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!
thank you for the interesting information regarding the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. My travel takes me close by and I am now encouraged to stop and see the sights. I have never seen a red headed woodpecker. Do you know of other areas they might be seen? My platform feeders have been visited on a regular basis by Dark Eyed Juncos. I think there must be a flock of 20-30. One of them has a black mask. It is unusual. I know there are several different Juncos, perhaps it is one of those.