Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Cackling Goose

The Cackling Goose looks very similar to the Canada Goose.  To the uninitiated, this bird can be easily overlooked in view of the fact that it is with a group of Canada Geese, but such conditions teach us to look closely at every individual.  Hidden within groups tends to be many gems.

This subspecies is most common in the southern Great Plains as well as surrounding states and staging areas in the winter.  There are several subspecies:  Pacific, Aleutian, Minima, Taverner, and Richardson's.  With these all being migratory birds, they are observed in the coastal portions of the High Boreal Forest in the central and northwestern regions as breeding birds.

As always, there will be variations among these geese, not all will be clearly pure species or subspecies and they commonly hydridize.  Facial patches (or chinstraps) and neck rings vary, as do colorations of the breast.  Bill length variations are also extensive with plenty of overlap, but as a general note, the bill length will usually be shorter than the Canada Goose and the head is rounder with a difference in forehead steepness.  This is what separates the Branta genus (black plumage) from Anser (gray  plumage).

                                                                   Cackling Goose
                                                          Boomer Lake Park, Dec. 2014

Adult birds will show a characteristic "U" on the dark uppertail contrasting well with the black, most noted when the bird is in flight.  Overall, the bird is mostly brown with normal differences described above.  However, shades of brown will vary, which determines which subspecies is being noted.

The shortest billed Canada Goose is the Lesser, while the longest billed Cackling Goose is the Richardson's, and both can be found sharing the same space in the center of the country.  Males will tend to be longer billed than females.

Surprising through genetic structures, the Cackling Goose is quite different from the Canada Goose.  Mitochondrial DNA sciences have opened up an entirely different world of information since its advent, with much more coming to light as scientific study broadens within that region.  There will be more coming to light as new studies increase and specialize.

Briefly, these geese breed along tundra ponds, coastal marshes, and steep turfed slops above rocky shores.  They are strictly herbaceous.  Some will nest upon cliffs and others upon slightly elevated sites near water.

Another View of Cackling Geese In this Module:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2014/01/land-of-beauty-time-of-reverence.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Ross's Goose

This small goose with a small bill, round head, and clean white coloring is typical of Ross's Goose.
Small numbers tend to be mixed with Snow Geese as well as Canada Geese.  There is also a rare dark morph.

A breeder of the low Arctic tundra, in ponds and marshes, Ross's Goose will nest in colonies with the lesser Snow Goose, nesting upon the ground in sparsely vegetated areas.  Often mistakenly identified as a Snow Goose, this species does not have the usual "grin patch."  They do have a higher pitched call.

Ross's Goose

Boomer Lake Park, 2018

                                                           
                                               

Usually the first to leave the breeding grounds, this bird will winter in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, and in small parts of Mexico in ag fields, fresh water marshes, and shallow lakes.

Confirmed as recently as 1971, there is a very rare blue form of this species.  Additionally, Ross's Goose will hybridize with the Snow Goose to create fertile offspring.

blue morph Ross's Goose

Brooke Miller 2015 in CA

The male has warty nodules at the base of its bill, believed to raise its status within the species.  The female has very few of these, along with a flatter forehead, a shorter neck and is noticeably smaller.

This goose was named after Bernard Ross of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Canadian Northwest Territories.  More of a naturalist than a fur trader, Ross created collections of mammals, birds, and insects, which he forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and the British Museum in London.


More Photos of Ross's Goose:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-bar-gets-raised-one-notch.html

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/02/and-then-there-was-distinction.html

102818 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-the-birds-have-been-bountiful/article_1147b9a4-6129-5772-8500-94981b029fb0.html

102818 Muskogee Edition, Birding Today

https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/lifestyles/birding-today-location-makes-a-difference-when-birding/article_c2518539-7390-5d24-82a5-9d32189dcf18.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Ring-necked Duck

A common winter bird of Oklahoma, the Ring-necked Duck winters on lakes, rivers, ponds, yet very rarely on salt water.  A breeder of the northeast, Boreal Forest, around the Great Lakes, and along western mountains, this striking duck is best identified by the crown at the peak of the head and the ring around the bill.  The male's coloring is also very handsome.  The female has a distinctive white eye ring and a strip at the facial end of the bill.  She is various shades of brown with a gray face.

This diving duck is gregarious and will mix with many other diving ducks on wintering lakes.  Many times they will be observed with scaups.  They will fly directly up from the water without having to get that running start like many other diving ducks.

male Ring-necked Duck

Boomer Lake Park, 2015

'

These are the likeliest of North American ducks to ingest lead shot from the bottom of wetlands, making them very susceptible to lead poisoning.  This is another reason to advocate the eradication of lead shot, as it has a strong effect on our diving duck population.  However it is difficult to remove what has already been deposited in the waterways. 

The ring around its neck is almost never seen.  It is a faint brownish band around the base of the neck, likely seen most commonly by duck hunters.

Pair formation begins in winter.  The pulling back and thrusting forward of the head and rapid nodding of the head will be noted during this time, directed at females of the species.

Climate change predictions indicate that this bird will winter over most of the continental US and breeding areas will be heading in a northerly direction.

This small- to medium-sized diver has an apparent white wedge shaped coloration at the shoulder, which is readily visible while the bird is in flight.

Some of these neotropical migrants will go to Central America and the northern Caribbean.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Ruddy Duck

A stiff tailed duck of winter, the Ruddy Duck male arrives before the female when it is time to breed.  Commonly found in the open waters of lakes, sheltered coves, and ponds in a tight cluster, these small, yet robust ducks will sometimes mix with other species.

These prairie pothole, southern Rocky Mountain, and intermountain western breeders construct nests in bulrush and cattails over water.  The diving ducks feed upon seeds, other vegetable matter, as well as protein, especially during breeding season.

The least number of overwintering birds is in the interior of the country, where they lethargically appear to be at rest most of the time.  Similar to what would be a bathtub rubber duck in appearance, in order to become airborne they run across the water.  It is suspected that these birds migrate at night.

                                                          Ruddy Duck in mid-Dive
                                                          Boomer Lake Park, 2015

The Dark-headed variant (nominate subspecies or Andean Duck) breeds in northern Mexico and commonly is found in Mexico and Guatamala in the winter.  It is a common resident of the Caribbean, and is also seen in South America where it is both common, as well as rare in the Andes vicinity.

Sometimes remaining locally longer than normal, the males will be observed in their breeding plumage, which includes a bright blue bill, nearly fluorescent white check patch, and a shiny chestnut colored body.  The breeding female is a dull brown with white cheek patch, and a dark cap.  During the winter, the female has a dark line across the cheek with a dull cheek patch, brown body and crown.  The adult male is a little brighter than her in his non-breeding plumage.

With legs that sit far back on the body, they do not move well on land.

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Franklin's Gull

Presently on the move through the Plains States, Franklin's Gull has smaller black tips on the primaries than other look-alike gulls.  Note the whitish hindneck and the dark half-hood, which is more extensive than the Laughing Gull on a first winter bird, along with a clean white underwing.  A second winter bird could have a little more wingbar black than an adult.  Its call is also less penetrating than the Laughing Gull.

Commonly referred to as a bird of the prairies, the Prairie Dove will often follow field plowing operations to snatch mice, insects and worms.



                          Franklin's Gull
                            Audubon.org

These omnivores are migratory breeders in central Canada to our northern states, wintering in western South America and the Caribbean.  They are uncommon coastal birds in the US, breeding in colonies near prairie lakes, wetlands, or sloughs on the ground or floating in the water.  If they choose to build a floating nest, it gradually sinks due to penetration of water and must have fresh material added daily.  Older birds will also add to it while parents are still breeding.

Populations will fluctuate with rainfall and drought, so since marsh conditions can change yearly, thus will the breeding birds.

Named after Sir John Franklin, an explorer of the Arctic, this neotropical migrants was first called the Franklin's rosy gull, after its colorful belly and breast.  Early area settlers in the prairie states called it the prairie dove.

It is expected that climate change will also affect this gull, sending its breeding colonies north toward the Hudson Bay of Canada, and possibly out of the US altogether.

Fall Migration Still Waiting to Top Out or World of Birds On the Rise

                                                        Dark-eyed Junco (slate-colored)

                                                                      Field Sparrow

                                                                Ruby-crowned Kinglet

                                                                    Field Sparrow

                                                                Field Sparrow, View 2

                                                                   Lincoln's Sparrow

                                                                 American Goldfinch

                                                           American Goldfinch, View 2

                                                                    Eastern Phoebe

                                                               Yellow-rumped Warbler

                                                          American Goldfinch, View 3

                                                          American Goldfinch, View 4


10-20 - 10-23-18

Last weekend and the first couple of weekdays brought two expected fallouts to Boomer Lake.  This turned into the sparrow capital of the world, as well as songbird numbers increased.  Being conservative, my opinion was in the neighborhood of a dozen winter Yellow-rumped warblers, but I believe it was close to twenty-five.

Also visiting were Orange-crowned and Nashville Warblers.  Making attempts to get from one habitat change to another proved interesting, but just listening to the sounds of the birds that came in together, it was easy to tell what was near.  However, finding each species was definitely another story.

After the Palm Warbler find, which was Boomer Lake's first recorded sighting, my spirits were high, and we did manage either a late migrating Gray Catbird, or the breeding catbird from these parts just decided to stay longer.

The Dark-eyed Juncos only stayed for a day, but the American Goldfinches and sparrows were eating every seed in sight.

After a brief sighting of about sixty Franklin's Gulls, Lady Luck asked me to settle down and enjoy the sights. So I did.

What I bring to you was just a basic representation of what I was able to find or at least be in view.  The sounds of the Spotted Towhee rang through, it was briefly spotted once, but it has been staying put.

After a couple of days rain, it will be time to see what else flew in.  Stand by for more information as soon as possible.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

White stripe from bill to belly, less red than black on the head and males' throat, bold white upperwing coverts, and that will likely equal a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker wintering bird.  Even rarely, one might even discover the adult black-crowned female.  With a similar call to a flicker with the wick-a-wick-a, and Queeh-yah, one will soon spot this uncommon bird, if it is heard.  It is usually less active than many other woodpeckers, and will tap quietly.  Its small, shallow holes are usually in line vertically, where they will feed upon sap and the insects contained therein.

These woodpeckers have strong, straight bills.  In winter they can be found in orchards, favoring deciduous trees.  It will hybridize with the Red-naped and Red-breasted Sapsuckers of the west in appropriate zones.

This woodpecker is sometimes considered a pest, as its feeding habits are known to seriously damage trees due to frenzied feeding practices.  They will gird trees, meaning that they will remove an entire ring of bark around a tree that insects will permeate.

                                                             Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
                                                      Northwest Payne County CBC, 2017

Even though the lemony belly can be difficult to observe on perching birds, one's chances will be better on maple, aspen, and fruit trees, due to their strong sap production.  Due to its continual work with seeking sap, these woodpeckers tend to help feed insects, hummingbirds, bats, porcupines, butterflies, and warblers with their overzealous work.

The Spanish woodpecker will readily avail itself to back yards for suet, sugar water, jelly, and small pieces of sweet desert, like donuts or Danish.

Look for a photo of an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker here:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2016/01/first-of-year-spectacular-shots.html

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Canada Warbler

This attractive, small warbler is uncommon within shaded deciduous undergrowth in mature forest along low, thick areas and many times along streams.

The necklaced warbler spends less time on the Boreal breeding grounds than most warblers, arriving late and leaving early.  It has also been known to breed along the Appalachians as far south as Georgia.  Due to overbrowsing by deer, deforestation, the wooly adelgid (a killer of hemlock and spruce), this passerine has been losing numbers.  In the Andes, where a large portion of these neotropical migrants overwinter, loss of habitat is hurting them on the opposite end of the spectrum.

As a strong flycatcher, it will flush insects while foraging along leaves and twigs, then darting out to catch escaped protein.  Also watch the ground, as they will forage among the leaves there,  Within dense foliage is can usually be located from a couple of feet from the ground to the higher canopies.  It will feel the effects of climate change as the years pass, and loss of forest due to clear cutting will take its toll.



               Canada Warbler
      Wikipedia/William Majoros

The male will have a darker necklace and a longer tail than the female.  They really are not dimorphic.  This passerine has thicker spectacles than most warblers, and fresh spring coloring will show a bright yellow chest, belly, and throat, as well as a dark gray back.  While nesting, they are often a Brown-headed Cowbird host.

Look carefully for the necklace, which will keep one from identifying it as a Magnolia Warbler and if there is a yellow throat, ID as a Yellow-throated Warbler.  During the fall, it is not difficult to determine the identity of this bird.  The adult male will show strong similarity to the spring male, but sometimes slightly duller with fringing upon the crown.  The female adult will have an olive cast to her upperparts, missing the black in her plumage.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Brown Creeper

This small, thin brown songbird has a curved bill and creeps along on horizontal branches or upward on trunks of trees.  It is usually solitary, but is known to frequent areas with other songbirds, like chickadees, woodpeckers, kinglets, titmice, or nuthatches.

The American tree creeper is the only member in its family, and it uses its long stiff tail for balance while searching for insects within the bark of trees, where its cryptic coloration serves it well.  It has a high pitched and piercing call, tending to spiral up a tree.  It then flies back down to earth and repeats the process on the same or a different tree.

                                                                     Brown Creeper
                                                           Boomer Lake Station, 2015

Out of the breeding season, they can often be found upon deciduous trees.  The creeper enjoys mature forest with large trees, but surprisingly, is often a victim of window strikes.  The songbird is sometimes used to determine the health of a forest ecosystem by its presence.  Forest management is being changed to increase the numbers of these birds, as well as their comrades, the Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl.

The male shares identical plumage with the female, yet he is larger.  There are gray, rufous, and brown morphs within the species, as well as three distinct subspecies.  The Mexican subspecies is found in southwest New Mexico and southeast Arizona.  Eastern birds are paler, short billed and larger, while the western birds are smaller, longer billed, and darker.  Each subspecies shares different dialects.

This neotropical migrant will winter as far south as Central America, yet many spend winters in the central part of the US.  Never expect one of these songbirds at a feeder.

They are Boreal Forest and northeastern and western breeders.

For the Brown Creeper and Species It Surrounds Itself With, See:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-birds-say-that-spring-is-here.html

Fall Migration and a First Time Surprise at Boomer Lake

                                                   Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal

                                                                 Solitary Sandpiper

                                                          Solitary Sandpiper, View 2

                                                                       Blue Jay
                                                   

Palm Warbler (Fall Plumage)

    

Palm Warbler, View 2 

                                                               Clay-colored Sparrows

10-05 through 10-17-18

A little more migratory movement was underway during this period and as time progresses, it is getting even better.

The Blue- and Green-winged Teals came through during the cold snap, and the Solitary Sandpiper was waiting for me after the rains ended, which left several low points filled with water, but just enough for the shorebirds to be comfortable with.  I keep looking over those areas, which are still retaining water, but nothing else has come.

Clay-colored Sparrows along with several other LBJ (little brown job) species have infiltrated the lake.  The migrants have been busy devouring fruit and seeds, barely looking up when a shadow is cast.

The big surprise was this beautiful Western Palm Warbler amid the Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and the Clay-colored Sparrows at a tree off by itself with shrubs. I could hear other sparrows, but had been unable to locate them in the area, but the next day was definitely another story.

Stay tuned for more.

102118 Muskogee Edition, Birding Today

https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/lifestyles/birding-today-developing-a-bug-for-birding/article_765c2edb-83d0-5508-b3ac-da1f8e78699b.html

102118 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-these-birds-have-a-song-for/article_c1b01c0b-b1f9-5bd9-8cae-7c99cba735b0.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Golden-crowned Kinglet

see-see-see-see-chit-chit

Even tinier than the Ruby-crowned Kinglet with a bold eye stripe and more gray-green, the Golden-crowned Kinglet is a bird of the conifers.  They tend to be in small groups in the company of Brown Creepers, chickadees and other woodland birds.

They have dark wings with two black patches beneath the second wingbar.  The only real difference between the male and the female is the color of the crown, should it be flared.  The female will show a yellow crown and the male sports red-orange in the center of his crown.

               

They can be found is a wide array of habitats, with the favorite being in the evergreens.  However, other possibilities are along tree-lined streams, in orchards, parks, lowland deciduous woodlands, as well as within the Ponderosa pine forest.

Their food includes tiny insects, spiders, sap, eggs under leaves, and they will take fruit occasionally.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Golden-crowned Kinglet

                                                                                              audubon.org

Another very energetic songbird like the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, this diminutive sprite is a Boreal Forest breeder, which usually manages two large broods (lays 8-9 eggs, sometimes as many as 11) per season, and has expanded its range to spruce-fir forests of the northern US.  Another bird expected to change its breeding habitat, to more northern regions due to climate change, this Boreal breeder usually stays high in the canopy, even in winter.  The species can handle -40 degree temperatures.

Each of the kinglet's nostrils are covered by a single feather.  Know the song, as it is difficult to observe with its constant movement, but it will respond to a pish.  However, never pish in the dead of winter, as this can cause a bird's well-being to suffer with the cold.

Kinglet is synonymous with crest.  The Golden- and Ruby-crowned Kinglets will sometimes hybridize.

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Palm Warbler

This long tailed tail-pumper is a ground forager that breeds in the Boreal Forest of Canada and the northeastern US.  As breeders in the north, they will use evergreen trees and dense cover in boggy habitat.   Similar to a pipit, it can be helpful to confirm the identity with the yellow around the vent and rump as well as the white corners on the tail.  For a warbler, they are on the larger side and have a rounder belly.

Its song is a buzzy trill with a common chek call.  During fall migration, it will often be seen with kinglets, sparrows, Pine, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  As migrants and winter birds, this songbird will be seen along forest edges, weedy fields, parks, coastal scrubland, and with scattered trees and shrubbery.  The New World Warbler is normally found in the western two thirds of the US, and is called either the Brown Palm Warbler or the Western Palm Warbler.  The Eastern Palm Warbler will be located in the eastern third of the US.

They constantly bob the tail, are on the ground more than other warblers, and are fond of berries as well as protein, sometimes being seen hawking insects if in a tree or on a shrub.  They are more at eye level or below, rather than higher canopies like many other warblers.

                                                          Western Palm Warbler
                                                         Boomer Lake Park, 2018


Palm Warblers are frequently victims of collisions with lighted towers.  It is also suspected that since the better part of these neotropical migrants breed in the Boreal Forest, they are losing population due to peat (moss) harvesting, logging, and tar sands development.

The species will use feeders if they find native plants and a good water source.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Spotted Towhee

Sweet-sweet-teeeeeeaaaaa!

Larger than sparrows with a long tail, dark head, rufous flanks, and white spotting, the Spotted Towhee has several subspecies.  We have our Great Plains, the southwest has their Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest has theirs.  These are all self explanatory, and later, there will be discussion on the Eastern Towhee, which also comes to Oklahoma.

These good looking large sparrows are common in brushy habitats including the undergrowth in open forests and shrublands, but are a secretive species staying within cover.  They scratch heavily within leaf litter, seeking seeds and insects, using the two-footed method to scratch simultaneously with both feet.

Since 1995 this species was separated from the Eastern Towhee, both species once called the rufous-sided towhee.  They share a very narrow hybrid zone in the northern Great Plains.  These birds will show a white patch at the base of the primaries, and their call can be a blend of the two species or sound like either of the two, so it is imperative that one pay close attention in this part of the country.  However, bear in mind that juvenile birds can emulate a hybrid during early winter, though it is rare.

                                                                    Spotted Towhee
                                                       Mount Lemmon, AZ-- Spring 2018

As omnivores, this towhee will eat nearly anything, but during the breeding season it will eat more insects and arthropods, mainly as the young require protein for good growth.

They also have about the largest range of any towhee, found over the southern portion of the western Canadian provinces and over half of the US.  They also do not flock.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Hermit Thrush

The beautiful Hermit Thrush can be identified from other spotted thrushes by its complete narrow white eye ring, as well as its contrasting reddish tail.  It chooses drier and brushier habitat than most of the other thrushes, foraging upon the ground and can generally be located in habitat similar to the Swainson's Thrush.

There are three distinct subspecies, which include the Taiga or Eastern, Interior West, and the Pacific.  The hardy Eastern birds have thicker bills with pale buffy tips on greater coverts, stocky, and brightly colored.  Interior West are pale and grayer with very limited red wash on the flight feathers.  The Pacific are more spotted than the Eastern, thinner billed than all of them, with white undertail coverts.

The voice is like that of most spotted thrushes, an ethereal flued whistle without the clear rising and falling, which is due to the syrinx, the double vocal organ at the base of the bird trachea.  The thrushes have some of the most advanced organs in the world, leading to a dual sound, much like the ability of the twelve string guitar.

                                                                   Hermit Thrush
                                                NW Corner Payne County CBC, 2017

The most hardy of the thrushes, this passerine migrates earlier in the spring and returns to its home base later in the fall in late September-October.  It is likely the only thrush to be found in most of the US in the winter.  Those that do migrate will be in flight overnight, except the Pacific Northwest, which usually remains there.  This thrush is more related to the Mexican Russet Nightingale-Thrush than to its own US family members, and usually can be found singing from a high perch.

Often found during the Christmas Bird Count, this unusual bird of never ending wonder has been described in many written works.

East of the Rockies, this bird is usually a ground nester, and West of the Rockies, it nests in trees.  This neotropical migrants finds its way as far south as Central America in the winter.

To See Interior West Hermit Thrush and Birds of Arizona:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/05/birding-on-shoestring-wilds-of-arizona.html

101418 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-a-big-week-for-birds/article_7bf162d4-cfec-11e8-97ad-4bf098dd2db1.html

101418 Muskogee Edition, Birding Today

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/lifestyles/birding-today-climate-change-creates-problems-for-birds/article_9f2b0f50-b8d5-5382-8ba2-1e2314b7cf46.html

Oklahoma Vagrants: Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull is a small, tern-like gull that nests on inland tundra ponds, lakes or rivers.  It can easily be confused with a juvenile Kittiwake.  Its normal breeding area is along coastal Alaska and the High Arctic Boreal Forest coastal waterways.  This migratory bird has a normal migratory pattern of Atlantic and Pacific waterway flight, guided by wind.  Rarely in the company of other gulls, it will remain solitary or among a handful of its own species.





                              Sabine's Gull
       Great Salt Plains NWR by Joe Grzybowski
                                   100618

This small gull has pointed long, thin wings and a black bill with a yellow tip, and is very graceful in flight.  Known as the fork-tailed gull, this unusual gull breeds in higher latitudes, but winters near the tropics.  It is somewhat normal that young birds go astray in the fall during migration via reverse migration.  Due to confusion, they sometimes head back toward their birthplace and arrive inland, which has happened several times in Oklahoma.  Fall migration usually peaks from late August to mid-September.

These birds are somewhat susceptible to pollution during the winter, as well as during fall migration.  They will remain mostly at sea only a few miles off shore near the continental shelf.  The largest concentrations are found in winter with the usual upswells of cold water coastlines near the Equator.

These Pacific gulls will winter off the coast of  western South America in the Humboldt Current, while the Atlantic birds winter off southwest Africa.  Odd storms have much to due with the location of a few occasional strays and their distribution.  It has been under conjecture that since these birds are observed often enough inland, that they have a cross-continental migration, but for all practical purposes this natural "drift" affects more young birds than adults.

They make high pitched, somewhat grating calls, which also draws one's attention to them, but as indicated, their physical attributes are the most noteworthy.  The juvenile is brown across the head, neck, and back with a distinct white face.

The name was given the bird to honor the Irish scientist, Sir Edward Sabine by his brother, whom a specimen was sent to in 1818.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Ruby-crowned Kinglet

                                                             Courtesy Timothy Barksdale

One of the smallest birds, this nervous-appearing, constant wingflicker in continual motion possesses olive-green plumage with a pale eye ring, thin dark bill and legs with pale feet.  Often confused with a warbler, this solitary bird often joins chickadees, titmice, warblers, and other small songbirds of the wood.  When agitated or excited, the adult male will flick its bright red crown.  It also has a dark bar on the base of its secondary feathers and appears to be a warbler or a tiny flycatcher with its rapid movement.

It has a loud, complex, and highly variable confusing song, and lays the largest clutch of eggs for its size, numbering up to a dozen. This songbird breeds in the western mountains of the US and the northeast, but mainly attends nests in the Boreal Forest of Canada.  It breeds high within spruce-fir forests which lends difficulty to its breeding habits.  They do favor mixed forest and old growth habitat.  The adult male arrives first upon breeding territory and leaves last in the fall, even later than the juveniles of that season.

                                                               Ruby-crowned Kinglet
                                                      Boomer Creek Park, January 2016

In the winter, it prefers thick understory.  Having studied the species extensively in the Boomer Creek area over several years (2015-early 2018), it was found that they will readily habituate to humans.  One particular male would appear when called and was very amicable to numerous photographs, coming very close.  However when disturbed by loud traffic and other abnormal non-forest noises, it would disappear, but return quickly.  It never remained in the area longer than ten days.  Its song consisted of rapid warbles, clear notes, and whistles, lasting approximately six seconds.  Its song is so loud, one expects much larger than a four-inch bird.

The songbird enjoyed small insects and readily investigated old spider egg sacs, as well as red cedar fruit, and sally out after gnats or similar insects.

At Boomer Lake, another individual male bird was observed during the same period in 2016, which had a personality nothing like the original kinglet.  It was shy and retiring, never singing, making observation much more difficult.  It was not in the area longer than three days.

Most birds of the western part of the country will remain there, but many of the northernmost breeders will continue on to southern Mexico or slightly beyond for migration.  Oklahoma's birds can be observed for the entire winter and into early spring.

For More Photos of Ruby-crowned Kinglet, See:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2016/01/as-cool-wind-blows-stars-come-out-of.html

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2016/01/steady-as-westerly-wind-blows.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: American Tree Sparrow

Bold white wingbars, a clear rusty cap and eyeline with a bicolored bill and a distinct dark breast spot, the American Tree Sparrow sings a clear warble and its good looks will draw you in.

This common country bird winters in brushy or weedy habitat near trees, in back yards, and marshes.  Prone to mix with other sparrows in the winter, it will form large flocks that wander far and wide. Why it is named the tree sparrow is odd, as it is a bird of low shrubs.  They will beat tall weeds with their wings until the seeds fall to the ground outside of breeding season.  At that time they also subsist on berries and seeds.

The medium sized sparrow, as it is commonly called, has a long thin tail and often fluffs itself to make it appear larger.  Migrating late in the fall and early in the spring, these birds are near to or ground nesters, often lining their nests with ptarmigan feathers for both warmth and comfort.  They have adapted well to urban environments out of the breeding season and make full use of human resources.  They will eat scattered millet from the ground, and have been confused with the Chipping Sparrow, so know their arrival/departure dates.

                                                       
                                                               American Tree Sparrow
                                                                   allaboutbirds.org

Their breeding and wintering ranges do not overlap, having remarkably wide ranges between breeding season and their equally large winter range.  The key to find them is to look for them near low points.

The winter sparrow has a large breeding range between the tundra and boreal forest transitional zone in shrubby habitat.

If you wish to attract these beautiful birds to your back yard, forego the raking and keep a section of your yard unkempt.  Many sparrows enjoy scratching upon the ground for food, as do the remainder of their family like towhees and juncos.  Have a water source nearby, as well as untrimmed bushes still holding their dried fruit on the branches.  Also save your seeds by not dead heading your spent flowers for additional food.  Also build a brush and/or rock pile from the garden, forego pesticides, and plant natives in order to attract native birds by contacting your local forestry service, a good source.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Harris's Sparrow

This is the largest sparrow in the US with a pink bill, white belly and the adult has a strikingly lovely black face and throat.  One of the easiest sparrows to identify, and a common Oklahoma winter bird, this is just a small part of the inclusive Great Plains wintering venues.  While here during the coldest of the seasons, it will be in brushy areas, near riparian corridors at woodland edges and will sometimes be in the presence of Dark-eyed Juncos, Song, White-throated, or White-crowned Sparrows.

This beautiful bird was named after Edward Harris, an amateur ornithologist, by none other than Audubon, who did not realize that this same bird was named by Thomas Nuttall.  It was designated by him as the Mourning Finch.

Harris's usually sings from a high perch, which will immediately differentiate it from the also wintering area Lapland Longspur, which stays strictly on the ground and shows rufous greater coverts.  The migrant sparrow will usually arrive in the Great Plains as early as late October, but most commonly in November or December, then depart in late February for northern areas as high as the Grand Boreal Forest.

                                                                Harris's Sparrow
                                                          Boomer Lake Park, 2016

These ground feeders will forage for seeds and leftover fruit while they are visiting our grassland ecological regions.  The males will still retain some dominance even during the winter, and it will be noted that the eldest males have the largest facial masks and bibs and are most at home exercising their authority over females and younger males.

Not as frequent a visitor to feeders as some winter sparrows, it will investigate human food sources on the edges of town.  It can be drawn in with protective brush piles, and its sheer size will help it to stand out among the other sparrows, as it will often show itself in the open.   Since this is the only songbird that breeds just in Canada, its range is becoming somewhat restricted, possibly due to logging and degradation of soil caused by fire.

Our own George Miksch Sutton found the first nest of Harris's Sparrow in Manitoba in 1931.

A gathering of Harris's Sparrows is collectively called a poll.

Learn Sparrows with Photos:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2015/12/sparrowing-along.html

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/04/a-little-action-between-purple-martins.html

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Clay-colored Sparrow

buzz-buzz

This common migratory sparrow is similar to a Chipping Sparrow, but more buffy overall and paler.
Since we will see it (as a non-breeding bird in the fall), it sports a clean gray nape, a strong dark mustache, a pale eyering, pale lores, and a buffy breastband.

As shrubland and field edge breeders, these passerines will visit Christmas tree farms and grass areas with short and scattered coniferous trees.

                                                     Clay-colored Sparrow, fall plumage
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2016

Wintering in southern Texas and south, as well as breeding in the north central US and the western Boreral Forest, it passes through the prairie and Great Plains states.  In the winter, if one travels to those regions, it can be found in the company of White-crowned, Brewer's, and Chipping Sparrows along upland plains, brushy hillsides, and fields.

Fond of shrubs and forbs, they will dine upon soapberry, mesquite, mustard, and spiders, small insects, as well as moths.  Brushy areas of streams and rivers can be a favored location to locate them, where they will be observed hopping under thickets.  This is a fabulous hot spot during their migratory period.

They are parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird during breeding season, which could be attributed to their slight population decline.

For More Clay-colored Sparrow Photos, See:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/05/pre-and-post-storm-events.html

100718 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-tracking-birds-fall-migration/article_3bc01ec6-a4da-5c1e-a271-ea00cf8449a4.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Swamp Sparrow

pete-pete-pete-pete-pete, chip! or  Zeeeeeeee!

Common at pond edges or in wet marshes around cattails, shrubs, prairies, salt marshes, or grass, the Swamp Sparrow can be found in old fields or other wet areas during times of migration.  They will mix with the Song Sparrow, and usually stay low under thick cover.  Do not expect this bird at your feeders, though stranger things have happened.

The throat is usually unstreaked and there are blurred streaks upon the buffy gray breast, and a light belly with solid rufous wing coverts.  Even though it has a red crown, its bulky build should not suggest a Chipping Sparrow, as it rarely comes out in the open and stays within a different habitat.  Remember GISS, general impression, shape, and size as a rule for sparrows.  Also note that is has gray cheeks and eyebrows, another defining characteristic from the chippie.  Northern and western birds are lighter in color than the eastern and southern birds.

                                                                  Swamp Sparrow
                                                           Boomer Lake Park, 2015

These songbirds breed in boreal Canada, as well as northern and eastern parts of the US.  Wintering in the eastern part of the country, they make their way to Oklahoma frequently, as well as south to Mexico.

If one is able to photograph the bird, note its longer legs than most sparrows.  This enables it to forage in shallow water.  They usually begin their song early in the day and can even be heard during a nicely moonlit night.

Numbers have been declining in parts of its range, naturally due to loss of habitat, as well as degradation and ill health of its favored waterways.

This bird will clearly be expanding north in its ranges, most notably for winter limits.

10718 Muskogee Edition, Birding Today

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/lifestyles/birding-today-alert-birds-chase-away-dangers/article_bf3f1c57-8431-5ca6-aebf-84559f7f7b2d.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Vesper Sparrow

Half the state will see the Vesper Sparrow as a winter resident (in the southern half) and the northern half will see it as a migrant.

As a short grass prairie breeder it often perches on barbed wire or small trees, not mixing with other sparrow species in the Northern US and Canada.  In the winter, it can be found in loose flocks upon agricultural fields or dry and sparsely vegetated pastures.  It is best to look for them in full song at that time, as they are at their least shy during the breeding season.

Rarely observed, it has a small red shoulder patch, thin white eyering, flashes white outer tail feathers while in flight, and sings a sweet series of trills within the vespers of twilight.

They will quickly settle in abandoned farm fields and old mines as they revert to their forest stature.

These ground dwellers and nesters scratch upon the ground and take frequent dust baths.  After the breeding season, they will migrate south and forage with mixed sparrow species that include Brewer's, Savannah, and Grasshopper Sparrows, as well as the Lark Bunting.

                                                                  Vesper Sparrow
                                                          Boomer Lake Park, 2015

Populations are declining to some degree due to likely loss of grassland habitat, frequent mowing of fields, early harvest, and hedgerow removal.  Certain populations could become threatened or endangered due to this continued activity in the eastern ranges, but in general, they are still a species of low concern.  They enjoy meadows with open soil, stubble fields, and grassy areas above sandy beaches.

They are rather early spring migrants and return later in the fall.  They usually have been peaking in May and October.