Our primary purpose was to drive and enjoy the Badlands National Park’s scenic loop with stops at all twelve overlook points for photos, and hopefully be able to transverse the unpaved Sage Creek Rim Road side road. There were also several trailheads, but we opted to stop at only a couple of the shorter hikes.
That being said, I wasn’t really expecting to see much in birds, let alone photograph any.
So I felt pretty lucky to capture three birds. And, dare I say, two are new lifers? Yes! 💃
As we entered the park and stopped at the immediate first overlook point, I saw my first new lifer, a Western Meadowlark, singing its heart out on a post away from the crowd. S/he gave me so many awesome photos, I was tickled yellow!
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Western Meadowlark (Lifer #230)
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That was just too easy, I happily thought!
I photographed another Western Meadowlark perched on a stop sign in a windy breeze as we departed another overlook point.
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Western Meadowlark shot from my car window
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I was hoping one of those would have flown to the ground for a habitat shot. But they both were too busy with singing. There were so many meadowlarks, we could see and hear them out our windows as we continued our drive.
A few more overlooks, and I scored my only Western Meadowlark habitat shot.
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Western Meadowlark
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At another overlook with trailhead, I spotted down the hill my next new lifer, a pair of Lark Sparrows.
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Lark Sparrow (Lifer #231)
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Lark Sparrows
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By this point, I was indeed a happy birding gal!
For the third bird, it was at yet another viewpoint. While walking back, I spotted a flash of blue in the tree above our car. That was pretty special!
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Mountain Bluebird
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It was definitely a win-win birding day for me…..for just a planned scenic drive. 😊
More wildlife to come from the Badlands National Park….bison next!
