Just Watch

Linda Burton posting from Pierre, South Dakota – It stands to reason. There’s a lake just outside town that stretches clear to North Dakota. The river at the city’s edge is the longest river in the United States. With all that, you’d expect a fair amount of waterfowl would choose to live around Pierre, and it does. Gulls and ducks are common sights; I couldn’t name them myself, but birders have identified Sabine, Ring-billed and the Black-hooded Bonaparte gulls near Oahe Dam; the list of ducks includes Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and assorted little puddle ducks. You might even spot a rare yellow-billed loon, or a Pomerine Jaeger, aka Skua, a very aggressive Arctic bird (right). Because it’s not just the live-ins you get to see around here, South Dakota is “on the route” as millions of birds follow the Central migratory flyway across the state in spring and fall. Paradise for birdwatchers, paradise for birds. » read more