The bird life in the Badlands was probably my favorite part of my visit. In part it was because it was so unexpected, and in part it was that it was a piece of the park that I hadn’t been interested in the last time I was there and so it added a new layer of appreciation for the park.

Probably the easiest bird for me to spot and identify was the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). I love birds that are named literally and descriptively.

I love bluebirds, and I’m pretty sure this is a mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides), it didn’t have any brown on its breast and was relatively long for a bluebird.

Although this specific swallow wasn’t nesting on a manmade structure, I’m still going to call him a barn swallow (Hirundo rustica). I saw several nesting in the sandstone and also under the eaves of the bathroom at the campground.

I’ve never seen terrain more suited to bighorn sheep camouflage. I didn’t see the first fellow until I was past him, and I drove by less than 2 feet away from him. After that I was on high alert, which is the only reason I spotted the second sheep watching the sunrise from his perch on the sandstone.

And prairie dogs!

Thank you www.allaboutbirds.org.

If I misidentified anything, please let me know! Dad you can just text me no need to comment.