A new personal "state bird" should be front page news for any birder, and sooo it is right here as I announce the sighting of my first Least Bittern in the state of North Dakota! And it was just 3 miles south of the office as it flew within 15 feet of me and landed in small stand of cattails as I was photographing a young Eared Grebe at Grebe Marsh. I managed a documentary photo of the newbie, a female, to share with you here, although I also include a companion photo of a male I took of my only Least Bittern sighted in South Dakota (at Hecla Marsh). I also have a documentary photo of a Least Bittern in flight that I took in California, but I didn't manage to get any photographs of the Least Bitterns I saw at a shallow marsh near Lima, Peru.
Birding does that: When you least expect it, a bird that you least expect to see arrives just before you. And that's not all; just 47 hours after seeing that first North Dakota Least Bittern, I saw my second one, about 120 yards closer to home as I walked along the same line of cattails on the east side of Grebe Marsh – Woo-wee! Least Bitterns are not easy birds to see for most birders due to their secretive nature of staying in thick cover on the edge of marshes. Finding a new bird for your state lists, yard list, or life list is always a fun part of birding and usually carries a significant memory of when and where it revealed itself. What's next?
In between the 2 Least Bittern sightings, I took advantage of a beautiful August afternoon to drive west and northwest to Bismarck, checking on my many birding hotspots along the way – most just a couple hundred yards in size, some just a few trees, a marsh edge, or a prairie hillside, but also including a couple birding sites of state and national importance, including Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, McKenzie Slough, and Dogtown Marsh. Significant sightings were few and widely scattered, although it was exciting to see an adult Bald Eagle on the fly that attracted a Swainson's Hawk to dive at it in falcon form as it flew along the edge of Long Lake. And in the shallow south bay of the refuge there was a widely scattered mix of about 100 American Avocets, a like number of Franklin's Gulls, and half as many Wilson's Phalaropes.
Still hoping to find a photographable late Ruddy Duck brood or a brood of Canvasbacks at Dogtown Marsh, 3 older broods of Mallards were feeding there, 1 brood led by a pretty-colored female that was in the midst of molting. Now independent Wood Ducks were present too, but a little farther down the road toward the Capitol City I had a chance to intercept a female Wild Turkey seemingly following her brood of 7 partly feathered young as they foraged for insects in cut grass fields. By that time, clouds forced me to head into town to pick up groceries before renewed sunshine pressed me back into the field to check on birds at McKenzie Slough, 17 miles east of Bismarck.
This extensive shallow marsh becomes a haven for birds after the nesting season, and there were clearly hundreds of ducks, grebes, and shorebirds assembled in large flocks, with 2 flocks of Franklin's Gulls totaling about 1,000 I would guesstimate. Add to that a few small flocks of White Pelicans and White-faced Ibis, and it's hard to wish for more; although all the birds were assembled on the flat expanse of water between me and the sun, which offered only silhouettes for identification, counting, and photography.
Even so, among the throngs of birds assembled, a lone bird stood out and made itself even more impressive as it seemed as interested in me standing roadside by my car as I was in photographing it in the slightly fading evening sunlight. A lone Bald Eagle that was probably little more than 6 weeks out of its nest was perched on the edge of the marsh, but it took flight without need, as if to circle my position, then fly directly over me to return to its perch – all while I photographed in earnest, thrilled by every majestic movement of its wings in the fresh evening air so filled with the sound of hundreds of birds! I share my favorite photo here, but you can see a series of the photos I took in the Bird Photography feature in this issue.
More Local Sightings: The cluster of Red-headed Woodpeckers and American Kestrels continues to produce sightings and a few photo ops, but the numbers of both species definitely hit a peak the previous week, and the adults with fledglings left the area. I observed 3 Common Nighthawks in flight during one of my visits to the area, and at the top of the escarpment I observed 3 Sharp-tailed Grouse that may have been part of a family group. Occasionally I encounter big flocks of Tree Swallows that number more than 100, likely making a migration stop, and I saw another bittern in flight one evening – this time an American Bittern.
One little drying marsh has attracted a few Arctic-nesting shorebirds, and most notable this week were a tight group of 4 young Stilt Sandpipers making a migration stop on their way to Central or South America (without the aid of adults that passed through the area a month earlier). Other shorebirds there included Pectoral Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Least Sandpipers, and Semipalmated Sandpipers, plus a few local Killdeer. At Charo Marsh a few Long-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Least Sandpipers have been most common during the weekend, but I'm waiting for an exciting sighting at that hotspot soon as more shorebirds pass through the area.
Last Wednesday 2 Northern Yellow Warblers passed by my bay windows, foraging among the ash and sumac leaves about an hour apart. I also noted 4 suet visits from a female Hairy Woodpecker Wednesday, but didn't see the usual molting male. A third Ruby-throated Hummingbird, another female, appeared at the feeder, but the molting male suddenly became very territorial diving at the females to evict them during most of their visits. There are also a few American Robins, Mourning Doves, and House Finches in the area, but only the finches visit the feeding station.
Friday through Tuesday, the male Hairy Woodpecker returned, but the female appears to have been a one-day wonder; and at least 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds continue to enliven the bay window scene. The molting male has almost completed its molt now, looking much better and continuing his territorial attitude with other hummingbirds that sneak in to sip nectar at my feeder. Monday evening it was interesting to hear an American Goldfinch singing uncharacteristically loudly from a couple different vantage points near my front door, and although I did not see it, I certainly appreciated hearing its songs so close.
With the excitement of the Least Bitterns and the photo flight of the young Bald Eagle fading a bit, I've been searching for the next exciting interactions with birds in the northern Great Plains. Friends from 3 states have been spending the week in the northern Rocky Mountains near Glacier National Park in northwest Montana, and if I had joined them, it surely would have spiced up my birding descriptions, but next time … Hope you are enjoying your summer and I hope some memorable birding episodes are brightening your August days – Good Luck!
Article and Photos by Paul Konrad
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