Species to be seen from spring to fall include Red-necked (rare), Horned (uncommon), Eared, Western (uncommon), and Pied-billed Grebes; Great Blue Heron; Black-crowned Night Heron; American Bittern; Mallard, Common Pintail; Blue-winged Teal; Northern Shoveler; Gadwall; American Wigeon; Ruddy Duck; American Coot; Sora; Virginia Rail; Killdeer; Spotted Sandpiper; Willet; Marbled Godwit; American Avocet; Wilson’s Phalarope; Black Tern; Belted Kingfisher; Eastern and Western Kingbirds; Barn, Cliff, and Tree Swallows; Marsh Wren; Common Yellow-throat; Red-winged, Brewer’s, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds; and Song and Savannah Sparrows. Many other ducks, shorebirds, and swallows may be seen as migrants or as occasional summer visitors.
After driving by the marsh, turn right, south for 1.0 mile, and turn right on a road through a mixed-grass prairie, which is good for Chestnut-collared Longspurs and possibly for Baird’s Sparrows.
d) [Bowman] County
Bowman Haley Dam Refuge
Because of its position in the very southwestern corner of the state, Bowman County is one of the most exciting to bird. If you are going to find any truly western vagrants, your chances are better in either this county or the next two.
The best spot for both waterbirds and grasslands species is Bowman-Haley Dam National Wildlife Refuge. To reach it go north on U.S. Highway 85 from the South Dakota border for 5.3 miles, and turn right on an improved gravel road at a sign saying “Bowman-Haley Dam Recreation Area”. (This turn-off is about 11 miles south of Highway 12 near Bowman.) Go 5.0 miles east and turn right (south) at the sign saying “Point Rec Area 3 Miles”. After 2.0 miles turn left (east).
In the first mile check the roughly-plowed fields for McCown’s Longspurs in both spring and summer. After 1.3 miles the road becomes narrower and grassier and begins to loop around the lake. It should still be passable in all but wet weather. From 1.3 miles until 4.8 miles (where the road ends at a fence), you will be traversing some excellent grasslands. Most are mixed-grass prairie, but close to the lake there are tall-grass fields choked with weeds.
The mixed-grass prairie is good for nesting Sharp-tailed Grouse, Gray Partridge, Upland Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Burrowing Owl, Sprague’s Pipit (uncommon), Baird’s Sparrow, and Chestnut-collared Longspur. In the weedy fields where vegetation is taller and thicker, look for Bobolink, Dickcissel, and Clay-colored, Vesper, Grasshopper, and Savannah Sparrows.
For a different view of the lake, back-track to Highway 85, turn right (east), drive 3.0 miles, turn right (south), go 1.9 miles until the road forks, and swing right toward the marina. After 0.2 mile bear right. This road is good for birding, and there are picnic sites as well as room to spread your sleeping bag.