Date: 7/13/25 3:28 pm From: Vic Fondy via groups.io <treasurecreek...> Subject: [sd-birds] Bear Butte Orman and Whitewood
We birded Saturday to Bear Butte Lake then to Orman Dam (Belle Fourche Reservoir) and return via back roads to St. Onge and home. Bear Butte lake is still very low and not much bird activity on the water. Sightings included Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, lots of bugs/Swallows, Mallard/Gadwall ducks but no Eagles. Orman campgrounds were full and lots of boat activity on the water. Sightings included Pelicans, lots of Ringed-bill and California Gulls, and few Caspian Terns. Raptors yesterday were limited to Turkey Vultures. 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 1 Kestrel. Other sightings of interest were Lewis's and Red-headed Woodpeckers, one Loggerhead Shrike, Bobolinks, Lark Sparrows, and one Dickcissel.
Our feeders 1.5 miles south of Whitewood are dominated by Blue Jays, Red Crossbills, and Black-headed Grosbeaks. We are not seeing/hearing any Warbler or Vireo activity, no Kingfishers, and have few bugs so very little Swallow activity. We have the usual summer regulars including both Nuthatches, Downy/Hairy Woodpeckers, EC/Mourning Doves, House Finch, Spotted Towhee, a few Turkey Vultures overhead intermittently, a pair of American Robins daily on the the front lawn, some Brown-headed Cowbirds, and a couple of Western Tanagers are intermittent at the jelly feeder.
