May 28-June 5, 2026 with Cory Gregory
The Dakotas sit in a part of the country that is not often visited by most Americans. They think it's flat and not worth their time. Even many birders think these states are birdless and not worth traveling to for birding. But, after our trip together through North Dakota and South Dakota, I hope you can agree that they're mistaken. These states have a great number of birds, including some very hard-to-find and gorgeous specialties. The prairie potholes were teeming with blackbirds, terns, and countless ducks and geese. Prairies to the west hosted Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Baird's Sparrow, and the habitat we were in, especially in South Dakota, was anything but flat. The Black Hills, jutting up sharply in western South Dakota, is an island of surprisingly impressive mountains and thus a stark contrast to the surrounding prairie. Rushing streams through steep-walled canyons, mountain meadows, expansive coniferous forests, lush creekside thickets, we got to sample all of these during our time there. By the end of the trip, I think everyone had adjusted their preconceptions about the Dakotas!
We started our trip together in Bismarck and although we battled high winds and a cold front, we enjoyed seeing the countless ponds and lakes to the east, all hosting a wide variety of birds. Whether it was pairs of Wilson's Phalaropes foraging along the roadsides or the Franklin's Gulls overhead, we kept busy. We saw many species of grebes, terns, ducks, blackbirds, and even an impressive variety of shorebirds. White-rumped Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstone, and even Sanderling were added to our list here. Nesting shorebirds included Marbled Godwit, Willet, and the huge Long-billed Curlew. Nearby, we enjoyed watching Clay-colored Sparrows singing from a fence and a slew of Bobolinks doing their aerial displays out over of the prairie.
Afterwards, we moved into western North Dakota where we spent time at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Although the expansive vistas were one of the first things we noticed, the American Bison were a main feature here as well. Joining them were the Black-tailed Prairie-Dogs, Pronghorn, and some fun passerines like Lazuli Bunting, Black-billed Magpie, and Lark Bunting. Western Wood-Pewee and Eastern Warbling Vireo shared the same tree, Red-headed Woodpecker was a nice addition, and Yellow-breasted Chats skulked nearby. Not bad at all, given the rain we often battled!
The next chapter of our trip began when we entered South Dakota and made our way south to the Black Hills. We wound our way up the gorgeous Spearfish Canyon, enjoying waterfalls along the way and watching for dippers in the streams. Our expansive wooden lodge for a couple of nights was a beautiful place to call home. Just outside its doors were Ponderosa Pine forests; Red Crossbills littered the trees, Black-headed Grosbeaks sang, Western Flycatcher song burst from nearby thickets, and MacGillivray's Warblers slunk through the creekside trees. Violet-green Swallows swarmed overhead, keeping company with the White-throated Swifts which were circling higher still.
We spent several leisurely days in the Black Hills, enjoying the many sights and sounds. We visited some campgrounds that were alive with Red-naped Sapsuckers, Canada Jays, both kinds of kinglets, and the American Dippers which fed at close range in the trickling streams. A walk up into a mountain meadow provided our first Mountain Bluebirds, while a bunch of nesting flickers prompted a quick study of their widespread integration. We also visited a few sites of famous American lore. First was Mount Rushmore. We couldn't have asked for a more picturesque morning, and the blue skies were out while we enjoyed seeing, photographing, and learning more about this well-known monument. Birdwise, we were able to find a very cooperative Canyon Wren that worked its way down the sides of a cliff. The only thing to distract us from that was a Western Tanager and Western Flycatcher that perched mere feet from our heads! Nearby, we drove down the picturesque Needles Highway and enjoyed some of the incredible geology (when we weren't in narrow tunnels).
This trip stays multiple nights at the State Game Lodge at Custer State Park. This expansive park, South Dakota's first and largest state park, is home to a multitude of birds and animals. We drove the Wildlife Drive Loop a couple of times, enjoying close views of American Bison, Black-tailed Prairie-Dog, and Pronghorn. Nesting Mountain Bluebirds, kingbirds, and Tree Swallows lined the fences, Red-headed Woodpeckers swooped from tree to tree, and the expansive prairie gave us more chances to enjoy Upland Sandpiper, Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, Lark Sparrow, and Common Nighthawks. Outside our lodge, we even heard a Common Poorwill singing one night. Just outside of the park to the west lays Wyoming. Although it wasn't in our initial plan, we swung in briefly to enjoy some great birdfeeders. Our host was most gracious and we saw some great trip highlights thanks to him. Many Lewis's Woodpeckers were coming in right in front of us, a couple Lesser Goldfinches were in attendance, but it was the flock of 30+ Pinyon Jays that really stood out!
We closed out our trip with a visit to another well known locale, the famous Badlands National Park. The prairie-dog towns stretched to the horizons which made looking for Burrowing Owls a fun challenge (and boy did we find them!). Once we made it to the cliff edges and looked off into the expanse, it really hit home why this is such a special park; countless jagged spires rose from the valley floor below and layers upon layers of different colored rocks were windows into the past. Quite at home here were the Rock Wrens which we saw very well and the Grasshopper Sparrows back off the edge in the grasslands. In some low shrubbery, we even had nice views of Spotted Towhee and Bell's Vireo. After we made it to the visitor center before closing (whew), and enjoyed the short video, it was time to start making our way back to Rapid City for our final evening.
I want to thank each of you for coming along and letting me show you a little of what the Dakotas have to offer. We really did traverse some incredible country, saw some incredible parks, and ended up with a very fun collection of birds and animals. Hopefully you all made some good memories and will have an appreciation for what birding the Dakotas is all about. Until next time, be safe and good birding!
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/539831
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/dak26TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Cory Gregory (Curlew)