In June 2020, to escape the confinement of the pandemic, my son Dan and I camped and photographed in Badlands National Park for a few days. One of the highlights was encountering a Short-eared Owl who was searching the prairie just south of the park. When Jane and I visited the Park this June, I asked a ranger where some good spots might be to find owls. She said Burrowing Owls are sometimes by the prairie dogs burrows at Roberts Prairie Dog Town at the north edge of the park. She warned that the owls are about the size of the prairie dogs and are hard to spot since they often stay by the holes.
Not a Burrowing Owl
You can spot prairie dogs through much of the park, often right along the road. Roberts is the largest area for the little critters. Once there we could also see some bigger animals like bison in the far distance and a Pronghorn family a bit closer.
Pronghorn, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
A handsome Horned Lark perched and sang on a buffalo chip.
Horned Lark
We walked through the prairie dog town as they announced our comings and goings, looking to avoid snakes (and buffalo chips) nearby, while scanning the distance for owls. We saw lots of the little dogs.
Then Jane spotted something flying in the distance.
As it got closer, we were sure we spotted what we had come looking for.
The bird would sit on a mound for a while and then fly off searching the area. Sometimes it would come a bit closer, and then fly far away. We saw another swooping over a different area. After watching the predators for a while, we left them to their work, and went to see more of the Park. It might’ve given us a good-bye wave.
