South Dakota - Wyoming Trip ~ June 18-19, 2026

Thursday, June 18, 2026

The night before, I planned on driving about halfway home and reserved a motel in Indiana, which involved a 10-1/2 hour drive. We left Sioux Falls, South Dakota and took I-29 south to Sioux City, Iowa. There, we took Highway 20 east across Iowa, headed southeast on I-380 through Cedar Rapids to I-80 and then east through Illinois and across three-quarters of Indiana. We spent the night at a motel near Howe, Indiana that was less than a hundred yards from the Michigan border.

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Friday, June 19, 2026

We started the last 9-1/2 hours by getting back on I-80 and taking it east through the last quarter of Indiana, across Ohio and all the way across Pennsylvania, and got back home around 6:00 PM. The trip covered 3,708 miles. I cleaned the rental car and took it back the next morning. Despite this being a sightseeing trip, I saw 62 species along the way.

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South Dakota and Wyoming Trip List - June 14-19, 2026

1) Canada Goose (IA)(SD)(IL)
2) Trumpeter Swan (IA)
3) Mallard (SD)
4) Wild Turkey (WY)
5) Ring-necked Pheasant (IA)
6) Rock Pigeon (IA)(MN)(SD)(WY)(IL)(IN)(OH)
7) Eurasian Collared-Dove (SD)(WY)
8) Mourning Dove (IA)(SD)(WY)(IL)
9) Chimney Swift (SD)
10) White-throated Swift (SD)(WY)
11) Killdeer (IA)(SD)(IN)
12) Upland Sandpiper (SD)
13) Ring-billed Gull (SD)(IL)(IN)
14) Double-crested Cormorant (SD)(WY)(OH)
15) Great Blue Heron (IA)(WY)(IL)(OH)
16) American White Pelican (MN)
17) Turkey Vulture (IA)(SD)(WY)(IL)(IN)(OH)
18) Osprey (IL)(IN)(OH)
19) Bald Eagle (IA)(WY)
20) Red-shouldered Hawk (OH)
21) Red-tailed Hawk (IA)(SD)(IL)
22) Ferruginous Hawk (SD)
23) Burrowing Owl (SD)
24) Hairy Woodpecker (WY)
25) Northern Flicker {Orange-shafted}(WY), {Yellow-shafted}(IN)
26) American Kestrel (SD)(WY)
27) Western Wood-Pewee (WY)
28) Eastern Wood-Pewee (SD)
29) Say's Phoebe (SD)
30) Western Kingbird (SD)
31) Eastern Kingbird (SD)(WY)
32) Blue Jay (SD)(WY)(IL)(OH)
33) Black-billed Magpie (WY)
34) American Crow (IA)(SD)(IN)(OH)
35) Black-capped Chickadee (WY)
36) Horned Lark (SD)
37) Tree Swallow (IA)
38) Violet-green Swallow (SD)(WY)
39) Barn Swallow (IA)(SD)(WY)(OH)
40) Cliff Swallow (IA)(SD)(WY)
41) Red-breasted Nuthatch (WY)
42) Rock Wren (SD)
43) Northern House Wren (WY)
44) European Starling (IA)(WY)(IL)(IN)(OH)
45) Gray Catbird (IA)
46) Brown Thrasher (SD)
47) Mountain Bluedbird (SD)
48) American Robin (IA)(SD)(WY)(OH)
49) Chipping Sparrow (IA)(WY)
50) Spotted Towhee (SD)
51) Western Meadowlark (SD)
52) Bullock's Oriole (IA)(WY)
53) Baltimore Oriole (IA)
54) Red-winged Blackbird (IA)(MN)(SD)(WY)(IL)(IN)(OH)
55) Brown-headed Cowbird (WY)(IN)
56) Common Grackle (IA)(SD)(IL)(IN)(OH)
57) Common Yellowthroat (SD)
58) Northern Yellow Warbler (WY)
59) Yellow-rumped Warbler (WY)
60) Northern Cardinal (IA)
61) Blue Grosbeak (SD)
62) Dickcissel (SD)

(IA)-seen in Iowa.
(MN)-seen in Minnesota.
(SD)-seen in South Dakota.
(WY)-seen in Wyoming.
(IL)-seen in Illinois.
(IN)-seen in Indiana.
(OH)-seen in Ohio.

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