As Week Thirty-two kicked off in Minnesota, where after visiting Sax-Zim Bog last week I moved my way west and kicked off August 4th with a visit to Lake Bemidji State Park – my only stop for a day mostly defined by rain, but a solid stop in it’s own right thanks to the pickup of Common Goldeneye – a bird I have only seen one other time since March! On the 5th I wrapped up my birding in Minnesota, working my way west and stopping by Rydell National Wildlife Refuge and Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, snagging Savannah Sparrow, Bobolink, and Western Meadowlark for my Minnesota list along the way as well as other great birds including Trumpeter Swan, Clay-colored Sparrow, Black Tern, Sedge Wren, American Kestrel, and Northern Harrier.
On August 6th I got started on birding in North Dakota, with my first stop at Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge rocketing my time in The Flickertail State to a spectacular start. Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Sora, Wilson’s Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Franklin’s Gull, Black Tern, American White Pelican, Northern Harrier, Eastern Kingbird, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Vesper Sparrow, LeConte’s Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Bobolink were all great, but they paled in comparison to Swainson’s Hawk, Western Kingbird, and Sharp-tailed Grouse – all of which were first-of-year birds!
From Kellys Slough I moved north, picking up boatloads of Red-tailed Hawk and American Kestrel as I worked my way to the northmost-point I’ve ever been in my life. After a stop at Stewart Lake Waterfowl Production Area I eventually found myself at Icelandic State Park. The state park massively boosted my North Dakota list as I picked up Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Purple Finch, Northern House Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bank Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Red-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, and Wood Duck – many of which I wouldn’t have any other shots at anywhere else in the state.
I wrapped up my first day in North Dakota at the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area, which didn’t hold that many bird species, but I did add Eastern Towhee, Gray Catbird, Eastern Phoebe, and Pileated Woodpecker to my state list. After Pembina Gorge I headed back south to the town of Devil’s Lake to spend the night, spotting loads more Red-tailed Hawk along the way. As some of you may recall from my posts earlier in the year, I put in an incidental eBird checklist for every single raptor I see, and have been keeping track of my most-observed species for the year. Going into this adventure I had assumed that Red-tailed Hawk would be the runaway most-observed species, though in the early months American Kestrel held the top spot. In April, May, June, and July, though, both Kestrel and Red-tailed Hawk plummeted as I both encountered way more widespread songbirds (such as Red-winged Blackbird, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow Warbler) and fewer raptors, and as a result it started to look possible that neither Kestrels nor Red-tailed Hawks would end the year as my most-observed species. Now, though, in my return to the Great Plains, I find myself surrounded by raptors galore, and it looks like Red-tailed Hawk will finally claim it’s spot atop my most-observed species list.
On the morning of August 8th I kicked off my day with breakfast and birding at Grahams Island State Park, there snagging Baltimore Oriole, Double-crested Cormorant, Forster’s Tern, Eared Grebe and Western Grebe before moving across the lake to White Horse Hill National Game Preserve. The drive through the game preserve was fantastic, and there I made my way to 100 species for North Dakota with the additions of Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Northern Waterthrush, Lark Sparrow, House Finch, Eastern Bluebird, Purple Martin, Great Crested Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Broad-winged Hawk, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. After my morning in the Devil’s Lake area I had originally planned to head northwest, but after looking at my eBird targets list I made the decision to instead head southeast in order to track down a species I had about given up hope of seeing this year: Hudsonian Godwit. After passing through Cooperstown and picking up Chimney Swift and Eurasian Collared-Dove, I eventually found my way to Hobart Lake National Wildlife Refuge, where after a short bit of looking I managed to find my targeted Hudsonian Godwit as well as handful of other new birds for my North Dakota list including Great Egret, Baird’s Sandpiper, Ring-necked Pheasant, and Bufflehead.
After picking up the Godwit et al, I finally headed west as I’d originally planned to do going into the day, though my original intent to return to the northern portion of North Dakota would never be realized. I did travel a bit northwest, but only as far as Arrowwood National Wildife Refuge, where Cliff Swallow, Bald Eagle, Upland Sandpiper, American Coot, and Ruddy Duck joined my state list.
From Arrowwood I followed I-94 west and ended my birding on the 8th at McKenzie Slough, with Pied-billed Grebe, Willet, Virginia Rail, Green-winged Teal, and Northern Shoveler bringing me to 119 species for North Dakota on just my third day in the state!
The 9th was a rather slow day that was plagued by storms, but I did manage some birding in the morning as I desperately searched in insane winds for a bird of the prairie, and just I was getting ready to give up I spotted a Lark Bunting – not my target but a species I hadn’t seen January – and while looking at the bunting luck struck as I managed to pick up my Lifer Baird’s Sparrow! After tracking down the sparrow I headed north to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit, but spent the rest of the day just trying to stay dry as pouring rain set in.
The 10th would be my last full day in North Dakota, and the bulk of it would be spent birding throughout Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I started the day with a checklist at the CCC Campground, where I’d spent the previous night, and them made my way a short ways north up the road to the TRNP North Unit. The drive at the North Unit was great, but the highlights were really the couple short walks I went on that yielded my Lifer Lazuli Bunting as well as new North Dakota birds in Orchard Oriole, Yellow-breasted Chat, Field Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, and Turkey Vulture. After birding the North Unit I headed to the the southern counterpart, at the South Unit Visitor’s Center picked up my second Lifer of the day in a singing Western Wood-Pewee. I spent the rest of the day birding in the South Unit, where Burrowing Owl closed out my South Dakota list at 130 species!
Next Week, in a post that should come out sometime tomorrow, I will head into South Dakota and spend the entire week there, thoroughly enjoying my time in the Black Hills before heading east and finally getting back to the first pillar of my “People, Places, Birds” journey – people! It’s been a dull past month when it comes to birding with others, but that should change in the coming weeks as I hopefully meet and bird with plenty of birders in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana!
eBird Trip Summary:
First and foremost - thank you to anyone who chooses to support me in this insane adventure of mine. When I initially had this idea and began planning I didn't even consider the possibility that others would want to support me, but I am extremely grateful to those who have reached out to do so. For those who are interested in supporting me, I have set up a Patreon, which can be accessed by clicking the logo to the left (or you can send me a message via the contact page). Again, thank you for your incredibly generous support!
All Patrons will receive my "Daily Notes" 12-36 hours after the end of each day, and Patrons subscribed to the "Sponsor" tier will receive monthly postcards, mailed out between the 25th and end of each month.
For anyone who wishes to support me without using Patreon, clicking the "$" Icon will link you to my Venmo as well. There is also an option on Patreon to purchase my Daily Notes Collection for a one-time $10 payment without becoming a paid member, which will give you access to the Daily Notes without having to subscribe to a monthly subscription. For those who it requests the last four of my number for, it's 1403.
Following recent suggestions I went ahead and created a GoFundMe in order to help ensure I can keep this adventure going and afford the costs of gas, vehicle maintenance, and food (including, with enough support, some more diversity in my diet). The GoFundMe can be accessed by clicking the image link with the coin going into the donation box. (If anyone knows how to add a custom icon on Elemetor to make the Venmo and GoFundMe Links their respective logos, I'd love to hear how to do it!)
Thank you again to those of you who have supported me so far, it's tremendously generous and greatly appreciated.
Follow me on my journey to see 100 species in every Lower-48 State during 2025, experience some of the incredible places and events in American birding, and meet and bird with as many local birders as possible along the way.
Posts will be made every Wednesday (I will try to have them out by 5pm, but situationally they might be a bit later) and will cover the previous Monday through Sunday. Additional posts will be made periodically with no set schedule.
