My Semi-Big Year

Song Sparrow, my 32nd bird of the year

After the movie, The Big Year, was released in October, several people suggested that I do a Big Year myself sometime. I know I will never have the right combination of wealth, time and energy to do a North American Big Year like those depicted in the movie. However, there is nothing to prevent me from doing a Big Year on a smaller scale. So, I am doing what I refer to as a slow-paced, take-it-easy, South Dakota Semi-Big Year. All that really amounts to is that I am keeping track of all the bird species I see in South Dakota during 2012. If you want to follow along with me, just go to the page link over on the right side of this blog. There you will see the list of all my 2012 South Dakota birds to date. Right now the list stands at 64. Wish me luck, there are a lot of birds still out there! 



Purple Finch, my 44th bird of the year

Grass Owl, Mouse Owl, or Short-horned Hootlet?

Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus

I consider myself fortunate to live near the Fort Pierre National Grasslands. In fact, I get to drive through this wonderful prairie habitat almost every evening at dusk. This time of year that means I get to see good numbers of Short-eared Owls. I usually see between three and five of these little prairie hunters every evening. These owls are one of our most abundant and widespread bird species, being found in nearly every corner of the world. Because they are familiar to people all over the planet, they have picked up a wide variety of names. Here are a few of the names by which these birds are known:

Grass Owl

Prairie Owl

Meadow Owl

Marsh Owl 

Moor Owl

Bog Owl

Swamp Owl

Day Owl

Evening Owl

Mouse Owl

Mouse Hawk

Short-horned Hootlet

Flat-faced Owl

Cataface

I like that combination of names. You get a good sense of the habitat, diet, and general appearance of the Short-eared Owl just by reading that list of names. If I had to choose, I would say I like Grass Owl the best because that is where I always find them... in prairie grasses. What do you think? Is there a good alternative to Short-eared Owl on that list?  



Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus



A Turkey Goes to the Library

Wild Turkey

A Wild Turkey had a wild experience out in Deadwood, South Dakota on Sunday morning. For some reason the turkey broke through a window of the Deadwood Public Library. It created a bit of excitement for the local library director and law enforcement authorities, but all turned out well. The turkey was unharmed, and there was minimal damage to the library. You can read all about it here at the Black Hills Pioneer.

Prairie Peacock

Ring-necked Pheasant roosters
Prairie Peacocks?

My wife has decorated our upstairs bathroom in a colorful peacock theme. We have peacock feathers and peacock artwork along with other items in shades of blue and green. The other day she was up there putting away some towels and happened to glance out the window. She hollered to me, "Bill, there's a peacock out in the backyard!" I was in another part of the house, but I ran to a window in time to see a male Ring-necked Pheasant feeding on the ground under one of the backyard bird feeders. Now, she knows perfectly well the difference between a pheasant and a peacock, but in the excitement, and standing in a room filled with peacock imagery... well it was an honest mistake. However, I have been giving it some thought, and perhaps she's onto something. Prairie Peacock would make a pretty good nickname for South Dakota's State Bird. Don't you think? 



Peacock figurine and peacock feathers



Tympanuchus Twins

Greater Prairie-Chicken
January 21, 2012

Prairie Grouse is a term used to describe the three North American birds in the genus, Tympanuchus: Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Greater Prairie-Chicken, and Sharp-tailed Grouse. The latter two species are found in central South Dakota, and I saw both of them yesterday in a field north of Fort Pierre.

Sharp-tailed Grouse
January 21, 2012

When I first saw the group of seven or eight prairie grouse, I thought they were all Sharp-tailed Grouse. However, when I looked closely at them I could see that one of them was darker. It was a Greater Prairie-Chicken.

Greater Prairie-Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido

Though they are very similar in appearance, there are two key differences between the Sharp-tailed Grouse and the Greater Prairie-Chicken. First, prairie chickens are darker, and have dark bars on the undersides. Sharp tails have chevron-shaped spots on their undersides, and appear much lighter in color.

Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus

The other difference is the shape and color of the tail. Greater Prairie-Chickens have dark, squared-off tails. Sharp-tailed Grouse have lighter colored tails that come to a point.

So, they're not exactly identical twins, but Tympanuchus cupido and Tympanuchus phasianellus are two very similar and amazing birds of the Great Plains. 

My Favorite Limerick

There once was a man with a beard, 

 

 

Who said, "It is just as I feared:

Two owls

and a hen,

Four larks

and a wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard."

No Hawk Hunting

Rough-legged Hawk

This evening I saw a Rough-legged Hawk perched on a metal fence post alongside the road. I stopped my car next to the post and rolled down my window so I could take a photo. As happens nearly all the time, the hawk flew off before I could take its picture. However, I watched as the hawk flew down the road a ways and landed where you see it as pictured above. I am starting to amass a little collection of birds perched on No Hunting signs. Sometime I will write a blog post incorporating all of those photos.