Vol 53, 2001 - Northern State University

time next spring. And this fall and winter we will feed sunflower seeds to blackbirdsvisiting our yards.Postscript: On 13 Nov 2001, the USFWS denied USDA's application, "The U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service today denied an application for a scientific collectingpermit, submitted by USDA under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), tokill an unprecedented 2 million blackbirds as part of an experiment to reducedamage to commercially grown sunflowers, a favorite blackbird food duringlate-summer and fall." ~GENERAL NOTESNORTHERN CARDINAL AT RAPID CITY. From 10 June through 5 August2001, a male Northern Cardinal frequented the Red Dale Drive neighborhood atRapid City, SD. During this period I heard the bird many times, frequently morethan once a day. Also, on four occasions (29 June, 1,6, and 12 July) I had visualconfirmation, so as to note the overall red body, crest, and the distinctive blackmarking around the beak. Additionally, on 19 July, my neighbor Roland Graysaw the cardinal perched on his garden fence at close range. Never was thereevidence that a female cardinal was present.During this time the bird occasionally sang its characteristic song (two distinctlyseparate notes followed by the series of quickly repeated notes) from myapple tree, but more often I heard the bird singing from nearby neighborhoodtrees.The Birds of South Dakota (1991) lists only two records of the cardinal atRapid City, 7-14 June 1967 and late December 1954 through 2 May 1955. Asoccurrence of the species in Rapid City is so exceptional, I was privileged tohave the bird present near my home. It was easy for me to be alert for the songas I was familiar with the species during my youth in northwestern Illinois, andalmost daily I see and/or hear cardinals at my winter quarters in Arizona'sSonora Desert. L. M. Baylor, Rapid City, SD 57702. "4SOUTH DAKOTA BIRD NOTES 53(4): 86 DECEMBER 2001