Windbreak House

What's Here?

Photos coming soon.

Riparian Habitat Improvement
How the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory is helping Linda improve a creekside area for birds and wildlife.

Riparian Habitat Timeline and Updates
Yearly updates on the habitat improvement.

Linda's List of Birds Seen on the Ranch
Linda has been keeping a ranch-wide list of birds and animals for many years.

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory Lists
Includes a ranch-wide informal survey plus the official annual bird surveys of the riparian habitat.

Linda's List of Animals Seen on the Ranch
Linda's ranch-wide list. How many of these have you seen?

Critter Stories
Some stories about the wildlife mentioned in Linda's lists.


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Riparian Habitat Improvement


A riparian area is the land adjacent to a watercourse. A healthy riparian habitat is critical, not only to the aquatic life and creekside plants, but to birds and wildlife.

According to John D. Grahame and Thomas D. Sisk:
”Although the riparian habitats of these rivers and their tributaries represent less than 1 percent of the total acreage of public lands in the 11 western states, about 72% of all reptiles, 77% of all amphibian species, 80% of all mammals, and 90% of all bird species which occur regularly in the Colorado Plateau region routinely use riparian areas for food, water, cover or migration routes.”

Grahame, John D. and Thomas D. Sisk, editors of “Canyons, Cultures and Environmental Change: An introduction to the land-use history of the Colorado Plateau” (2002)
For more, see their website at www.cpluhna.nau.edu

Although their research was in the Colorado Plateau, no doubt similar statistics apply to Linda’s ranch in arid western South Dakota.


Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory

www.rmbo.org

The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 to address bird conservation and related public education needs in the western United States. RMBO is headquartered in Colorado, approximately 15 miles northeast of Denver. The Observatory's programs are supported by a wide variety of grants from state and federal agencies, foundations and other non-profits, as well as dues and contributions from RMBO members.

The mission of the RMBO is to conserve birds of the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Intermountain West and the habitats on which they depend through research, monitoring, education, and outreach. The RMBO accomplishes that mission through numerous research and public education programs which have dual goals: to conserve birds and bird habitat, and to increase people's understanding of birds-- how they interact with humans, what habitats they use, and what factors threaten their survival.

Linda especially appreciates that the RMBO believes wildlife conservation and agricultural production go hand-in-hand.


Prairie Partners Private Lands Habitat Enhancement

Linda’s project is one of six in a grant proposal submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “Private Stewardship Grants Program” by the RMBO through their Prairie Partners Program.

Partners on the project (this is where the money and labor comes from) include the landowner; South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks; USFWS Partners for Wildlife Program; and The Quivira Coalition. The grant was approved in 2004.

The overall goal of this project is to restore and improve habitat for birds and other grassland species-at-risk, and to improve the status of these species on private grazing lands in the Great Plains. For Linda’s specific project, the goal is to restore native vegetation and manage livestock use of the riparian area in Linda’s pasture along Battle Creek.

The project will run for 10 years (2004 through 2014).

During the first or second year of the grant, baseline information on bird and plant species will be collected; a fence will be installed along 1/​3 of a mile (34 acres) of Battle Creek restricting access to riparian vegetation; and a cattle crossing will be developed on the creek allowing cattle to access two pastures, separated by the creek, during the dormant season. Native shrubs may be planted within the fenced riparian areas if necessary.

Evaluation and monitoring will continue throughout the 10-year project. RMBO staff will conduct annual “point count” surveys to monitor birds during the breeding season, and will take photos to monitor the vegetation in the managed areas. They will also monitor for non-native invasive plants such as saltcedar (tamarisk) so we may stop them before they spread.

Some bird species which will benefit from the project include: Red-headed Woodpecker, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Common Yellowthroat, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow-breasted Chat, Say’s Phoebe, House Wren, Bullock’s Oriole, Yellow Warbler, and Bobolink. The plains minnow is also associated with and will benefit from riparian improvements within this watershed.


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Riparian Habitat Updates


Each year in the spring, the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory sends out a couple staff biologists to survey the habitat, make a bird count, and take photos to document the habitat improvement. Here's a timeline and what they've been finding.


2002
A small group of people from the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory spent two days (May 31 and June 1) doing an informal survey of birds on the ranch. Linda took them to the far pastures Over East as well as to the hay ground and riparian area along Battle Creek. For a list of birds seen, click here or scroll down to the bird list lower on the page.


2003
The RMBO discussed with Linda various ways they could help her improve bird habitat. It was decided to apply for a grant to protect the riparian area along a short stretch of Battle Creek.


2004
The grant was approved, but the paperwork moved as slowly as always. In November, 2004, a meeting was held at the Creek Place to lay out where the fence would be constructed and discuss erosion control at the creek crossing.


2005
The baseline bird survey was conducted in May. Click here to see it or scroll down the page to the Bird Lists entry. In October the 4-strand barb wire fence was installed on both sides of the creek, except for a necessary crossing where cattle will drink in the winter. We hope that the bird numbers and variety of species will increase as the fenced area is allowed to grow up into brush and trees.


2006
A survey was conducted in May. We will post it below as soon as we can-- paperwork is slow at times, sorry. But we know one of the biologists nearly stepped on a hen turkey sitting on her eggs, startling him when she leaped up. In August there was a torrential downpour upstream-- 4 inches of rain fell in one hour, causing flooding in the Battle Creek drainage. Linda and Tam inspected the Creek Place finding the fence wire at the crossing had been washed out as suspected. They scared up a group of ten or so turkeys during their hike-- perhaps the clutch seen in the spring? The fence at the crossing was repaired later in the fall before cattle arrived.


2007
An annual bird survey was conducted in May. In August the Hermosa area experienced its second "100-year" flood in 35 years, with up to twelve inches of rain falling in the span of about 2 hours in parts of the Battle Creek drainage above Hermosa.

The other 100-year flood was the infamous 1972 Rapid City flood, which also caused death and destruction here in the southern Black Hills. Happily no one died this time, but many houses in an upstream development east of Hermosa were damaged or destroyed, and downstream landowners were littered with debris, including an entire house which floated onto Linda's hay field not far north of Battle Creek.

Much of the riparian fence was damaged and had to be repaired or replaced. On the positive side, the flood deeply saturated the ground after eight years of drought and it redistributed the organic wealth from upstream-- silt, brush and leaves, enormous cottonwood trees. We even found pine cones; the closest pine trees are about five miles away in the Black Hills.


2008
This year the usual route across Linda's hay field was impassable due to last year's flood and this spring's excess rain. The RMBO field biologist had to walk in to the riparian area from the neighbor's land (with permission, of course) in order to conduct the annual survey. By the time he made it to all the designated survey points, he'd thoroughly soaked himself crossing Battle Creek.


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Linda's List of Birds Seen on the Ranch


Linda has been keeping and adding to her list since the 1980s. And she wants to point out that cattle have been grazing this land during all that time.

Linda makes every effort to identify the animals properly, using numerous field guides, though as any birder knows there can be some subtle differences between some species, making identification difficult. The birds are listed in no particular order-- apologies to serious birders.

Below Linda's list are some on-going bird lists made by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory during their surveys. Birds are duplicated in these lists.

The Black Hills area lies in the overlap where the range of eastern bird species gives way to western bird species-- eastern and western mingle freely.

The amount of rainfall in a year also affects which birds are seen. During a wet spell, the prairie plants will grow tall and thick, and the stock dams will offer standing water all year. During a drought we have short, sparse grass offering little cover. We have been in a severe drought since late 1999.


Birds Linda Has Seen at the Ranch

Eagles:
Golden
Bald

Hawks:
Northern Harrier
Swainson’s
Red-tailed
Ferruginous

Kestrel (called sparrow hawk)

Owls:
Burrowing
Great Horned

Mourning Dove

Magpie

Brown Thrasher

Grouse:
Sharptailed
Sage

Lesser Prairie Chicken

Northern Bobwhite

Common Nighthawk

Kingbirds:
Cassin’s
Western

Scissortailed Flycatcher

Long-Billed Curlew

Blackbird:
Redwing
Brewer’s

Bronzed Cowbird

Robin

Chickadee

Shrikes:
Northern
Loggerhead

Dickcissel

Sparrows: various, including
American Tree
Clay-colored
Field
Vesper
Lark

Larks:
Horned Lark
Meadowlark

Longspurs:
McCown’s Lapland
Smith’s
Chestnut-colored

Turkey vulture

Swallows: including
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow

Linda says: One pair of barn swallows usually nests over the porch light beside the south door on the deck of Windbreak House.


Birds usually seen near water:

Water Pipit

Winnowing Snipe

Killdeer

Upland Sandpiper

Blue Heron

Least Tern

Piping Plover

Ducks, various


Buntings:
Lark
Snow

Bluebirds:
Eastern
Mountain

Bobolink

Goldfinch (often called Canary by locals)

Linda says: Look for Goldfinches eating sunflower seeds near the Windbreak House deck in fall.


Birds usually seen only passing through:

Canada Geese

Sandhill Crane

Whooping Crane
once -- click here to read the story below

Merlin

Peregrine falcon

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RMBO Bird Lists


A number of lists appear here: a list of birds seen by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory during an informal survey of much of Linda's ranch; and the on-going bird lists made during the RMBO annual surveys of the riparian habitat, which are posted here year-by-year. Birds are duplicated in these lists.


Birds observed during Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory survey
May 24, 2006


Coming soon . . .

But we know they saw a hen turkey and a nest with eggs.

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Birds observed during Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory survey
May 24, 2005

Once the fence was installed to protect the riparian area, an official baseline bird inventory was conducted on May 24, 2005. Species detected included:

American Kestrel
American Goldfinch
American Robin
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown-headed Cowbird
Cliff Swallow
Common Grackle
Common Yellowthroat
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
European Starling
Great Blue Heron (rookery? Two active nests)
Hooded Merganser
House Wren
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-winged Blackbird
Song Sparrow
Violet-green Swallow
Western Meadowlark
Western Wood-pewee
Wilson's Snipe
Wood Duck
Yellow Warbler

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Birds observed during Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory survey
May 31-June 1, 2002

This informal survey encompased much of the ranch, including the pastures Over East and the Creek Place. I believe birds are listed in the order the group saw them as they toured the ranch.


Spotted Sandpiper -- at pond by Windbreak House
Bobolink -- by Windbreak House, alfalfa
Eastern Kingbird -- everywhere
Gadwall -- pond by Windbreak House, pond in Lindsay pasture
Mallard -- alfalfa
Upland Sandpiper -- pond by Windbreak House, alfalfa
Say’s Phoebe -- by Windbreak House
American Robin -- by Windbreak House, Homestead House
Red-Winged Blackbird -- alfalfa and hay ground at Battle Creek place
Common Nighthawk -- everywhere
Barn Swallow -- by Windbreak House and Homestead House
Orchard Oriole -- by Homestead House, hay ground
Bullock’s Oriole -- by Homestead House (nesting)
Cedar Waxwing -- by Homestead House, hay ground
Western Wood-Pewee -- by Homestead House
Yellow Warbler -- by Homestead House, hay ground
Brown-Headed Cowbird -- by Homestead House, alfalfa
Common Grackle -- by Homestead House
Western Meadowlark -- alfalfa and prairie
American Goldfinch -- by Homestead House
Common Snipe -- pond by house
Mourning Dove -- by Homestead House, prairie
Grasshopper Sparrow -- hilltops in prairie
Lark Bunting -- hilltops in prairie
Wilson’s Phalarope -- alfalfa
Red-Tailed Hawk -- prairie, hayfield east of Windbreak House, hay ground at Battle Creek
Northern Flicker (red-shafted) -- 640-acre pasture
Rock Dove -- barn and alfalfa
European Starling -- by Homestead House, hay ground
Turkey Vulture -- prairie
Killdeer -- alfalfa, pond by Windbreak House
Brewer’s Blackbird -- rocky outcrop
American Crow -- prairie
Northern Pintail -- dam in Lindsay pasture
Blue-winged Teal -- dam in Lindsay pasture
Lark Sparrow -- canyon in 640-acre pasture
Spotted Towhee -- canyon in 640-acre pasture
Rock Wren -- canyon in 640-acre pasture
Brown Thrasher -- canyon in 640-acre pasture
Horned Lark -- canyon in 640-acre pasture
Loggerhead Shrike -- “school section” canyon Over East
Red-Headed Woodpecker -- hay ground at Battle Creek
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow -- banks of creek crossing on the hay ground at Battle Creek
Common Yellowthroat -- hay ground, Battle Creek
Great Horned Owl, and Owlet -- hay ground, Battle Creek

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List of Animals Seen on the Ranch


Linda has been keeping and adding to this list since the 1980s. And Linda wants to point out that cattle have been grazing this land during all that time.

Linda has a short story about some of these critters. Either click on the link or just keep scrolling down to read all the stories posted at the end of the list.

The animals are listed in no particular order.



Rabbits:
Eastern cottontail
Black-tailed jackrabbit
White-tailed jackrabbit

beaver (along Battle Creek near Hermosa)

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel

northern pocket gopher

Ord's kangaroo rat

marsh rice rat

Mouse:
Eastern harvest mouse
White-footed mouse
Deer mouse
Golden mouse
Northern grasshopper mouse
Meadow Jumping

Voles:
Prairie
Meadow

Shrews:
Dwarf
Northern short-tailed

Muskrat

Porcupine

Black-tailed prairie dog

Coyote

Swift fox

Red fox

Raccoon

Long-tailed weasel

Black-footed ferret
??? Maybe. Click here to read the story below.

Mink

Badger

Striped skunk

Western spotted skunk

Bobcat

Mountain lion– tracks only

Pronghorn (antelope)

Mule deer

White-tailed deer

Snapping turtle

Western painted turtle

Bats: Big brown bat

Reptiles and Amphibians

Prairie rattlesnake

Pine gopher, called bullsnake

Red-sided garter snake

Western plains garter snake

Eastern yellow-bellied racer

Western plains hognose

Pallid milk snake

Smooth green snake

Garter snakes, Common, Plains, Western Terrestrial

Northern water snake

Skinks, Many-lined, Great Plains

Leopard frog

Boreal chorus frog

Toads:
Plains spadefoot
Great Plains
Rocky Mountain
Woodhouse

Blotched tiger salamander


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Critter Stories

Here are some brief stories about various birds and wildlife Linda has encountered. Click on the critter listed or just scroll down and read them all. Keep checking back as we'll be adding to these stories.


Black-footed Ferret
Whooping Crane


Black-footed Ferret
Yes, after all the uproar about them being endangered, George-- who spent a lot of time in the prairie dog town on the ranch walking, hunting, and just looking-- thought he saw one. He was sharp-eyed, not given to exaggeration, had read the stories and looked at the field guides, and he described its behavior without looking at any references. I trust his observation and believe he did see one.

But my father was concerned when we mentioned it, and said, "Don't tell anybody or they'll take the ranch away from us and make it a federal preserve."

Quietly, we invited a friend who was a wildlife biologist to visit our prairie dog town, but we couldn't find any definitive traces.
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Whooping Crane
One early morning in the late 1980s, my father and I and George drove out in the pickup headed over east and saw in the alfalfa field east of the house, near the railroad tracks, a large white bird. We stopped the pickup at once, knowing it was unusual, and looked at it through binoculars. While we watched, it stood up, and we all gasped because it appeared to be nearly 6 feet tall. One wing was extended, with the tip resting on the ground, and as we watched it extended the other and hopped, as if trying to fly. The tips of the wings were black. We were talking, trying to figure out what it was, and we'd all read about how rare whooping cranes were, but we couldn't imagine anything else it could be. Slowly we turned the truck and zipped back to the house, where I called the Game, Fish & Parks-- though perhaps George did that, since we did have a wildlife biologist friend in the Rapid City office. I'm not sure we even had a bird identification book at that time. By the time we'd talked to GF&P, and they'd arrived and we drove back out to the field, probably 45 minutes had elapsed. My father wasn't happy about the delay in our work plans for the day, but he was so stunned when it seemed to be clear that the bird really was an injured whooping crane, that he just mumbled.

But when we got back to the field the bird was gone. The GF&P man was initially disappointed, but we searched the area carefully and found no feathers, so we interpreted that to mean the bird was well enough to fly away. We watched the pastures to the south of the house for weeks, but never found any evidence that the bird didn't survive. After that, I sometimes remembered to take a camera with us on the trips over east-- but usually not.
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