Date: 1/23/26 2:36 pm From: N Drilling via groups.io <dril0008...> Subject: [sd-birds] surprises in the cold
With the extremely cold and windy weather, and slow birding all winter long, it would be tempting to sit at home, thinking it's not worth it to go out searching for birds. Yesterday, fortunately, I resisted the temptation and found some nice surprise birds while birding near Forestburg in Sanborn County. About 10 miles north, at a huge CREP grassland, a Rough-legged Hawk flushed four Greater Prairie-chickens. This is much farther southeast than they are typically found in the state, as far as I know. On River Road just north of Forestburg, I found an adult male Brown-headed Cowbird feeding with a group of Red-winged Blackbirds. A bit farther north was the biggest surprise of the day - an adult Golden Eagle hunting the bottomlands along the James River. This is another species that is rarely found in this part of the state. So the moral of the story is - go birding (if you can get your car to start)!
