Mako Sica- maybe not!

From the Badlands National Park website FAQs:

Why is it called the Badlands?

The Lakota people were the first to call this place "mako sica" or "land bad." Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. In the early 1900's, French-Canadian fur trappers called it "les mauvais terres pour traverse," or "bad lands to travel through."

My son Garrett & I spent 3 nights at Badlands National Park on the way back to Colorado from Wisconsin last week.  I hadn't been to the park for about 30 years but still recognized the multi-hued, Kodachrome-friendly clay hills and gullies as old acquaintances.  Beyond the inspiring rugged scenery, the park is famous for the world-class fossil resources found within its boundaries, particularly late Eocene and Oligocene mammal fossils along with other fauna from ca. 40-28 million years ago.  

What I didn't really remember from my teenaged visit but immensely enjoyed on this trip was the park's horizon-spanning mixed-grass prairie habitat surrounding the barren areas most visitors frequent.  With so much pristine habitat (the park encompasses 244,000 acres), native wildlife is sure to abound and in my opinion this is the park's best kept secret (though I'm sure my SD buddies are all over the birding there!) 

 
A sea of grass entices Bighorn Sheep away from their cliffy strongholds for some rich grazing opportunities.

Pronghorns feature on the landscape along with crowd-pleasing Prairie Dogs.

The most mega of the park's charismatic megafauna are  American Bison.  This old bull hung out in the Sage Creek Campground, giving me a nice pose as I sat at our picnic table.

 
Near-constant companions of the bison, Brown-headed Cowbirds are a bit less charismatic and a lot less mega but I think them not too odious when they are in their natural milieu instead of, say, laying eggs in a Kirtland's Warbler nest.

This Long-billed Curlew joined an American Crow in harassing a Coyote.  My son & I enjoyed the show immensely but I'm not sure if the Coyote was as appreciative.

I've never experienced Grasshopper Sparrow density like I did in the mixed-grass prairie of Badlands NP- it seemed that every time I stopped in grassy areas to listen there were 'hoppers singing.

Western Meadowlarks were also legion in the park, nice to see for a species that has declined across most of its range due to prairie fragmentation and habitat loss.

Mountain Bluebirds are at about the eastern edge of their normal range in the Dakotas at Badlands NP. 

Lark Sparrows seemed to be around every turn in the rugged portions of the park, especially where grasses bordered areas of exposed bare rock.

After a dramatic morning thunderstorm, we found this Wild Turkey drying itself and sorting its feathers on a Badlands ridgeline.

A snazzy Sharp-tailed Grouse dazzled on the high wire just west of the Sage Creek Road entrance.

Another indicator of good habitat and a danged neat bird in my book, this Upland Sandpiper wasn't about to be outdone in the fence line balancing department along Sage Creek Road.

Anyway, if you are transiting the northern Great Plains I'd highly suggest blocking some time to spend birding and soaking in the prairie ambiance and scenery at Badlands National Park!

Sunset rainbow, Sage Creek Campground, Badlands National Park, 21 June 2013.  (iPhone panorama shot with AutoStitch.)

Comments

[Ted Floyd]

I love places like this--not on the radar screen of most general American tourists, but wonderful for birds and birders. Years ago, I read an essay by a New Jersey birder who over the years had spent many weeks cumulatively in southeastern Arizona, but who had never seen, and who had no particular interest in seeing, a certain geological feature in the north-central part of the state.

Bill's post gives me an opportunity here to put in a plug for the Lahontan Valley of northwestern Nevada. I suspect that most birders, let alone all-purpose tourists, have never heard of the place, but it is astonishing, attracting well over a million migratory water birds at the peak of spring and fall migration, plus land birds galore (always a few rarities) and gazillions of resident species, and the scenery and weather are always dramatic.

All of you: What are some of your favorite under-appreciated or little-known birding destinations? I'm thinking not of micro-hotspots (a particular ranch, oasis, or sewage treatment pond), but rather of full-on landscapes like Badlands National Park or the Lahontan Valley.

[Frank Izaguirre]

I love birding South Florida's mangrove forests and coastlines. Yesterday we saw a mangrove cuckoo, black-necked stilts, at least three clapper rails, white-eyed vireos, prairie warblers, white-crowned pigeons, an American avocet, and over a hundred roseate spoonbills. I even love that sulfurous smell.

[Xjoshx]

I doubt the Salton Sea would be on most people's places of things to see. Those that do stop probably only last long enough to take a whiff of the air before getting back in to their cars and moving on. It may as well be paradise to birders who will happily travel from far away to experience the 120 degree summer heat and rare birds.

[Tom Wilberding]

Great pics and narrative, Willie. I suspect this is your new lens at work, very sharp! Camping and birding a good combo.
In response to Ted I vote for Gambell, Alaska. The only tourists are birders--the place is very different and austere by typical standards--no flowers, no bushes, no trees, no grass-- just a little Yupik village on a gravel beach. But check out the Bering Sea, the distant Stint Pond, and the sea cliffs. I saw Crested Auklets but did not sniff them, alas.