South Dakota Birds and Birding Devoted to Birds, Birding, and Photography

American Dipper Photo

The Black Hills of South Dakota represent the furthest east that American Dippers are found.  They tend to be found in only a few select locations though in the Black Hills, with Spearfish Canyon definitely the location with the greatest number of birds.  I had occasionally seen glimpses of them, but never had really good looks at them until July of 2008.  We were staying at the Spearfish Canyon Lodge.  Roughlock Falls, a nice little waterfall area with a trail leading up to it, is found about a mile from the lodge.

We explored the falls area one Sunday afternoon, and didn't seen any sign of American Dippers.  The next morning, I got up just before dawn and hiked up to the falls.  Unlike the previous day, which was quite busy with tourists, there wasn't a soul to be found for the first 2 hours I was there.  And...there were plenty of American Dippers!!  They nest right up against the falls themselves.  Below the falls, access to the streamside is limited to protect the vegetation, but there is a very nice boardwalk.  As I first walked up the boardwalk, a stubby dark missile shot down the canyon from the direction of the falls, and plopped right in front of me on the side of the creek.  It was this guy, perching on the stick and periodically flying into the water to retrieve food for the young back at the nest. 

Over the next 2 hours, about every 2 minutes, a bird would shoot down from the direction of the nest, and land somewhere in the creek below to start foraging.  They didn't care much about my presence, sometimes landing within 15 feet of me.  Tough photography conditions with the lighting at the stream's edge, but I managed some nice shots of them, including my favorite, this guy, the very first bird I saw, complete with prey items in his beak.  Photo taken in July 2008.

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