I haven’t moved. The weather has been stormy and wet, one storm dropped a lot of hail, but it was small hail. It rains almost every day, but I am not seeing any mosquitoes. No ticks either, I’m not sure why, this area is usually very bad for ticks. Not that I miss them, I can go hiking anywhere off the trails and roads and not get loaded with ticks. One result of that is that I finally confirmed nesting of Townsend’s Solitaire in the pine forests of Harding County. We have known that this thrush species is present and probably nesting, but it has never been confirmed. During the last South Dakota Breeding Bird Atlas (concluded in 2012) Townsend’s Solitaire was still unconfirmed as a breeding bird in Harding County.
I was walking through an area of thick pine near Red Cross Spring when I saw one, then two Townsend’s Solitaires. They acted like they didn’t want me there. I sat down and watched for about 30 minutes, finally I saw one of them fly to the ground and not back up. I walked over to where I saw the bird fly down and still did not see it. Finally, I noticed a dead pine branch with brown needles hanging over a log, I approached that, and the bird flew out. There was the nest! This is the first time I’ve found a ground nest, in the Black Hills I always find this species nests on cutbanks and rock ledges. Another view of the Slim Buttes about a mile south of my campsite. I have heard about Elk becoming established here in the Slim Buttes. I have seen tracks too, but this is the first Elk I’ve seen. There were five of them, all very wary and quickly disappearing. Weidemeyer’s Admiral on a pine branch. The left wing was really beat up, so I chose this shot.
2 replies on “Still at Slim Buttes”
Its amazing what you can see when you’re away from people. It looks like a beautiful place.
Were you able to get the tongue jack fixed?
It is a nice place, very quiet most of the time. Haven’t fixed the jack yet. It still works, but I need to order a new one. I need new bumper jacks too.
2 replies on “Still at Slim Buttes”
Its amazing what you can see when you’re away from people. It looks like a beautiful place.
Were you able to get the tongue jack fixed?
It is a nice place, very quiet most of the time. Haven’t fixed the jack yet. It still works, but I need to order a new one. I need new bumper jacks too.