We headed back to the spot to get more looks at the Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush and hopefully get better photos. The bird showed itself several times but didn't stay very long during each sighting, so I was never able to improve on the previous night's photos.
Other birds noted while there included Cordilleran Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow, Red-eyed Vireo, Canyon Wren, Swainson's Thrush, and American Restart.
We left there and headed up nearby Forest Road 222 where we found Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, MacGillivray's Warbler, Pine Siskin, and my first-ever looks at "White-winged" Juncos. These birds are noticeably bigger than our "Slate-colored" version and the white underneath the tail appears to block out all of the darker central tail feathers.
Happy with the looks that we had of the Nightingale-Thrush, we left Spearfish Canyon and headed for Mount Rushmore. We stopped there and at Crazy Horse Mountain long enough to take some photos and then continued down Highway 385.
Just south of Wind Cave National Park, we came upon a herd of Bison. While taking photos of them, we also noticed a few Prairie Dogs and several Burrowing Owls feeding young.
A small pond farther along the road held Northern Shovelers, a Blue-winged Teal, a Solitary Sandpiper, and several Wilson's Phalaropes.
We followed '385' into Nebraska, another new state for me, and turned east onto Highway 20. Near the town of Harrison, Jason spotted several Mountain Bluebirds at a small corral beside the highway.
While there, a pair of Red Crossbills briefly landed on the side of the highway and then took off to the north. Other Nebraska birds included Eastern and Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Lark Bunting, and Chestnut-collared Longspur.
The Wyoming section of Highway 20 produced Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Upland Sandpiper, Horned Lark, and Lark Sparrow.
Practically every fair-sized town that we passed through in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming held noticeable numbers of Eurasian Collared-Doves.
Finally back in Denver, we spent a short night at a Motel 6 near the Denver Airport.
Saturday, July 24th
We headed to the airport, turned in the rental car with an extra 930 miles on it, and flew back to Harrisburg by way of Atlanta. Among the 59 species were my 'life' Nightingale-Thrush and my 'life' "White-winged" Juncos.
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush Trip ~ July 22-24, 2010
1) American White Pelican----(WY)
2) Great Blue Heron----(WY)
3) Great Egret----(WY)
4) Trumpeter Swan----(WY)
5) Canada Goose----(WY)
6) Mallard----(SD)(NB)
7) Blue-winged Teal----(SD)
8) Northern Shoveler----(SD)
9) Turkey Vulture----(WY)(SD)(NB)
10) Northern Harrier----(WY)
11) Swainson's Hawk----(CO)(WY)
12) Red-tailed Hawk----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
13) American Kestrel----(WY)
14) Killdeer----(CO)(WY)(SD)
15) Solitary Sandpiper----(SD)
16) Upland Sandpiper----(WY)(NB)
17) Wilson's Phalarope----(SD)
18) Ring-billed Gull----(WY)
19) Rock Dove----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
20) Mourning Dove----(WY)(SD)(NB)
21) Eurasian Collared-Dove----(WY)(SD)(NB)
22) Burrowing Owl----(SD)
23) Common Nighthawk----(WY)(SD)(NB)
24) Cordilleran Flycatcher----(SD)
25) Western Kingbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
26) Eastern Kingbird----(SD)(NB)
27) Horned Lark----(WY)(SD)(NB)
28) Violet-green Swallow----(SD)
29) Cliff Swallow----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
30) Barn Swallow----(NB)
31) Blue Jay----(SD)
32) Common Raven----(SD)
33) Black-capped Chickadee----(SD)
34) Canyon Wren----(SD)
35) Mountain Bluebird----(SD)(NB)
36) Townsend's Solitaire----(SD)
37) Swainson's Thrush----(SD)
38) American Robin----(WY)(SD)(NB)
39) Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush*----(SD)
40) Cedar Waxwing----(SD)
41) European Starling----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
42) Red-eyed Vireo----(SD)
43) American Redstart----(SD)
44) MacGillivray's Warbler----(SD)
45) Spotted Towhee----(SD)
46) Chipping Sparrow----(SD)
47) Lark Sparrow----(WY)
48) Lark Bunting----(WY)(SD)(NB)
49) Song Sparrow----(SD)
50) Dark-eyed "White-winged" Junco----(SD) 'Life' Subspecies
51) Chestnut-collared Longspur----(NB)
52) Red-winged Blackbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
53) Western Meadowlark----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
54) Brewer's Blackbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
55) Common Grackle----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
56) Cassin's Finch----(SD)
57) Red Crossbill----(NB)
58) Pine Siskin----(SD)
59) House Sparrow----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
* Denotes "Life Bird".
Very cool. I only got some very quick looks at the nightingale thrush when I stopped by the canyon on my way home to PA from UT this past Thursday. We missed tennis ball sized hail by ten minutes--fifty cars in front of us weren't so lucky and had their windshields taken out.
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