South Dakota Birds

American Redstart
Bald Eagle
Belted Kingfisher
Black-headed Grosbeak
Bluejay
Blullock's Oriole
Canadian Geese
Canadian Jay
Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Chickadee
Common Yellowthroat
Dove

Golden Eagle
Goldfinch
Grackle
Gray Jay
Great Blue Heron
Great Horned Owl
Great White Egret
Grouse
House Finch
House Wren
Junco
Killdeer

Lazuli Bunting
Magpie
Mallard Duck
Mountain Bluebird
Northern Goshawk
Nuthatch (red-breasted)
Nuthatch (white-breasted)
Osprey
Ovenbird
Peacock
Pelican
Plumbeous Vireo
Red-tailed Hawk

Red-Winged Blackbird
Red Crossbill
Robin
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Seagull
Sparrow (House)
Sparrow (White-crowned)
Sparrow (Song)
Starling
Towhee
Townsend's Solitaire
Tree Swallow
Turkey Vulture

Warbling Vireo
Western Meadowlark
Western Tanager
Wild Turkey
Violet-Green Swallow
Woodpecker (Downy)
Woodpecker (Hairy)
Woodpecker (Red Headed)
Woodpecker (Northern Flicker)
Woodpecker (Red-Naped Sapsucker)
Woodpecker (Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker)
Yellow Headed Blackbird

Part 1: Rapid City Birds (skip to Part 2 - Black Hills birds)
These are all birds that have visited our backyard in west Rapid City.
Many of the birds live in the neighborhood, and many are regular visitors during different parts of the year.

Western Tanager

Tanager and Robin songs are similar, maybe why they were hanging together?...
Western Tanager and Robin

Robin

Blue Jay

Red Breasted Nuthatch

White Breasted Nuthatch

Chickadee

Cedar Waxwing

Catbird
Catbird

Lazuli Bunting

Dark-eyed Junco
Junco

Bullock's Oriole

Dove

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

House Finch

Goldfinch
Gold Finch

Black-headed Grosbeak

Grackle
Grackle

Sparrow
Sparrow

White-Crowned Sparrow

Starling

Towhee
Towhee

Red-Wing Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird

(Female) Red-Wing Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird

Red Crossbill

bird killer! (Northern Goshawk)

Part 2: Black Hills South Dakota Birds

(The next group of photos were taken in The Black Hills except
the Pelican and Great White Egret were taken in central SD.)

Canadian Geese

Mountain Bluebird

Bald Eagle

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Fledgling Herons being harrassed by an Osprey
Osprey

Common Yellowthroat

Golden Eagle

House Wren

Gray Jay or Canadian Jay

Great Horned Owl

Great White Egret (central South Dakota)
Egret

Grouse
Grouse

Red-tailed Hawk
Hawk

Killdeer

Belted Kingfisher

Magpie
Magpie

Mallard Ducks
Mallard

Tree Swallow
Swallow

Violet-Green Swallow

Western Meadowlark

Pelican (central South Dakota)
Pelican

Red Headed Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-Naped Sapsucker

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Seagull (passing through?)
Seagull

Turkey Vulture

Wild Turkey (common and some rare brown wild turkeys)

Yellow Headed Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird

We've just recently (2024) ID'd these next birds in the Black Hills using the phone app, "Merlin" from Cornell University.
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Chipping and Song Sparrows, Pine Sisken, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Warbling and Plumbious Vireos,
Townsend's Solitaire, Ovenbird and the American Redstart - all birds we were previously unfamiliar with - other than their songs,
which we can now put faces with. Many of the birds are often heard but rarely seen because they are so small (and fast).
The app listens and tells you what birds it hears. Then, from its data base, you can play that bird's songs back
which calls them over to you in many cases!
All these ID'd birds responded to calling back to them, some getting close enough for a photo.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is as small as a hummingbird with a loud song from such a tiny bird.
It occasionally displays a red crown that is barely visible in the photo.

American Redstart

Warbling Vireo

Plumbeous Vireo

Ovenbird

Song Sparrow

Townsend's Solitaire
The somewhat nondescript Townsend's Solitaire makes up for its lack of color with songs that would win contests.
Some of its songs are very long and complex with an impressive vocabulary of chirps, warbles and tweets.
Townsends Solitaire

And finally,
"Miles" was the neighborhood Peacock in Cleghorn Canyon
Peacock

Conspicuously absent is our South Dakota state bird, the Ring-Necked Pheasant.
We're still waiting to be in the right place at the right time for a good photo!

More to come!

Here's a link to some of my wildlife photos taken over the years:

Comments, corrections and inquiries welcome

EMAIL:

All these birds were brought to you by the creator of Classic Radio Gallery.
Visit the radio museum for a trip into the past...