T.R. Michels'

 Trinity Mountain Outdoor Adventures

Courtesy of South Dakota Tourism 

 Badlands & Wind Cave National Parks

Join wildlife researcher and naturalist T.R. Michels on a tour of Badlands & Wind Cave National Parks and Custer State Park to see the badlands, grasslands, mountains and woods that make this area so diverse and beautiful. On your tour you will see a variety of wild flowers, plants and animals. During August and September you may hear bugling bull Elk, and see and hear rutting bull Bison. During October and November you may see rutting Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer. You may also see Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goats. While you are on your tour T.R. will explain the biology and behavior of the animals, and what needs to be done to ensure their survival.

These parks are home to a wide variety of birds. The birds of prey include the American kestrel, golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, prairie falcon, great horned owl, burrowing owl and northern saw-whet owl. Other birds you are likely to see include sharp-tailed grouse, upland sandpiper, common poorwhill, white-throated swift, Lewis' and red-headed woodpecker, dusky and cordilleran flycatchers, Say's phoebe, eastern and western flycatcher, pinyon jay, Clark's nutcracker, black-billed magpie, rock, canyon and house wrens, ruby-crowned kinglet, eastern and mountain bluebirds, Townsend's solitaire, Swainson's thrush, loggerhead and northern shrikes, plumbeous and warbling vireos, orange-crowned, yellow, yellow-rumped and Wilson's warblers, American redstart, oven bird, northern waterthrush, common yellowthroat, red-breasted chat, western tanager, spotted towhee, lazuli and indigo buntings, dickcissel, black-headed grosbeak, vesper, lark, song and white-crowned sparrow, Brewer's blackbird, Bullock's oriole, and red crossbill.

View the Wind Cave National Park Bird List.

Badlands National Park

 Courtesy South Dakota Tourism

Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. The Badlands Wilderness Area covers 64,000 acres and is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America.

Mule Deer

The Park is home to several kinds of birds, flowers and plants. It is also home to several kinds of animals. Mule deer are by far the most common animal to see on a drive through the park, but you may also see white-tailed deer. You should also look for three less common animals of the plains: Bison, Bighorn Sheep, and Pronghorn, which can often be photographed from a vehicle.

Bison

Unlike most other North American mammals, which crossed the Bering Land Bridge or traveled up from South America, Pronghorn, or antelope as they are often called, are the only surviving member of a family of North American animals. Pronghorn are incredibly quick, having been clocked at over 50 miles per hour and maintaining that speed for up to five miles. Their coloration is an adaptation to help them blend into the open prairie.

Several extinct animals, from enormous to very small, once ranged throughout the area now included within Badlands National Park. Some of these animals lived in the subtropical forests that flourished after the retreat of the shallow inland seas, while others inhabited the savannahs and grasslands that came years later. Based on the best scientific knowledge some of them lived during what is known as the Oligocene period (that lasted from 23 to 35 million years ago). Leptomeryx, a small, fragile deer-like animal, had even-toed hooves and browsed on the stems and leaves of early Oligocene vegetation. Oreodonts, which had a sheep-like in appearance, were extremely abundant. Their name means "mountain tooth." Archaeotherium, which is a distant relative of modern pigs, had sharp canines and fed on both plants and carrion. An ancestor of modern horses, Mesohippus, had three toes instead of one hoof. Hoplophoneus, one of the earliest of the mammals to be called a saber-tooth cat, was about the size of a leopard. An agile rhinoceros, the Subhyracodon, was a plant-eater. Ischromys, a small squirrel-like rodent, probably lived in trees and ate a diet of fruits and nuts. Metamynodon was a massive rhinoceros that, like the hippopotamus, spent much of its time in the water. Paleolagus, which may have been an ancestral rabbit, nibbled on plants.

Several fossils can be seen along one of the walking trails in the park.

 Custer State Park, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, encompasses 71,000 acres of spectacular terrain and an abundance of wildlife. Nearly 1,500 bison roam across the park, as well as Rocky Mountain elk, mountain goats, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, white-tailed deer and wild burros. Other animals include mountain lions, coyotes and black-tailed prairie dogs.

South Dakota's original wild sheep was the Audubon bighorn, which became extinct around 1920. A herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep from Colorado was introduced to Custer State Park in 1959. Bighorn sheep have recently been released in Badlands National Park as well.

Bison, or Buffalo as they are incorrectly called, roam the p ark in large herds. Join wildlife researcher T.R. Michels for a Bison Tour from mid August to early September, when the rut is in full swing, and when you can see big bulls fighting and bellowing.

A herd of 300-400 Rocky Mountain Elk inhabit the park, and during the fall rut (late August to early November) you may hear the bull elk bugling. Join wildlife researcher T.R. Michels on an Elk Tour in September and October to watch and listen to the elk. Listen to an Elk Bugle.

View T.R. Michels' Elk Activity Graphs.

The park is home to several hundred white-tailed deer, which are often easily seen. Join wildlife researcher T.R. Michels on a White-tailed Deer Tour from late October through late November to see whitetail deer breeding, and look at their rubs and scrapes.

View T.R. Michels' Deer Activity Graphs.

One of the world's longest and most complex caves, and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife, are the main features of Wind cave National Park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork; an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. Cave tours are offered daily throughout the year.

The park's mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining, and it is home to bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and prairie dogs.

Join outdoor wildlife researcher T.R. Michels on a Birding, Wildflower and Big Game Animal Tour throughout the year, depending on access to the areas.

We offer Natural History Eco-Tours to several State and National Parks and other areas for Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Elk, Moose, Mountain Goat, Mule Deer, Turkey, Waterfowl, White-tailed Deer; $100 per day per person, minimum of 2 persons.

Eco-Tours (limited photography) $100 per person per day; minimum of 2 persons.

Photography Trips for Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Elk, Mountain Goat, Moose, Mountain goat, Mule Deer, Turkey, Waterfowl, White-tailed Deer; $200 per person per day; maximum of 4 persons.

Wildflower & Scenery Photography Tours; $20 per person for 1-3 hours; minimum of 2 persons. All Day Tours (7-10 hours); $100 per person; minimum of 2 persons.

For more information contact T.R. Michels at Trinity Mountain Outdoor Adventures.

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