March 28 2015 Big Stone City South Dakota Eagles

Got a tip from my friends Nick Elms and Amanda Hill there were 200-300 bald eagles hanging around the Big Stone Power Plant as there was winter fish kill in their holding ponds.  Being it was a Saturday with nice weather (by March standards as a 40-45 southeast wind is still cold at 45°) I decided to make the 3 hour drive over to check it out.

I got distracted on the way over on 12 by a huge flock of specklebelly geese in a WMA. I have some video from here which I should post sometime as it is kind of cool when they take flight.

My mom drove down from Fergus Falls to hang out for the day and the Whitehills also came down from Fargo.

For the most part the eagle action was ok...from a distance. 98% were juveniles since all nesting pairs of adult eagles have been at their nests for weeks now. Lots of birds but at a distance for the most part The ponds were still partially ice covered. We counted 31 eagles in a hundred square yards at one point and a total of about 100 within our field of view. With all the eagles in the air and in 4 tree groves, there were over 200 easily. The ponds are also surrounded by a large berm topped with chain link security fence.

Saw a lot of locals trying this. Scares the eagles away from the edge and you are still shooting through a fence. Not worth it.


I really don't have any photos from this day I like, but for the purpose of recording the day, here goes:

While doing some scouting on Google Earth before going over there, I notice there was a round barn still standing according to a photo tag which showed up.

I found the barn southwest of the power plant but unfortunately time is taking a toll on it.

Mom and I decided to take a spin through the Big Stone NWR since we were there.

Took a .7 mile trail walk which was fun. Huge granite outcroppings are not found just on the north shore of Lake Superior. If you are in the Ortonville area, make sure you check this place out. It's really cool visually.

After the walk, we parted ways as she headed north towards home and I headed east.

Not as spectacular was I was hoping, but I had to stop at a WMA near Danver's MN to catch the sunset.

Maybe thunder on Wednesday this coming week!