Great Kiskadee in South Dakota, Scarlet Tanager (CW) in North Dakota, and Purple Sandpiper (CW) in Kansas were the marquee species in an extraordinarily mild winter in the Great Plains. Almost to a person, the compilers in this part of the country agreed that the past winter was one of the mildest on record, especially in the Dakotas. A very warm fall was followed by an equally warm early winter, with almost no snow. This led to a number of species lingering far longer than usual or normal, and road conditions that allowed for unrestricted access to all count circle areas and varying habitats. This season, North Dakota birders completed and submitted 17 counts. Garrison Dam led the pack this year for high species count at 62 species tallied on count day, with Fargo-Moorhead taking second place with 60. The Garrison Dam count had a nice selection of waterfowl, and the only gulls in the state, five species, including Ring-billed, Herring, Thayer's, Lesser...