080822 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-staying-alert-for-unexpected-birds/article_6263c7c0-1427-11ed-9173-0f2e932ac460.html 

102421 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-rarer-than-rare-birds-in-payne-county/article_4773d1ce-32a2-11ec-9017-afe11c9f4a41.html 

101321 Summer and Fall 2021

 052521                                                        Green Heron Adult

060321                                              Green Heron Nestlings, Clutch 1

060521                                       Green Heron Nestlings Clutch 1, View 2

All we had was one clutch of young birds this year.  If there were more, it could not be seen due to the thickness and height of the shrubbery around Heron Cove.

080321                                                            Lark Sparrow

It was somewhat of a surprise to find a group of these sparrows, but it was a nice surprise.

091521                                                         Franklin's Gull

091621                                                  Mourning Dove

101021                                                     Green-winged Teal 

                                                             American Wigeon and others

                    

                                                                 Blue-Winged Teal

                                                                   Blue-winged Teal

101121                                                     American Avocets

These were the birds from the recent bad weather.  The ducks were early and a big surprise was the Cinnamon Teal, though all of them weren't really expected yet.  Birds are resilient and know what hazards bad weather can bring.  They were safe on the water.

101221                                                    Great Blue Heron

This heron was in the company of another, which is unusual as they are solitary birds unless they are breeding.  It is very possible that the other bird was offspring, which would make sense at this time of year.

Sorry for waiting so long to post, but now everything is current.

Birding On a Shoestring: The American Southwest Portrayed By Assorted Animals

                                                                   Wilson's Warbler

                                                        Northern Rough-winged Swallow

                                                       Cinnamon Teal Pair, Male on L

                                                        White-faced Ibis Fishing
                                                         One in Front Has a Frog

                                                               Great-tailed Grackle

                                                          Male Vermilion Flycatcher

                                                         Female Vermilion Flycatcher

                                                             Female Mexican Mallard

                                                               Male Gila Woodpecker


Arriving in Tucson, AZ early in the day left a little time for birding, so we managed to
spend an afternoon at the Audubon Mason Center.  Unfortunately, I was unable to get the Cactus
Wren there, but that came about a week later, which you'll see soon.  This foray from April 19-May
3rd kept us on the run, sometimes rising as early as 0400 to get a jump on travel in order to be an
early birder for the early rising sun, which was at 0600 hrs.  AZ does not use daylight saving time, which meant that we were usually awake two hours earlier than normal, and we were on Mountain
Time.  Unfortunately, I was still on Oklahoma's daylight savings Central Time the entire trip.

The top photo of the Wilson's Warbler was at the Mason Center and the Gila Woodpecker was also seen there in the cactus scrublands.

The remaining photos were obtained on April 20th, when we drove nearly two hours south to Patagonia, which was in Santa Cruz County, where the remaining shots were taken.

There is much more to come, and I'll work on more photos tomorrow.

Put Hackberry Flats in Tillman County, OK On Your Birding List

03-24-18   Hackberry Flats WMA/Tillman County, OK 

1037-1600 hrs./69-82 F/partly cloudy

                                                               Male Cinnamon Teal

                                             Eared Grebe Approaching Breeding Plumage

                                                      Eared Grebe (Front) Showing Size
                                                Difference in Comparison to Ruddy Duck

                                                  Cinnamon Teal Showing Characteristic
                                                                 Speculum Coloring

                                                      Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow
                                                              (Last Year's Late Hatch)

                                                            Golden Eagle (Larger Bird)


03-25-18 Boomer Lake Park, Stillwater, OK
1127-1239/53-29 F/partly to mostly cloudy/E-13/75-72% RH/29.87-29.91 Hg and steady

                                                     Franklin's Gulls Highlighted Among
                                                                   Ring-billed Gulls

                                                   Franklin's Gull (Second Plumage View)

                                          Five Franklin's Gulls Showing Plumage Attributes



Hackberry Flats is the first set of photos, followed by three photos of  Franklin's Gulls the following day.

Hackberry is about four hours from Stillwater, unless one chooses Rte. 44, which we did not do on the way.  Consequently, we got there on the late side, but that could well have worked in our favor.

We had an exemplary day, as we observed several things of interest, but we were unable to locate a Snowy Plover which had been reported for a couple of days.

Not only did we see a Great Horned Owl at 1500 hrs. on an electrical pole, we managed a Golden Eagle, also observed on an electrical pole.  We both got shows of its underside, which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt what we had.  As a matter of fact, this is such a rare record, because the only other sightings listed on eBird were two others in February 2017.

It was an outstanding day, as many shore/water/wading birds tend to change as often as teens change their clothing.  For that reason we visited the waterways a few times in order to maximize what we could list on eBird.

Leaving the Stillwater residence, I was not expecting such a spectacular day, since barometric pressure was flat, but all in all, the four hour drive was well worth it.

It was my first time at Hackberry, as it was another birder's, but the third person had been there before.

Do I recommend this location?  Absolutely!  It is hard to plan great birding, especially if one has never been to a location, but it was encouraging due to the fact that this is a wetland.  It is in
pristine condition, which makes it a good spot for wildlife, knowing that it remains unspoiled by humanity.