At 2:30 AM, I drove over to Jason's house and we took his car to Harrisburg. There, we picked up Dick and headed to the Harrisburg Airport. We flew to Denver by way of Atlanta, picked up our rental car, and began the six-hour drive to Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota. Birds seen at the Glendo Reservoir along I-25 in Wyoming included American White Pelican, Great Egret, Trumpeter Swan, and Ring-billed Gull. Other birds seen along the way included Swainson's Hawk, Common Nighthawk, Western Kingbird, Lark Bunting, Western Meadowlark, and Brewer's Blackbird.
On the way up Highway 85 near Redbird, we headed into the worst thunderstorm that I had ever driven in. I was happily surprised and totally amazed that the golf-ball-sized hail didn't take out the windshield.
Luckily, by the time we reached South Dakota, a new state for me, the weather cleared. We parked the car in the lot beside Iron Creek and soon heard the bird calling. Two other birders were already on the bird and they pointed it out to us. It was singing away in one of the trees along the creek. In the failing light, I managed to get two poor, yet identifiable photos of it.
Cliff Swallow and American Redstart were also noted at the site. We drove down to Spearfish, ate at the Shoot The Bull Steakhouse, and spent the night at a motel near the canyon entrance.
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