It seems incredible that more than two weeks have passed since my last posting. This month is certainly moving with a cadence I’ve not experienced before. My father remains hospitalized – we’re in our eighth week, or I should say he’s endured that many weeks of very difficult circumstances. I’m inclined to start a blog just on the topic of medical mistakes made by health care providers in this time of managed care. But I won’t get into that here.
I need t o acknowledge, however, that helping to care for a critically ill family member shifts priorities and scrambles schedules and plans. My time is so limited that it’s been hard to find time to chase birds. So I’ve expanded my appreciation for the birds that show up in my yard, and in direct proportion, the frustration (okay, anger) for the daily visits by the Sharp-shinned Hawk.
The hawk usually shows up before 9 a.m. and often manages to keep the sparrows, starlings and doves at bay until mid-afternoon. He does create excitement, though. He nabbed a starling one day this week (photo right) and allowed me to take photos while he held it on the ground. This whole predator/prey thing is marvelous… who do I cheer for? The hawk, for being an adept hunter… or the downy woodpecker who escapes? Do I hope the hawk gets a sparrow or starling and spares the doves? Why would one bird be more expendible than another? Do high population numbers make birds less important? I need an a philosopher to sort out these questions! Any thoughts?
A 1st year Snowy Owl was sighted two weeks ago during a Christmas Bird Count in the Bartlesville, Oklahoma area. The sighting, and the bird’s daily activities, became the hot topic on the OKBirds listserv. An incredible opportunity for a birder! But I was too busy with projects for clients and was (and am) involved with my father’s ongoing hospitalization. What a challenge! A rare and incredible migrant owl had made its way from the far north country to the prairie grasslands of Oklahoma — would I miss the chance to photograph this bird?!
The only other time I’d seen a snowy owl was in early January 2002. My husband and I traveled to Foss Lake in Clinton in hopes of finding one that had been spotted in the area. We actually located the bird but, as novice birders, found our binoculars were useless since the owl was sitting in the middle of a pasture. To us it looked like a white trash sack. Needless to say, we purchased a spotting scope right after that trip. I didn’t want to ever miss a chance of watching a rare bird for lack of affordable optics!
So here it was, four years later — another snowy owl in the state — I had to make the time to see it. After working during the Christmas holiday weekend, I cleared an entire day on the calendar and Terri Underhill and I headed out yesterday in search of this magnificent owl. Every report made it seem like the bird was always sitting near the road. We thought we’d literally drive right up to it. Oh, the despair and disappointment when we couldn’t find the bird after an hour. We connected with an Arkansas birder searching for the same bird… he decided to take a break from the search and headed to Copan Reservoir in search of White-winged Scoters; we were taking our time (not liking the idea of failure) when he called to say he found the snowy owl by finding another birder who was photographing the bird. We ended up with a traffic jam in the middle of a country road. Birders rule!
The bird was sitting low in the grass, staying out of 30 mph north winds. Great to find the bird but not the greatest photo opportunity. A hundred photos later, we drove away in search of Bald Eagles but backtracked within an hour and found the snowy owl in a spot that was easier to access. The lack of “no trespassing” signs spurred us to walk through a pasture and get within 50 feet of the owl. She posed beautifully in the late afternoon sun!
Seeing a rare migrant owl is an incredible event. It’s tempered, however, by the fact that she only traveled this far south because she couldn’t find adequate prey in the northern states and was forced to go far beyond the snowy owl’s traditional wintering grounds. This doesn’t bode well for the bird. (And there are indications the bird may have been injured, another discouraging sign.) “The Sibley Guide to Birds” makes note of these concerns: ” (Snowy Owls) seen far to the south of normal range are often starved and stressed for food, and thus active in daylight. Healthy birds are mainly nocturnal, like other owls.” My joy in having seen and photographed this rare bird is certainly diminished by my awareness of its precarious state. Until I hear otherwise, however, I’m going to imagine that this one will beat the odds!
It’s been several weeks since I’ve found the time to write about the birds in my area. My father’s been hospitalized since the first of the month and my time management skills have been challenged by adding several new projects yet wanting to join my brother and sisters at the hospital. So, my desk is piled with things that need to be done and I haven’t found much time to see what the birds have been up to.
I missed writing about last week’s cold weather and light snow. It brought the Harris’s Sparrows to my yard along with several goldfinches. I made sure that the feeders and heated bird bath stayed full and the birds graciously returned the favor by keeping me company through several very cold days. The Great-tailed Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds made an appearance, the first they’ve visited the yard in quite some time.
On the way to visit dad at the hospital one day last week, I stopped by Lake Hefner and found ice cover on the coves. And this Great Blue Heron looked completely miserable as he walked on the ice to an open area. These beautiful herons are year-round residents in central Oklahoma so they’ve surely found ways to cope with the winter weather. But it’s still odd to see such a regal, tropical-looking bird standing on ice!
Tomorrow is the Oklahoma City Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. I’m planning to join the birders who will survey the Lake Hefner area. The weather forecast is calling for snow — it will be interesting to see if we can find some unusual birds, brought in perhaps by the cold front. And I’m hoping to be there at sunset to see if the Merlin is still hanging out at Prairie Dog Point.
Happy birding!
Thursday was the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, a day that traditionally includes overindulging on a turkey dinner. As anyone who has participated in a grade school play knows, the holiday is supposed to symbolize the meal the Pilgrims shared with the Native A mericans who befriended them and helped them survive their first harsh winter. The turkey somehow became a centerpiece of the feast and, as perhaps only Americans can do, we created a whole new species of turkey to satisfy our desire for bigger and better. Hence, we now feast on a bird that is incredibly distanced from the wild turkey that the Pilgrims knew. That wild turkey was so admired that Benjamin Franklin wanted it as our national symbol. The Bald Eagle, of course, was chosen and then we almost wiped out that species. We have a strange way of showing our appreciation don’t we?
I’ve strayed from the point of my story! So, Thursday was Thanksgiving and I looked forward to having a traditional dinner with my family. But my family decided that Thanksgiving would be celebrated this year on Sunday, which left me with no plans for the actual holiday. So I headed to the Wichita Mountains — my very favorite place to find a better attitude.
I had a wonderful day and was treated to a Rock Wren, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and some spectacular views of buffalo, white-tailed deer and elk. But I also came across two wild turkeys who let me take photos of them as they foraged in the grasses. They were my Thanksgiving gift and I’m delighted to share a photo. This is what a real turkey looks like!
I was feeling drained of new ideas on Friday after a busy, but productive week, so I set my sights on the one place in Oklahoma that is guaranteed to rejuvenate the spirit: the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge. The place is a 60,000-acre reminder that God doesn’t live inside a church. These mountains are the oldest in North America and there’s something really grand about their reliable presence.
The weather in Oklahoma has been dry and warm this season so the trees are just giving up their leaves without a lot of fanfare and color. But oh, my goodness, there’s nothing drab about the prairie and tall grasses this year.
Friday was another beautiful day – clear skies and temperatures in the 70s when good friend Terri Underhill and I headed to the refuge. It’s a 90-mile drive that goes quickly when you’ve got two avid birders in the car and a few hawks soaring overhead. (They were probably all Red-tailed Hawks but we worked really hard to make them into something else!)
We wanted (of course) to find a really rare bird but found instead a beautiful day, some charming birds and a great photo op of a bull Elk. Isn’t he incredible? I so enjoyed watching him and a small herd of females and young that his portrait gets posted on this blog instead of the very best picture of a Hermit Thrush I’ve taken. That says a lot, huh?!
Our best birding spot of the day was on the trail beside French Lake. We played the call of the Eastern Screech-Owl and had a few curious birds come to check it out. The Dark-eyed Juncos (newly arrived from their far northern breeding grounds), Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and the Hermit Thrush kept us busy as we tried to get photos of these birds as they flitted around the black-jack oaks. The refuge also provided a chance to chase some Chipping Sparrows, an Eastern Phoebe and a Red-headed Woodpecker around a field near Jed Johnson Lake.
It wasn’t the birdiest of trips but any day spent with elk, buffalo and prairie dogs is a great one!
Have you noticed that the birds are staying away from the BirdCam feeders? I surely have… and this guy is one of the reasons why. You might think that I’d get used to this predator v. prey thing that goes on in the backyard every winter. I just haven’t been able to. Now, I am fascinated by the hawks. I grab my camera every time I see one swoop through the yard. It’s incredible to see them. What isn’t incredible is the hours-long absence of any other birds after the hawk has made a pass through the area. And when the birds do finally start popping out of the bushes, they’re so skittish that they disappear again with each leaf that falls. I miss the birds! I miss having them at the feeders. I miss having to fill the feeders several times each day because the birds are so busy. I miss having birds to look at on the BirdCams! There’s nothing I can do. And of course, there’s nothing I would do. This is the way it’s supposed to be. But I don’t like it!
I participate each year in Project Feeder Watch, a citizen science project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. From November to April, I watch the backyard and on certain days, I count the birds. I’m sure it’s an “ego” thing, but I’d really like to have some high bird count numbers. It just doesn’t happen with the backyard being a part of the hawks’ territory. Somehow I need to accept this and just relax and wait for the birds to return. Somehow this doesn’t seem to be easy for me to do!
Here’s hoping for some birds at the feeders!
There are three special days each year when I simply have to hit the road and chase birds. It’s non-negotiable. October 23rd is the third of those dates and, just like a migrating bird, I headed to the Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday to hear the calls of the Sandhill Cranes and the Canada Geese, a journey I first took on the same date 34 years ago with my late husband. We were dating then, and driving to the Salt Plains on my birthday — just because it was the opening day of goose season — was not what I had in mind for that special day. A lot has changed since then and I now make the journey to celebrate how much I learned about birds and the Oklahoma countryside from Rick. This was the third birthday I’ve marked since his death and the drive to the salt flats has made each of them special.
Terri Underhill joined me and the day was cold and gray when we started our 2-hour drive. The sky cleared as we headed north but the wind stayed strong. We got our first glimpse of the Sandhill Cranes about 20 miles away from the refuge. There were hundreds of them in the air, making the most beautiful sounds. We stopped at the Great Salt Plains State Park and had a great time photographing American White Pelicans (pictured to the right) and American Avocets in their striking black-and-white winter plummage. In late October, there’s always a chance of seeing Whooping Cranes that are heading from Canada to their wintering grounds in Aransas, Texas. We saw several last year and I was able to get a picture of them in flight but we didn’t see them this year. After spending time driving around and birding with our friend from Cherokee Phyllis Hammer, we did get to see several thousand Sandhill Cranes on a bay at the refuge. We were surprised to see a Bald Eagle flying just above us and watched a falcon chasing shorebirds. We also saw a Winter Wren. This was my first sighting of the little bird and I’m still angry that didn’t get any photos of it. A big regret but a good reason to head back to the Salt Plains.
The journey home was filled with scenes of winter wheat growing in the fields of Alfalfa County and Red-tailed Hawks on utility poles along the road. There’s no better way to heal a broken heart than sharing the day with friends, an eagle and the magnificent birds of the Great Salt Plains.
I don’t know who gave this little bird the nickname “butter butt” but it certainly fits!  The name refers to the Yellow-rumped Warbler and today I was excited to see not only my first butter butt of the season but the first one I’ve ever spotted in my backyard.
I’d noticed a small bird flitting around the birdbath next to the birdcam a few days ago. The tail was too short for a wren but it was certainly a small and flitty little bird. My best guess, based only on a brief glimpse, was Ruby-crowned Kinglet. When I sat down for lunch today, right after cleaning the windows, I saw the little bird at the mister/dripper and I was able to get a few photos (through the very clean windows) and identify the bird as a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I guess a little house cleaning can pay off once in awhile!
“Yellow-rumped” refers to the bright yellow spot on the lower back (the rump, of course) of this warbler. Yellow-rumped Warblers are the most abundant warbler in fall, winter and spring. It is one of the few warblers to eat fruit and because it can eat berries, it can survive through winter in Oklahoma. It can arrive as early as September 29 and stick around until mid-May. I don’t know what food it’s finding in my yard (I have hackberries but none of the really small berries) but I’m going to watch to see if it’s willing to stick around for awhile!
There was a hint of magic in the air on this beautiful October day. An incredibly clear, blue sky and a sense that the mystical bird was really going to appear. How exciting it was, just as we were about to give up… there he sat… a beautiful white hawk. This is a partial albino Red-tailed Hawk that I first spotted January 26th on South Jenkins in Norman. When it swooped across the front of my car on that winter day, I thought I was having an “other-worldly experience.” I later learned that several Norman-area birders had been observing him at the area near the Norman Police Department gun range. And that’s where he was today. Thanks to Dick Gunn who recently let me know that the bird was still in the area and Nathan Kuhnert, my birding buddy for the afternoon, I was able to find the bird and try for a few more photographs. The bird doesn’t let me get very close, and even with my 12x zoom enhanced by a 1.7 tele extender I just wasn’t able to get a great photo of the bird. But I’m going to keep trying! If the price of gas stays reasonable (it was $2.27/gal. today), I’ll gladly make the 30 mile trip for a chance at more pictures!
A House Finch sat at one of the backyard feeders on Sunday and didn’t spook when the Blue Jays came through sounding an alarm. I knew there must be something wrong… and my concerns were confirmed when I saw the bird’s eye (pictured right). This House Finch was a victim of House Finch Disease, also known as House Finch conjunctivitis (Mycoplasma gallisepticum). The disease is spread through contact at feeders so I took down all the feeders on Monday and gave them a thorough scrubbing with a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach : 9 parts water) and allowed them to dry before rehanging them. Although the disease is actually a respiratory disease, it causes problems with the eye. From what I’ve read at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology site, the birds who do not survive usually die from not being able to feed, from losing sight, or from predation, but not from the disease itself. I found the finch again this afternoon and he was not in good shape; I don’t believe he survived the day. I suffer the loss of any animal to disease and want to take precautions to minimize the risk of this infection spreading to the other House Finches. This disease was first identified in 1994 in Maryland and it has spread across the country in a very short time. The Cornell site has excellent information about this disease as well as an ongoing citizen science project that is collecting data on reported cases. I’ll be submitting data and photos.
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o acknowledge, however, that helping to care for a critically ill family member shifts priorities and scrambles schedules and plans. My time is so limited that it’s been hard to find time to chase birds. So I’ve expanded my appreciation for the birds that show up in my yard, and in direct proportion, the frustration (okay, anger) for the daily visits by the Sharp-shinned Hawk.
