-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Greetings from South Dakota (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter pburgers
- Start date
Beverlybaynes
Mod Squad
Hi, Paul! Here's an 'official' welcome to Birdforum from the forum's staff. We're delighted that you're here!
Tammie's sooo right: semi-controlled (on good days, at least) chaos, but it's all chaos about birds. It's turned into an international birding resource of really amazing breadth and depth.
I've heard terrific things about birding the Dakotas -- hope we'll be reading more about it from you!
Tammie's sooo right: semi-controlled (on good days, at least) chaos, but it's all chaos about birds. It's turned into an international birding resource of really amazing breadth and depth.
I've heard terrific things about birding the Dakotas -- hope we'll be reading more about it from you!
Beverly-
Thanks, and yes, South (and North) Dakota are probably quite overlooked concerning the quality of our birding, given the wide habitat variations we enjoy (Our state slogan is "The land of infinite variety", and with good reason.)
We sit astride the dividing line for Eastern/Western species, and enjoy it very much. See my post in the USA States forum for more detail on the subject. Right now I am sick of winter and cannot wait for the migration to get rocking!
We have had something of an irruption this year of Purple Finches and Common Redpolls, but I am READY FOR SPRING!
Paul
SD
Thanks, and yes, South (and North) Dakota are probably quite overlooked concerning the quality of our birding, given the wide habitat variations we enjoy (Our state slogan is "The land of infinite variety", and with good reason.)
We sit astride the dividing line for Eastern/Western species, and enjoy it very much. See my post in the USA States forum for more detail on the subject. Right now I am sick of winter and cannot wait for the migration to get rocking!
We have had something of an irruption this year of Purple Finches and Common Redpolls, but I am READY FOR SPRING!
Paul
SD
Sorry to butt in here but..... I can't wait to see the purple finches!! They are my very first sign of spring and normally show up here by the end of March. I had tons of them all summer long last year and I'm hoping the same thing will happen this year. You can send them here early if you're tired of them!pburgers said:
Right now, I have more redpolls than I've seen in the past 5 years... it's great!
Wow what a weekend its been around southeastern South Dakota. The Snow Geese ("snows 'n blues" as known locally) REALLY put on a show yesterday. Hundreds of Thousands of geese, no exaggeration. I could not see the end of the waves of geese looking north or looking south with 8x42 bins for most of the day. Toward evening I went out and found a stubble field the geese were using and sat watching for the last 45 minutes of daylight as flock upon flock of geese landed in the field. I am talking literally clouds of geese. I have lived here all my life and seen many spring snow goose migrations, but not on this scale. I read on our local listserv that the forecast is for the largest spring migration on record, and it sure looks that way to me.
It was an AWESOME day.
It was an AWESOME day.
Screech
Well-known member
Hi Paul, Welcome to BF from New Jersey. You sure know how to make an entrance with a picture like that! I can just imangine the sound bite that goes with it. I have never been fortunate to view anything that spectacular, thanks for the view.
You found a good place to kickback and enjoy birds here at BF, enjoy.
You found a good place to kickback and enjoy birds here at BF, enjoy.
Strix
Well-known member
Nice pic, I was in Nebraska last year in March, and I couldn't believe the flocks of waterfowl and cranes, but especially the Snow Geese. We saw this vortex of swirling birds that seemed to extend beyond the limit of sight. It tried to sit down on this lake, but not all the geese could fit on one lake! It reminded me of the descriptions of flocks of passenger pigeons. Well, maybe the geese didn't fly by for DAYS on end, but flying by for 20 minutes straight is still pretty impressive. I tried to capture it on film, but I'd need a wide angle panoramic camera to even try to give a sense of how many birds were there.
Screech, you are absolutely correct. The noise is thunderous when that many geese lift off at once, and is (almost) as much sensory overload as the sight of them! If any of you EVER get the chance to get to the central flyway during spring Snow Goose migration, don't pass it by! It is something you will never forget. Fall migration is ok, but nothing like springtime when they all come at once. Not hard to imagine why the habitat in the arctic nesting areas is getting pounded into oblivion when you see that many birds. Unimaginable is about the only way I can describe it.
Here a couple of more shots of the Snow Goose Migration. These were taken at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in NE South Dakota by Lori Goldade, as was the previous shot. She was kind enough to scan them to me so you all could enjoy them. There a many more, if anyone is interested email me and I will be happy to forward them to you.
Paul Burgers
Sioux Falls,SD
Paul Burgers
Sioux Falls,SD
