreed.
Widgeon becomes Wigeon+ to agree
with the British spelling.
Northern
Shoveler
becomes
Shoveler+.
Common Scoter is now Black Scoter+.
Harlan's Hawk is eliminated as a
species, being now considered a morph of
the Red-tailed Hawk+.
Pigeon Hawk becomes Merlin + , to
correspond with international usage.
Sparrow Hawk is now American
Kestrel + .
Upland Plover becomes
Upland
Sandpiper+ (the bird is not a plover).
Yellow-shafted
and Red-shafted
52
Flickers are now considered races of the
single species Common Flicker+ as they
regularly interbreed.
Traill's Flycatcher is now separated
into two species, the Willow Flycatcher +
(fitz-bew song type) and Alder Flycatcher + (fee-bee-o song type).
Catbird becomes Gray Catbird+.
Robin is renamed American Robin +.
Parula Warbler becomes Northern
Parula+.
Myrtle
Warbler
and Audubon's
Warbler regularly interbreed and are
now considered races of a single species,
the Yellow-rumped Warbler+.
Yellowthroat
becomes
Common
Yellowthroat +.
Baltimore
and Bullock's
Orioles
become races of Northern Oriole+
because they regularly interbreed.
White-winged,
Slate-colored
and
Oregon Juncos are now considered races
of the one species, Dark-eyed Junco+.June Harter
+++
PINE SISKINS AT PICKEREL LAKEAgnes filled the bird feeders on Sunday,
March 25, and we were surprised to find
them almost empty when we returned on
March 28, 1973.The feed normally lasts a
week or 10days at this time of the year so
we assumed that the recent cold snap had
increased the appetite of the chickadees
and the nuthatches. Then we were
amazed to see four Pine Siskins at three
feeders. This was a new experience. We
could not recall a single instance in the
past 20 years when we had seen Pine
Siskins at our hanging Mason jar feeders.
We were perturbed when the siskins
threw out eight or 10 sunflower seeds for
everyone that they ate. Now we knew
why the feed had disappeared so rapidly.
The siskins completely dominated the
feeders, remaining 30 minutes to an hour
at each feeding. They eventually became
so tame that they sat inside the Mason
jars half of the time while eating. It
bothered
us to see our favorite
Chickadees sit around and wait.
Bent said, "Siskins can be attracted to
feeding stations by millet seed. . .," so I
filled one Mason jar feeder completely
full of millet seed and the other four
feeders with the usual sunflower seeds.
Now for the big surprise! The siskins
avoided the millet completely and still
dominated the sunflower feeders. The
chickadees naturally flew to the unoccupied millet feeder, discovered the
millet seed, and flew away.
I later scattered millet seed on the
lawn and in no time at all we had on the
average from five to six siskins, and at
times up to 10siskins feeding at one time.
We watched the Pine Siskins closely for
any indications that they might nest in
our area but we could observe no signs of
mating or courtship behavior. Our first
observation was March 28, and the last
was May 14.
There was an unusual influx of Pine
Siskins all over eastern South Dakota.
Everett Sewell and Dr. Allan Anderson
observed them in Webster, while Ken and
Patsy Husmann saw a group in
Brookings. Don Allen fed them in
Watertown and the James Iversons had
them at their feeder in Sioux Falls. Jim
and Lucille Johnson told us that they still
had siskins at their place on May 30.Herman P. Chilson
+++
MOCKINGBIRD IN ABERDEEN-Dn
Saturday evening and again on Sunday
morning, April 28and 29, 1973,I observed
a Mockingbird in my back yard at a
distance of 80 feet. It is the first
Mockingbird I have seen this far north by
several hundred miles.
clearly identify it by the white stripes on
the wings and tail, the over-all grayish
white underparts and darker gray on the
back.-Jerome
H. Stoudt, Research
Biologist, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and
Wildlife
+++
CURVE-BILLED THRASHER'S STAY
AT GANN VALLEY-The Curve-billed
Thrasher visiting the Irving Knight
ranch near Gann Valley from February,
1971 (EN 23:80) until Dec. 1, (BN 24:21)
remained about the house through the
winter of 1971-72.It built another "nest"
or roosting platform under the eave of
porch roof but this time a little west of the
earlier location, on the phone wires. It
ate shelled corn and dominated a Blue
Jay that also remained for the winter.
About the middle of May of 1972 it
disappeared and has not been seen
again.-J.
W. Johnson, Huron
+++
SNOWY EGRETS AND WHITE-FACED
IBIS-At 9:15 a.m. on August 10, 1972,
Gerald Thoms and I observed 12 Snowy
Egrets and two White-faced Ibis feeding
together in a scattered group in a slough.
The location was on the west side of the
road two miles west and three miles
south of Lake Preston.
Under good light conditions, within a
distance of 125 yards, we watched the
birds with our binoculars and noted the
yellow slippers on at least three of the
egrets. We used the bird book for
checking out the various points of
identification. Additional confirmation
by other viewers was not made at the
time.-Larry
Fredrickson,
Research
Biologist, Department of Wildlife and
Fish Sciences, South Dakota State
University, Brookings
The bird was observed through 7x35
Bausch and Lomb binocular and I could
SEPTEMBER,1973
53
SONGS AND SOUNDS OF BLACKBILLED CUCKOO-It becomes difficult
at times to separate for positive identification the sound of the Black-billed
Cuckoo from that of other species in his
area that are all vocalizing at the same
time.
This can become a special deterrent if
his "cousin," the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, is
in the same vicinity and has been heard
near the same time. Since cuckoos prefer
to be hidden in thick, leafy foliage, one is
hard put to be able to use sight identification.
But the ear detects a slightly higher
pitch in the Black-billed Cuckoo's notes,
more resonance, and a plaintive quality.
His tones are grouped, evenly spaced,
and never retarded toward the close of an
utterance. The last is an especially
significant distinction from the phrases
of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
BookReview
(Continued from Page 47)
The author, comparing
bird and
human composition says: "I incline to
think if a human composer were to
subject. himself to the same drastic
limitations in the time span of patterns
he could not greatly surpass the birds
and he might easily do less well. True, he
could achieve a higher proportion of pure
tones than most birds do (but this would
perhaps only accentuate the meagerness
of the result, since the mixture of tones
and semi tones is one way of securing
richness of contrast from few sounds)."
Evolution of song in the evolution of
species has not been neglected in this
study and appears as a significant factor
in the conclusions. The author shows
that his own list of about 200outstanding
singers of the world have also been
The usual routine of the Black-billed
praised by others and include a large
Cuckoo consists of a series of cu-cu-cu or majority of the most praised singers in
kuk-kuk-kuk notes repeated again and
the literature of several languages. His
again with more tone quality than the first point: If the selections are only
staccato croak of the Yellow-billed
subjective, then their preference is a
Cuckoo. At times, only one kuk or two general human subjectivity. His second:
may issue from the depths of a tall elm or If the list is of only human import, the
other full-leaved tree.
distribution over the bird families should
(be random. The fact: All are perching
This bird is heard from the middle of birds and only two, Lyrebirds, are
May through the summer, and even into Suboscine.
the fall months of September and OcBut the author's most interesting thesis
tober, and often at night. My records
will probably strain relations with the
show that I have heard him after the 10 ultra cold, scientific in bias: In addition
o'clock hour, and after midnight, as late
to all the accepted reasons birds have
as the middle of October in this southfor singing, they sing because they enjoy
eastern corner of South Dakota.it. And, even more interesting, they enjoy
Adelene M. Siljenberg, Vermillion
hearing others of their species sing.
Perhaps there is no absolute proof in the
sense that we cannot enter the relatively
simple mind of the bird and show what is
going on there. But the author's mass of
data and his rational handling of it are
convincing
enough, at least until
someone finds a better envelope for the
total of the observation.-Huron
54
SOUTH DAKOTA BI RD NOTES
AboutBirds
Irma G. Weyler
ONE OF the first questions people ask
after they have put up a bird feeder is:
How do you drive the House Sparrows
away?
Our answer is: We don't, we accept
them. We have found that they serve as
pilots to draw other birds to the feeder
and, as a rule, the house sparrows tend to
withdraw to the escape trees, like social
outcasts, when other birds come.
There are, of course, sparrow traps-a
screen enclosure, stocked with food, that
has a door that drops shut when a bird
enters. This is messy business because
desirable
birds enter as well as
sparrows. Some birders say not to put out
food that sparrows like, but they seem to
like everything, even to taking sunflower
seeds from the pendant feeders and
pecking at the suet ball. So we accept the
sparrows along with the rest and have
not considered them a problem.
This winter, however, we accidently
kept sparrows from the terrace feeders,
though we were putting out the same
foods. It happened like this: We feed the
pheasants under the Russian olive hedge
west of the house. The feed consists of
ground corn placed in little piles. The
sparrows found it, liked feeding in the
open with quick escape to the branches
above, and the supply was enough to last
all day. As a result few, if any, sparrows
came to the terrace stations. Since
pheasants have stopped feeding in the
yard now that the weather is mild, we do
not put out corn daily as we did in the
winter, but the sparrow feeding habits
seem to be so established that they still
do not come to the terrace.
and are now concentrating on the big
juniper on the hill which still is blue with
berries. The whole tree quivers as they
feed. Early in the winter the waxwings
cleared out the cedar berries, next they
ate the dried fruits, and now, in April,
they are clearing the blue sheen from the
juniper. Every winter they follow this
order. Whether it's the best, or the worst,
that is left for the last, the waxwings
don't say.
Ice, snow and dreariness greeted the
first Red-winged Blackbird when he
arrived on March 18, 1973.He had come
to stake his claim to the cattail draw for a
nesting site and he will defend it
vigorously from all contesters of his own
kind and larger birds flying over that
might be a threat to his home and family.
The Red-winged Blackbird has about
six weeks in which to play, to sing and to
defend his chosen homesite before the
females arrive. The blackbird on our hill
usually contents himself with one mate
and finds himself plenty busy protecting
that one and helping with the feeding of
the young. (The red-winged blackbirds
feed at our terrace tray and we have seen
the male bring the young there and feed
them a few bites of ground corn until they
learn how to pick for themselves.)
The various choices for nesting sites
include the cattails, the red osiers and
golden elders in front of our house, and
the native brush in the draws.-Daily
Belle Fourche Post
The waxwings have cleared the dried
crabapples from most of the trees in town
SEPTEMBER,1973
55
Winter Meeting at SiouxFalls
November9-10-11,1973
HEADQUARTERS
Room 101, Gilbert Science Center, Augustana College, 33rd and
Summit, Sioux Falls.
PROGRAM
Friday, November 9
7:00-10:00 p.m.-Informal get-together and registration (Registration
fee for local expenses, $1.25)
8:00 p.m.-Coffee
Saturday, November 10
9: 00 a.m.-12:00 noon-Registration, Business Meeting, Paper Session
10:30 a.m.-Coffee
1 :30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.-Paper Session, Directors Meeting
3: 00 p.m.-Coffee
6:30 p.m.-Banquet, Marshall Room, Augustana Commons ($2.50).
Special Program. . . followingin the Auditorium of Gilbert Science Center.
Sunday, November 11
9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon-Cheek-List
Committee Meeting
CALL FOR PAPERS
Those who plan to present papers should send title, time, and
projection equipment needed to B. E. Harrell, Biology Department,
University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Most Convenient Motels-Downtown Holiday Inn, 100 West Eighth;
Airport HolidayInn, 1301 West Russell; Ramada Inn, Junction Highways38
and 29; Howard Johnson's, 3300 West Russell; Town House, 400 South
Main; Lindendale Motel,South Highway 77; Smith's Uptown Motel, 1223
West 12th; Travel Lodge, 809 Northwest.
56
SouthDakotaBirdNotes
of
SOUTHDAKOTA
ORNITHOLOGISTS'
UNION
(Organized1949)
Vol. 25, No.4
DECEMBER,
1973
Whole
No. 99
Bald Eagle
-Photo
Courtesy of South Dakota Department
of Game, Fish and Parks
South Dakota Bird Notes, the Organ of South Dakota Ornithologists' Union, is sent to
Adults $4.00; Juniors 00-16) $2.00. Family Membership (husband and wife) with one
copies: Members $1.00, Non-members $1.50. All dues should be remitted to the
Dak. 57274. Published Quarterly.
Vol. 25, No.4
December,
1973
Whole
No. 99
In This Number. . .
President's Page, Bruce K.Harris
59
Recent Additionsto the Lacreek National WildlifeRefugeBird List
60
SDOU 1973 Winter Meeting
62
Book Review, J. W. Johnson
63
General Notes of Speciallnterest-Clark's Nutcracker and Mountain
Chickadee: Rare Visitors at a Rapid City Feeding Station, Oldsquawand
White-wingedScoter in DeuelCounty,RobinNest at Fort Meade
64
SDOU Membership List, 1973
66
A Robin Singing at Dawn, poem by Hattie Washburn
72
South Dakota Ornithologists' Union
OFFICERS
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Editor
Librarian
1973-74
Bruce K. Harris, P.O. Box 60S, Clear Lake
William E. Lemons, Meckling
William E. Lemons, Meckling
57226
57044
57044
57006
57345
57274
DIRECTORS
For Term Expiring 1974:Herman Chilson, Webster; Bruce Harris, Clear Lake; N. R. Whitney
Jr., Rapid City; L. M. Baylor, Rapid City; S. G. Froiland, Sioux Falls.
For Term Expiring 1975: Byron Harrell, Vermillion; J. W. Johnson, Huron; Herbert Krause,
For Term Expiring 1976: Bill Lemons, Meckling; Charles Rogge, Sioux Falls;
Brookings;
Lee Eberly, Vermillion;
Esther Edie, Brookings.
58
SOUTH
DAKOTA
Nelda Holden,
BIRD NOTES
President's POle
IT IS a pleasure to greet you with my
first message as president of SDOU.
Although a charter member of the
organization, I still feel something of a
newcomer because I did not return to my
home state until 1966.Since that time I
have been quite active in field work but
have successfully evaded my obligations
on the organization level. But as one old
hand put it the labor force is getting
smaller each year; I
took this (with 1)0
offense) as a subtle
suggestion that I get to
work rather than to
devote all of my time
to bird watching.
The SDOU meeting
at Augustana College
in Sioux Falls was a
success, even though
attendance was down
somewhat from previous meetings. I was
unable to attend the morning session on
Saturday, but judging by the quality of
the papers presented at. the afternoon
session I am sure the entire program was
informative and educational. The papers
presented by Gil Blankespoor and Herb
Krause were especially interesting; the
paper co-authored by these careful observers emphasized the value of data
accumulated over a period of time, even
though the information is not recorded
for a particular project or research.
Christmas Counts and other winter
birding activities turn my thoughts to
bird feeders. I trust that every member
has a feeding station of some kind for the
pleasure of having birds near a window
during the cold wintry days. Suet alone
will bring in five or six species of birds,
and it takes so little time to hang a chunk
of suet from a nearby tree. The feeders
DECEMBER,1973
containing sunflower seeds and other
foods will increase the potential visitor
list.
The rare birds that appear at feeding
stations frequently amaze me, and my
own experience
with the Boreal
Chickadee last winter is a good example.
I had only four species of birds coming to
the feeder at the time, including only two
chickadees, but I looked out one morning
and observed a life species flitting
around the feeding station. I had intended to drive 800 miles to Duluth later
in the winter to see the Boreal Chickadee.
The only Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
observed in eastern South Dakota turned
up at a feeding station in Volin a few
years ago where it remained for several
weeks.
It
was
observed
and
photographed by many delighted birders. There are many other unusual
sightings that have been recorded at
winter feeding stations, including Varied
Thrush, Hoary Redpoll and the single
South Dakota record for the Blackthroated Sparrow.
Keep in mind the importance of calling
other observers to share your luck if a
rare bird comes to your feeder. We
should always try to have more than one
observation of these birds, aside from the
enjoyment we give our fellow birders.
It is unlikely that we will have an invasion of northern finches to match that
of 1972-73,but a smaller echo flight can
be expected. There are always two or
three species of the northern birds in the
area sometime during the winter season.
They may not appear at your feeding
station, but their bright colors and
cheery calls help to shorten the winter
months wherever they are found.-Bruce
K. Harris
59
RecentAdditionsto the
LacreekNationalWildlife
RefugeBirdList
Conrad A. Fjetland
IN SEPTEMBER,
1969, Lacreek
National Wildlife Refuge issued a revised
edition of the refuge bird list. The new list
contained 235species of birds which have
been recorded on the refuge since 1936.
Since the list was issued, 22 species of
birds have been identified at the refuge
that are not on the list.
These birds fall into three categories:
Those that are true accidentals (Black
Brant, Curve-billed Thrasher);
those
that are of fairly regular occurrences
(Western Sandpiper, Ovenbird); and
those that fall somewhere in between
with too little information available to
decide whether they should be considered accidentals or not (Yellowcrowned Night Heron, Pinyon Jay).
Following is a list of the 22 species
along with the dates of observations and
names of the people making those observations.
Cattle Egret-The
first record of a
Cattle Egret at Lacreek was a single bird
observed in Pool 8 on June 26, 1972, by
Victor Hall. The pool was being drained
at the time.
Yellow-crowned
Night Heron-The
Yellow-crowned
Night Heron was
recorded in 1970 when one was present
from June 8 through June 19. The bird
was identified by Donald and Joan
Hammer. Photographs were taken and
the observation was previously reported
in the September, 1970 issue of "Bird
Notes." On April 30, 1971, a single bird
was observed by this author and Victor
Hall. I also observed a Yellow-crowned
NightHeron on May 4, 1971,possibly the
same individual that was seen five days
earlier.
Harold Burgess
and Jay
Bowmaster
reported
an immature
60
Yellow-crowned Night Heron on Pool 5 on
August 30, 1973.
Black Brant-A Black Brant joined our
captive goose flock on April 19, 1971,and
remained through April 23. It was first
seen by Victor Hall and later by this
author, B. J. Rose, and several others.
Photographs were taken, and the observation was reported in the June, 1971
issue of "Bird Notes."
Ross ' Goose-Two Ross' Geese were
observed among our captive goose flock
on April 2, 1971,by this author and Victor
Hall. On April 16, 1971,two Ross' Geese,
believed to be the same pair, were back
in the same pen. Photographs were
taken, and the observation was reported
in the June, 1971issue of "Bird Notes."
On March 28, 1973,a single Ross' Goose
was identified by this author among a
flock of about 14 Snow Geese. Harold
Burgess observed an adult Ross' Goose
on Sept. 25, 1973.
White-winged
Scoter-Victor
Hall
reported that repeated observations of a
single bird of this species were made
from Oct. 25 through Oct. 31, 1970,in the
borrow ditch below Pool 9. Publication of
the observation was made in the
December, 1970 issue of "Bird Notes."
Another White-winged Scoter was seen
Oct. 25, 1972, by Harold Burgess and
Charles Zim~erman, and the latter saw
the bird again the next day. This bird was
found on a trout pond on the Cedar Creek
addition to the refuge.
Goshawk-The first field identification
of a Goshawk was made Nov. 4, 1972,by
Harold Burgess. He found the bird in a
shelterbelt near one of the refuge houses.
Another Goshawk was seen by Burgess
two days later.
SOUTH DAKOTA BI RD NOTES
Bobwhite-Bobwhites
have
been
released in this area in the past, but not
for at least three years. For about a week
in late July, 1973,a single Bobwhite was
present near one of the refuge houses
where it was seen by Greg Koeln, Con
Hillman, Harold Burgess, this author,
and several others. Two were seen on the
edge of the Nebraska sandhills on Aug. 9,
1973, by Koeln and Burgess.
Piping Plover-The Piping Plover was
added to the refuge bird list on May 2,
1973,when a single bird was seen on Dike
2 by Harold Burgess and this author. I
made a second observation of a Piping
Plover on May 13, 1973,on recently exposed mud flats in Pool 4.
Short-billed Dowitcher-B.
J. Rose
made a careful sight identification of
four Short-billed Dowitchers on April 25,
1971.
Western Sandpiper-The
Western
Sandpiper was first seen at Lacreek
when this author identified five members
of the species on a sand bar in Little
White River Pool on April 12, 1971.Four
Western Sandpipers were captured in a
mist net by this author and Greg Koeln
from July 17, 1973,through Aug. 2, 1973.
Measurements of these birds were taken
and the identification was confirmed by
Harold Burgess.
Long-eared Owl-I observed two Longeared Owls at very close range 00 feet)
in a shelterbelt on March 30, 1972.About
two weeks later I saw another Longeared Owl in a wooded area on the Cedar
Creek addition to the refuge.
Purple Martin~A
female Purple
Martin was seen trying to find'shelter in
old Cliff Swallow nests on April 8, 1973,by
Harold Burgess. The bird also was seen
by Greg Koeln and this author.
Pinyon Jay-Six
Pinyon Jays were
seen sitting on the tower near refuge
headquarters on Nov. 4, 1972,by Harold
Burgess.
Curve-billed Thrasher-B.
J. Rose
found a Curve-billed Thrasher at 'refuge
headquarters on the eve of the SDOU
Meeting, May 25, 1973. Later, I also
DECEMBER,1973
observed the bird while it was sitting on
the roof of one of the buildings.
Veery-A Veery was captured in a mist
net on May 27,1971 by James Bryce. The
identification was confirmed by this
author, Victor Hall, and others.
Philadelphia Vireo.-A Philadelphia
Vireo was captured in a mist net by Greg
Koeln on June 12, 1973.Identification was
confirmed by Harold Burgess.
Ovenbird-The first refuge record of
an Ovenbird occurred on Sept. 15, 1971,
when one was captured in a mist net by
James Bryce. An Ovenbird was observed
May 17, 1972, by this author in the Elm
Creek woods, and individuals were
captured in a mist net near refuge
headquarters on May 7 and May 16, 1973.
Hooded Warbler-A
female Hooded
Warbler was captured in a mist net by
this author on May 17, 1973. The identification was confirmed by Harold
Burgess and Ronald Perry before the
bird was banded and released.
Blue Grosbeak-A Blue Grosbeak was
seen on the Little White River Recreation
Area on June 2, 1971, by this author.
Another graciously put in an appearance
at the SDOU Spring Meeting where it was
seen on May 26, 1973,by this author and
several others.
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch-A Graycrowned Rosy Finch appeared at refuge
headquarters on Oct. 24, 1972, where it
was identified
by Harold Burgess,
Charles Zimmerman, and three other
members of the refuge staff.
Gray-headed Junco-At the time this
bird was identified it was called a
Gray-headed Junco. Whatever the name,
it was seen May 26, 1973, at the SDOU
Spring Meeting by this author and
several others. Since it is now considered
a Dark-eyed Junco along with the Slatecolored and Oregon Juncos, it is not a
new species, but still interesting.
Fox Sparrow-A
Fox Sparrow was
seen at refuge headquarters Oct. 30, 1972,
by Harold Burgess and this author. The
bird was observed again the next day.
61
SDOU 1973 Winter Meeting
June Harter
THE PROGRAM for our meeting in
Sioux Falls was higWighted by the first
public presentation of a film, and the
delivery of several valuable papers. Dr.
S. G. Froiland, along with his committee
for the organization of the meeting,
deserves our commendations.
Dr. Walter J. Breckenridge, Director
Emeritus, James Ford Bell Museum of
Natural History, University of Minnesota, presented his new film, "Minnesota Valley Saga," to the members and
the public on Saturday evening, Nov. 10.
The pictorial history of the Minnesota
Valley was accompanied with a commentary given by Dr. Breckenridge, and
he included a projection of probable
changes. The unique program was
brought about through the efforts of
Herbert Krause.
Papers, business, and a meeting of the
Board of Directors
constituted
the
daytime program on Saturday. The
Check-List Committee convened Sunday
morning.
Presentations in the formal session
included:
"Aspergillosis in Birds," by Daniel
Call.
"Duck Plague Outbreak at Lake Andes," by Hazel Shave.
"The Role of Birds in Sleeping
Sickness," by G. Parikh.
"A Three Year Population Study of a
Designated Route," by Herbert Krause
and Gilbert Blankespoor.
"Falconry
and
Literature,
a
Reclamation," by Gervase Hittle.
"New
Approaches
to
Raptor
Management," by Byron Harrell.
"Influence of Nest Site Microclimate
on Parental Behavior in Redwing Blackbird," by Gilbert Blankespoor.
62
"Let the Waters Run Free," a film by
the South Dakota Department of Game,
Fish and parks.
We hope that the papers presented at
the meeting will be sent to "Bird Notes"
for publication.
During the business meeting, Esther
(Mrs. Richard) Edie and Dr. S. G.
Froiland were elected to serve on the
Board of Directors. The members also
voted to budget $100 for a promotional
campaign to increase the membership in
1974.
Bruce Harris is the new president of
SDOU and Bill Lemons has the dual
position of vice-president and secretary.
Also during their business meeting the
board selected Vermillion for the headquarters of the Spring Meeting. The
program will focus on the sand dunes and
other habitats that may be destined for
destruction. The dates, barring unforeseen circumstances, will be May 2426.
REGISTRATION LlST-1973
November 9-10
Armour-Mrs. Louis Crutchett.
Brookings-Mrs.
Bennett Froiland,
David and l\.~lda Holden, Mrs. Ronald
Shave, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Taylor.
Clear Lake-Bruce K. Harris.
Highmore-June
Harter.
Huron-J. W. and Lucille Johnson.
Meckling-Jean L. Husat, Gervase G.
Hittle and Bill Lemons.
Rapid City-L. M. Baylor and N. R.
Whitney.
Sioux Falls-Gilbert
Blankespoor, S.
G. Froiland, Augie Hoeger, W. E.
Halbritter, Fred Klawiter and Herbert
Krause.
Vermillion-Byron and Joyce Harrell.
Yankton-Mr. and Mrs. Willis Hall.
-Highmore
BookReview
J. W. Johnson
ADVENTURES IN BIRDING, Confessions of a Lister.-Jean
Piatt. Alfred
A. Knopf, Inc. 265pp. Chapter headpieces
by Mathew Kalmenoff. $7.95.
The subtitle sets the tone for much of
the book; the "Adventures" tend to be
understated. But "Confessions" could
be downright misleading to anyone who
hasn't been well ground in the birding
mills. Fortunately, most will read more
into the book than it sets forth in detail.
Should the inexperienced happen onto the
book and be seduced by its beguiling
prose into suddenly deciding to become
one with that exclusive group, the 600
club, he will learn his limitations quickly,
with little harm. The 600's are people who
have seen and recognized 600 or more
birds in North America north of the Rio
Grande. Being "just a lister" the way the
Piatts, Jean and Maybelle, do it is not all
that easy or casual.
And the necessary travel and study
takes more time and money than most
birders have to spare, even for attaining
the rarified regions .where members of
the 600club have their being. Fewer even
would be content with the prospect of
spending "our declining years in some
home for the indigent" as a result.
But, for the price of the book, even such
as we can have hours of the next best
thing-with none of the discomforts of a
mountain slope in winter or icy waves
slopping over the sides of a boat that
should be larger. We can join up with
people who actually do these things and
meet the birds they see, cooperative or
not. We can have the essence of their
countless hours of homework before each
trip without effort, as the author points
out how they know for sure what bird
they are seeing. Being able to know the
bird under strange field conditions, the
first time, takes more than a quick onceDECEMBER,1973
over of Peterson, as those of us who have
tried it know only too well.
Piatt has consideration for the reader
too. He makes that apparent by picking
the interesting "adventures" to detail,
leads with them, slipping in the needed
background where it is absorbed without
being intrusive. Happily, he is above
chronology, yet takes the trouble to give
the more orderly reader data for
reassembly of scenes to conform with the
calendar.
Not everyone of the 671birds they have
studied and recognized in the field is
given the full treatment. Nobody could
take that, as Piatt makes clear. But
among the most interesting ones are
some of our South Dakota birds that we
see every year and check off with little
thought. Others are birds we have met
with and made much of in our own
modest trips about the country and we
find interest in the author's reaction to
places, birds, and people we too have
enjoyed. Every page is a pleasurable
reading experience.
The neat drawings of birds by
Kalmenoff heading the chapters have an
appeal all their own. His birds have
personality the photographer can only
hope to show with a rare bit of luck.
Piatt, born in Ohio, lived in northeast
Indianapolis during his early school
years, near Crown Hill Cemetery, knew
the grave of James Whitcomb Riley
there, even lay on the slab covering it
often as he dreamed up answers to
questions of the universe and people in it,
imagined what thoughts Riley might
have added. After the University of
Pennsylvania, he found his life work in
experimental embryology-which
provided the resources for two memberships
in the 600 club-Huron
63
GenerfJ/NDfesDf Spec;fJ//nferesf
CLARK'S
NUTCRACKER
AND
MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE:
RARE
VISITORS
AT A RAPID
CITY
FEEDING STATION-The
winter of
1972-73 may have been somewhat exceptional for a widespread dispersal of
the Clark's Nutcracker from its typical
winter habitats. A friend at Chadron,
Neb., noted the phenomenon in writing:
"Everybody has Clark's Nutcrackers
except Chadron, but we had many of
them a few years ago." Another friend at
Eugene, Ore., reported this species was
in that area and even was dispersed
westward very near to the Pacific coast
during the winter of 1972-73.In western
South Dakota we had this nutcracker
reported in uncommon places during the
same winter.
Reports
came from the lower
elevations west of Rapid City in Cleghorn
Canyon and along Rimrock Highway (SD
44) between Rapid City and Johnson
Siding, particularly
at the Leighton
Palmerton residence. Rollie Larson saw
Clark's Nutcracker in the Spring Creek
area near Hermosa, and I heard of an
otherwise unconfirmed sighting near the
White River. Also, a few Clark's Nutcrackers visited feeders during the
winter in western Rapid City-the first
occurrence of this species within the city,
to my knowledge.
At my residence in western Rapid City,
a Clark's Nutcracker appeared at the
suet feeder on Nov. 27, 1972. From then
through Feb. 16, 1973, two Clark's Nutcrackers feasted regularly at the suet
feeder. While two birds occasionally
appeared at the same time and were
distinguishable by size and color (one
64
being larger and slightly darker gray),
usually the birds came separately.
My notes for Dec. 1, 1972read: "I stood
as close as eight feet to the larger Clark's
Nutcracker.The plumage markings are
typical of what is shown in Robbins'
'Birds of North America,' except that
the white line on the folded wing is not as
wide and conspicuous
as Robbins
depicts." The temperature on Dec. 11,
1972 was below zero, and my notes indicate that a nutcracker fed continuously
on suet from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
According to Pettingill and Whitney
("Birds of the Black Hills," 1965) the
Clark's Nutcracker is a rare or uncommon visitor to the Black Hills. While
we have no evidence that the species
breeds in the Hills, we cannot exclude the
possibility of a small breeding population
that might have made an altitudinal and
eastward migration. A more likely
probability, however, is that the influx of
nutcrackers into our area came from
populations associated with the Big Horn
Mountains of Wyoming.
On Dec. 23, 1972, Dr. N. R. Whitney
came to my home to see the Clark's
Nutcracker, and while waiting for its
appearance, Whitney saw a Mountain
Chickadee come to a sunflower-seed
feeder. This individual was a fairly
regular visitor through Jan. 3, 1973.The
feeding behavior of this Mountain
Chickadee was distinctive in that the bird
approached the feeder cautiously by
short flights from branch to branch. Then
the chickadee darted to the feeder,
snatched a seed, and flew quickly to the
tall elms across the street. This behavior
was in contrast to that of the Mountain
Chickadee that visited Gertrude Bachmann's feeder during the winter of196667. The latter bird was much more
conspicuous and less "wild" in its
movements, while the one at my feeder
remained inactive barely long enough for
satisfactory
identification.-L.
M.
Baylor, SDSM&T, Rapid City
+++
OLDSQUAW AND WHITE-WINGED
SCOTER IN DEUEL COUNTY-My
second sighting of an Oldsquaw in South
Dakota occurred on Oct. 28, 1973,when I
found a female (or imm.) at Lake Alice,
Deuel County (two miles east of
Tunerville). The bird was observed for
about 15minutes as it swam with a mixed
group of diving ducks, including a Whitewinged Scoter. At one time the two rare
birds were seen swimming alongside
each other, and could be viewed together
in the telescope. They were no more than
75 yards offshore, and were observed
under fairly good light conditions. The
diving habit, medium size, chunky build
and varied white blotching on the Oldsquaw identified it from any other diving
ducks in the area. It appeared to be
mostly white and gray-entirely
different from any other divers.
On one other occasion, Nov. 11, 1968,I
observed an Oldsquaw in South Dakota.
The bird, also an immature or female,
was seen on Big Stone Lake near Hartford Beach. The sighting was made at
some distance as the bird was at least 300
yards out on the lake. Observation was
made with a 2O-power scope, and the
identification was considered positive.
The White-winged Scoter at Lake Alice
represents at least the third record I
have for this species at the lake. The
individual observed with the Oldsquaw
had been sighted earlier in the morning;
in fact, I was looking for the scoter
among the hundreds of Scaup and
Redheads in the area when I spotted the
Oldsquaw. The wing bar was clearly
visible when the bird flapped its wings,
although it was never observed in flight.
DECEMBER,1973
A White-winged Scoter that I observed
at Lake Alice on Nov. 8, 1973,may have
been a different bird. It appeared to be
much darker than the individual seen on
Oct. 28.
Prior to these sightings I had a positive
record for an adult White-winged Scoter
at Lake Alice on May 1, 1971,and possible
sightings of groups of four and seven
birds on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, 1971. The
latter groups definitely were scoters, but
specific determination was not possible
because they were not observed in flight.
They may have been Surf Scoters.
Oldsquaw and White-winged Scoters
have been observed numerous times in
South Dakota, and specimens have been
taken. However, they seldom are present
more than once or twice in anyone
year.-Bruce
K. Harris, Clear Lake
+++
ROBIN NEST AT FORT MEADE-It
was May 30, 1973, when I first saw the
Robin nest on the porch post at Fort
Meade Military Museum. During the
next nine days I enjoyed watching the
parents and three young from my
ringside seat.
At first, I thought that the parent birds
were not too smart in their method of
feeding. The youngster that could stretch
its neck the farthest and open its mouth
the widest always got the worm. Why did
not the parents rotate from one young to
another so that all would get the same
amount of food? But they kept gorging
one particular Robin. I finally realized
what was happening. The favored bird
eventually went to sleep with its head
hanging over the edge of the nest, and the
parents proceeded to fill bird number
two. When it went to sleep, they started
on the third youngster. Ail three slept for
a while, then awakened for a renewal of
the same sequence.
I was not present when the fledglings
left the nest during the weekend of June
9-10,but I did observe the parents feeding
their family on the ground for a few more
days.-Arthur W. Piehl, Sturgis, S. Dak.
65
SDOU MembershipList,1973
-AAbbott, Mrs. Howard C., 2708Wood Drive, Sioux Falls 57105
Adams, Mrs. Thomas Jr., 827Corcoran Ave., Santa Cruz, Calif. 95062
Adolphson, Mr. and Mrs. Donald G., 1780Alcala, College Park, Rio Piedras, P.R.
00921
Anderson, Dr. AllanJ., P.O. Box 602,Webster 57274
Anderson, Ms. Eva V., 527E. 78th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021
Anderson, Judge Sigurd, 313West 7th Avenue, Box 560,Webster 57274
Arbogast, Mrs. Margery R., 514So. 1st St., Aberdeen 57401
Augustana College Mikkelson Library, Sioux Falls 57102
-8Bachman, Gertrude, 3304 Cottonwood St., Rapid City 57701
Backlund, Mr. Doug, 507 E. Stearns, Chamberlain 57325
Badlands Natural History Association, Box 72, Interior 57750
Baird, Mr. and Mrs. H. B., 505E. 6th Street, Redfield 57469
Barber, Mrs. Fern S., Box 447, Pierre 57501
Battin, Miss Blanche E., 317Idaho S.E., Huron 57350
Bauer, Mr. Gene, 1221W. 11thSt., Tempe, Ariz. 58281
Baylor, Mrs. Kelsye, 720S. Park Blvd., Freeport, Ill. 61032
Baylor, Les M., Dept. of Languages, South Dakota School of Mines, Rapid City 57701
Beardsley, Mrs. Wesley M., 609N. Egan Ave., Madison 57042
Behrens, Mr. and Mrs. Harry C., Box 1055,Rapid City 57701
Bell, Mr. and Mrs. Robert, Wessington 57381
Berdahl, Mr. James 0., 509So. Dakota Ave., Sioux Falls 57102
Black Hills State College Library, Spearfish 57783
Blankespoor, Dr. Gilbert W., Dept. Biology, Augustana College, Sioux Falls 57102
Bonham, Mrs. Arthur, Britton 57430
Bowen, Ms. Alice L., 209N. Leaders, Sioux Falls 57103
Breen, Mrs. Enoch, Hurley 57036
Brodsky, Mrs. Violet L., Box 3022,Rapid City 57701
Brookings Public Library, 524 4th St., Brookings 57006
Buckman, Mr. Robert, Box 228,Dakota State College, Madison 57042
Bunker, Mrs. Paul, Melgaard Road, Route 1, Aberdeen 57401
Buresh, Mr. and Mrs. William A., 1527N. 19th Street, Bismarck, N. Dak. 58501
Burgess, Harold H., South Route, Lacreek WLR, Martin 57551
Burgi, Mr. and Mrs. M. E., Springfield 57062
Burton, Mrs. Goldie, 409Quincy, Apt. A-1, Rapid City 57701
-CCarlson, Mrs. Herman E., Still Meadows, Britton 57430
Carter, Dennis L., Route 2, Box 1133,Asheville, N.C. 28805
Cassel, Dr. J. Frank, Zoology Dept., North Dakota State D., Fargo, N. Dak. 58102
Chapman, Mrs. H. F., 7128. Dakota Ave., Sioux Falls 57104
Chase, Mr. I. H., Box 272,Rapid City 57701
Chilson, Mr. Herman P., 325W. 8th Ave., Webster 57274
Clark, Mrs. S. C., 56Taylor Avenue, Deadwood 57732
66
r
~
I
Cooper, Miss Orena, 13153rd Street, Brookings 57006
Cramer, Mrs. Harry, 1420South Lincoln, Aberdeen 57401
Crutchett, Mrs. Louisa, Armour 57313
-D-Dafnis, Mrs. William, 719S. 10th Street, Aberdeen 57401
Dakota State College Library, Madison 57042
Deitz, Mrs. Lillie C., Groton 57445
Drake, Mr. Earl D., R.F.D. 2, Waubay 57273
Drissen, Mr. and Mrs. Edward, The Heatherton, Apt. 209,4100Parklawn Ave., Edina,
Minn. 55435
.
Duffner, Miss Dorothy, 6162nd Ave. S.E., Watertown 57201
Dumont. Mr. Philip A., 4114FessendenSt. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016
-EEastman, Mrs. Whitney, 7000Valley View Road, Minneapolis, Minn. 55435
Eberly, Mr. and Mrs. Lee, R.R., Irene 57037
Edie, Mr. and Mrs. Richard, Route 2, Bruce 57220
Eklo, Mrs. Herman, Box 324, Mobridge 57601
Engebretson, Mr. Earl, Meadow 57644
Essert, Sister Georgine, St. Martin's Priory, R.R. 1, Box 585,Rapid City 57701
Evans, Mr. Keith, 3418 Valencia, Columbus, Mo. 65201
Evans, Mr. A. Wesley, 229Franklin, Rapid City 57701
-FFantle, Mrs. Benj. H.P., 6River View Heights, Sioux Falls 57105
Felton, Mr. W. R., Jr., Route 1, Jefferson 57038
Fiksdal, Mr. John, 615W. 5th Street, Webster 57274
Fiksdal, Mr. J. R., 615W. 5th Street, Webster 57274
Finniger, Dr. Paul C., Box 76, Yankton 57078
Fiscus, Mr. C. H., 23402Brier Road, Brier, Wash. 98036
Flett, Mr. and Mrs. Charles D., Clarkfield, Minn. 56223
Flett, Miss Louise, 506So. 1st St., Milbank 57252
Forseth, Mr. Fritz A., 1004North Washington St., Aberdeen 57401
Froiland, Mrs. Bennett, 1031 8th Avenue, Brookings 57006
Froiland, Dr. S. G., 1910So. Duluth Ave., Sioux Falls 57105
Fromelt, Mr. E. J., Box 118, Grenville 57239
-GGammell, Mrs. Robert T., Kenmare, N. Dak. 58746
Gates, Dr. John M., Wildlife Dept., S. Dak. State D., Brookings 57006
Gossel, Mr. Robert A., Route 1, 79C, Hot Springs 57747
Grant-Deuel School Library, Revillo 57259
Grieb, Mrs. Wm. F., 29Van Buren Street, Deadwood 57732
Gross, Miss Kathey, 916N.E. 5th Street, Madison 57042
Gross, Dr. and Mrs. H. Phil, 1900S. First, Sioux Falls 57105
-HHabeger, Miss Ruth, 5021/2No. Egan, Madison 57042
Haight, Cecil P., 1106Ames Ave., Spearfish 57783
Halbritter, Mr . Wesley E., 112West 42nd, Sioux Falls 57105
DECEMBER,1973
67
Hall, Mr. Willis, 1111Douglas Ave., ,Yankton 57078
Hanson, Mr. and Mrs. John, Lake Norden 57248
Harper, Dr. Edwin W., 8O21stSt. N.W., Watertown 57201
Harrell, Dr. Byron E., 1215Valley View Circle, Vermillion 57069
Harris, Mr. Bruce K., 2037th Ave. S., Clear Lake 57226
Harris, Mr. Mark, 2O37thAve. S., Clear Lake 57226
Hart, Miss Debra, 724So. Ninth St., Aberdeen 57401
Harter, Ms. June, Highmore 57345
Hays, Mr. Thomas M., 505Carey Avenue, Gillette, Wyo. 82716
Hilpert, Dr. Marion M., 1005St. Joe, Spearfish 57783
Hinds, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred, Prairie City 57649
Boeger, Rev. AugustJ., 2202S. Main, Sioux Falls 57105
Hogue, Mrs. Geneva M., 617Second Ave. East, Flandreau 57028
Hoksch, Mrs. Theresa, 7SE 7th Ave., Aberdeen 57401
Holden, Dr. and Mrs. David J., Route 4, Box 68,Brookings 57006
Hoover, Mrs. Karolyn J., Route 2, Vermillion 57069
Houston, Dr. Stuart, 863University Dr., Saskatoon, Sask., Canada
Huber, Ronald L., 2896Simpson St. No., St. Paul, Minn. 55113
Hurd, Mr. Richard M., Route 1, Box 298,Sunrise Beach, Mo. 65079
Huron Public Library, Huron 57350
Husmann, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth H., 703Sixth St., Brookings 57006
Hyde, Mrs. Franklin R., 517North Grand Ave., Pierre 57501
-JJackson, Mr. and Mrs. H. R., 306N. Berry Pine Road, Rapid City 57701
Johnson, Mr. Carl M., 40215th Ave. S.E., Rochester, Minn. 55901
Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. James W., 142fUtah Ave. S.E., Buron 57350
Johnson, Kordillia C., 885Stonebridge No. 22,Platteville, Wis. 53818
Johnson, Mr. Robert R., WaubayRefuge, Waubay 57273
Jonkel, Mr. and Mrs. George, 5910Windham Road, Laurel, Md. 20810
-KKarlins, Mr. Nat, 419West 7th Ave., Webster 57274
Katterjohn, Mrs. E. L., 715Dakota Dr., Apt. 202,Rapid City 57701
Kaufman, Miss Katherine, 420 Cherry, Freeman 57029
Keeler, Mr. and Mrs. Charles E., 1305E. Broadway, Pierre 57501
Kerbs, Mr. Roger R., 3506S. Maple Avenue, Rapid City 57701
Ketelle, Miss Mary Aberdeen, 979Dakota S., Huron 57350
Kettering, Mrs. Allen, RR, Mellette 57461
Kidder, Mrs. L. 0., Route 3, Box 15,Webster 57274
Klawiter, Fred, 1701S. 1st Ave., Sioux Falls 57102
Kochanowski, Miss Janet, 1421Joyce Drive, So. Bend, Ind. 46616
Krause, Dr. Herbert, English Dept., Augustana College, Soux Falls 57102
Kretschmar, William E., Box A, Venturia, N. Dak. 58489
-LLarson, Roland A., 2102Ivy Ave., Rapid City 57701
Lauer, Mrs. Louise, 318N. Lake Drive, Watertown 57201
Lauritzen, Lester R., Route 2, Box 136,Centerville 57014
Lefkofsky, Mrs. Charles, 8002Morrow Road, N.E., Albuquerque, N. Mex. 87110
Lemons, William E., Meckling 57044
68
Levisen, Mr. and Mrs. Arlo, HW 14Park, Part A, Lot 16,Pierre 57501
Lewis, John, 2113 Faris Avenue, Sioux Falls 57105
Lien, Miss Evelyn C., Box 126, Volin 57072
Lillard, Mr. and Mrs. Richard, 684North Lake Drive, Watertown 57201
Linder, Dr. Raymond, 317Lincoln Lane S., Brookings 57006
Lokemoen, Mr. John T., 8187th Ave. S.W., Jamestown, N. Dak. 58401
Lovering, Dr. Joseph, 211W. 10th Ave., Webster 57274
Lozier, Mr. Jack B., Route 1, Whitewood 57793
Lueshen, Mrs. John, Wisner, Neb. 68791
Lynch, Mr. Lawrence R., 502S. 1st, Aberdeen, 57401
-MMcFarland, Mrs. Iva M., 109W. Elm Ave., Flandreau 57028
McKirdy, Rev. Wayne, Box 411, Faulkton 57438
McNeil, Mrs. Ella M., 4016th Ave., Britton 57430
Mack, Mr. Stanley A., 617%2nd Ave. West, Mobridge 57601
Mankato State College Memorial Library, Mankato, Minn. 56001
Mitchell Memorial Library, Mississippi State U., State College, Miss. 39762
Montgomery, Everett, 426 South Jackson, Aberdeen 57401
Moore, Mr. MerleN., 103East Kemp, Watertown 57201
Mudge, Mr. E. W., Jr., 5926Averill Way, Dallas, Tex. 75225
Murphy, Mrs. Thomas E., 5936Columbus Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. 55417
-NNelson, Mr. and Mrs. Delbert A., Box 277, Baldwin Creek Route, Lander, Wyo. 82520
Nelson, Rev. and Mrs. Diedrik, 1511East Sunset Drive, Rapid City 57701
Nelson, Mrs. Hartman, Lake Preston 57249
Nelson, Dr. Ronald Roy, 251Reynolds St., Apt. M104,Alexandria, Va. 22204
Nicholas, Mrs. Hoyt, Sr., Ree Heights 57371
Nordstrom, Mr. Barney M., Box 62, Fairburn 57738
North Dakota State University Library, Fargo, N. Dak. 58102
Northern State College Library, Aberdeen 57401
Noteboom, Miss Charlotte M., 906S. 2nd St., Aberdeen 57401
-0Odland, Mrs. A. M., 7129th Avenue, Box 296,Britton 57430
Olawsky, Mrs. Gilbert, 509 S. Montana, Mitchell 57301
O'Leary, Mr. and Mrs. P. M., P.O. Box 641,Belle Fourche 57717
Olson, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, 1429Sunset Drive, Huron 57350
Olson, Mr. Manley, 1974W. Summer Street, St. Paul, Minn. 55113
-pPalmerton, Mrs. L. R., Route 1, Box 180,Rapid City 57701
Pay, Clifford T., P.O. Box 117,2603East Sully, Pierre 57501
Peterson, Mrs. Bill, 221- 17th Ave., Brookings 57006
Petrosky, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, Box 25,Wessington Springs 57382
Pettingill, Olin Sewall, Jr., Wayne, Maine 04284
Piehl, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W., Box 461,Sturgis 57785
DECEMBER,1973
69
Pier, L. A., Belvidere 57521
Pier, Miss Tamara, Belvidere 57521
Pierce, Mrs. H. M., 4242N. 32nd St., No.5, Phoenix, Ariz. 85018
Pierce, Mr. Max E., 2020So. Grange Ave., Sioux Falls 57105
Pierre Carnegie Library, Pierre 57501
-RRandall, Robert N., 928Sixteenth St., Bismarck, N. Dak. 58501
Rantapas, Mrs. Mary, Nemo Rt., Deadwood 57732
Rapid City Public Library, P.O. Box 872,Rapid City 57701
Reeves, Henry M., 16506Forest Mill Court, Laurel, Md. 20810
Riss, Mrs. Arthur H., Route 2, Box 93, Ortonville, Minn. 56278
Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Exp. Sta., South Dakota School of Mines, Rapid
City 57701
Rodgers, Mr. R. Bruce, Box 28,Everglades National Park, Homestead, Fla. 33030
Rogers, Dr. Dilwyn, Biology Dept., Augustaria College, Sioux Falls 57102
Rogge, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H., 2012So. Grange Ave., Sioux Falls 57105
Rosche, Mr. Richard C., 305Elm Street, Crawford, Neb. 69339
Rose, Mr. and Mrs. B. J., 410W. Capitol, Pierre 57501
Rose, Mr. W. A., Box 131,Clear Lake 57226
-8Sapa, Mr. Allyn J., 1003l1th Ave. N.E., Aberdeen 57401
Saunders, Mr. and Mrs. Jack K., 90411th Ave. N.E., Aberdeen 57401
Sawinsky, Miss Dorothy, 1110S. Washington, Aberdeen 57401
Schnute, Mr. and Mrs. Milton W., Box 241,Hot Springs 57747
Searls, Mr. Douglas, 712-7th Ave., Brookings 57006
Serr, Miss Esther, 6158th St., Rapid City 57701
Sewell, Dr. Warren L., 120W. 10thAvenue, Webster 57274
Shave, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald S., Route 2, White 57276
Shaw, Mr. Franklin, Route 1, Brookings 57006
Shepersky, Mr. A. D., 930Illinois St. S.W., Huron 57350
Siljenberg, Mrs. Adelene M., 22S. Pine St., Vermillion 57069
Sioux Falls Public Library, 201N. Main Ave., Soux Falls 57101
Sorenson, Mr. Jodey, Route 4, Box 771,Rapid City 57701
South Dakota State Library Commission, 322S. Fort Street, Pierre 57501
South Dakota State University Library, Brookings 57006
Spearfish Grace Balloch Memorial Library, Corner Main and Kansas, Spearfish 57783
Speirs, Mrs. C. W., Box 42,Ree Heights 57371
Springer, Paul F., co{)Wildlife Building, California State University, Arcata, Calif.
95521
Stavig, Mr. Julius, Route 2, Box 105,Webster 57274
Steffen, Mr. Earnest W., 1000Maplewood N.E., Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402
Steffen, Mr. Galen L., Burke 57523
Strubbe, Ernest H., Morris, Minn. 56267
Summerside, Mr. R. V., 102S. Madison, Pierre 57501
Suther, Mrs. Erwin, 909 3rd Street, Britton 57430
Sward, Mr. and Mrs. Carl A., 145N. 5th St., Hot Springs 57747
Szaly, Rev. Eugene W., Box 249, Spearfish 57783
70
-TTaylor, Mr. aQ.dMrs. Charles A., 20117th Ave. N., Brookings 57006
Town, Mr. Ralph H., 1211Simle Dr., Bismarck, N. Dak. 58501
Trimm, Mr. Wayne, Sketch Book Farm, Chatham, N.Y. 12037
Trusler, Mr. and Mrs. Robert F., 2112W. 33rd, Sioux Falls 57105
Turner, Miss Elvie L., Box 254,Miltonvale, Kans. 67466
Twomey, Mrs. C. J., Box 629,Hot Springs 57747
-UUnderwood, Mr. Paul C., E. Melgaard Rd., Route 1, Aberdeen 57401
University of British Columbia Woodward Library, Vancouver 8, British Columbia,
Canada
University of Minnesota Bio-Medical Library, Diehl Hall, Minneapolis, Minn. 55455
University of South Dakota Carl G. Lawrence Library, Springfield 57062
University of South Dakota Library, Vermillion 57069
-VVan Cleve, Mr. C. Bernard, 304S. Winebiddle St., Apt. No.2, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15224
Van Ornum, Miss Leota, 622North Egan, Madison 57042
Vanderstein, Mrs. George, 1225 Kansas S.E., Huron 57350
Vanderwall, Mrs. Edith, Route 3, Pierre 57501
-wWagar, Rev. Harold W., Box 27, Cresbard 57435
Walker, Mr. Alex, 12745-101st So., Tillamook, Ore. 97141
Wallenstrom, Mr. Rolf, 2008 East Broadway, Pierre 57501
Walters, Cliff, Dutch Mountain Nursery, Route 1, Box 167,Augustana, Mich. 49012
Watertown Regional Library, 611B. Ave. N.E., Watertown 57201
Wegner, Mrs. Kad, Sunnymede, S. Minnesota Rd., Sioux Falls 57101
Wells, Mr. W.P., 1110N. WashingtonSt.,Aberdeen57401
Weyler, Ms. Irma G., c-o Daily Post, Belle Fourche 57717
Whitmus, Mr. and Mrs. Harold V., 5800Saylor St., Lincoln, Neb. 68506
Whitney, Dr. Nathaniel R., 633S. Berry Pines Road, Rapid City 57701
Whyte, Robert M., Box 953, Pierre 57501
Wild, Mr. Fred, Box 182, Custer 57730
Williams, Mr. Terry M., Box 284, Gettysburg 57442
Williamson, Ms. Ellen, 312S. 5th St., Milbank 57252
Woodward, Ms. Mary C., Century House, Hot Springs 57747
Woolstencroft, Mrs. Mark, P.O. Box 634, Watertown 57201
-YYale University Ornithology Library, Peabody Museum of Natural History, New
Haven, Conn. 06520
Yankton College Library, Yankton 57078
Yarger, Mr. and Mrs. Lenord E., 2742W. St. Ann, Rapid City 57701
DECEMBER,1973
71
A Robin Singing at Dawn
Just at the break of a springtime day,
When the last paling star has gone,
Listening upon my pillow I lay,
To a robin singing at dawn.
Many a grander song may be heard,
But, Oh, for the sweetness and cheer
Of the robin's song by rapture stirred,
Sung as the new-born day draws near.
Though life's sky so dark we can't see through
The Iight of hope is never gone;
Another day may our hopes renew,
And a robin may sing at dawn.
-By Hattie Washburn
At her homestead near Altamont, Deuel County, Hattie Washburn <1878-1972)became one of the earliest writers and publishers
of articles and poems about the birds of South Dakota. Many were
the result of careful research of the prairie birds near her home.
The December, .1970issue of "Bird Notes" contains more information about the <}uthor.-Ed.
72
SOUTH DAKOTA 61 RD NOTES
----

Vol 25, 1973 - Northern State University

Transcription

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