Showing posts with label Eastern Phoebe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eastern Phoebe. Show all posts
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Saturday, September 14, 2024
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Sunday, September 12, 2021
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Summer Fun in Oklahoma
071620 Great Blue Heron
One of the area residents chooses to show himself through heavy foliage of Heron Cove. Nonetheless, he proves to be a handsome example. The area is aptly named.
072320 Eastern Phoebe
This lovely example provides a serious example of what nature offers in Central Oklahoma.
080620 Spotted Sandpiper
Great Egret
Fishing day proves to go well for this summer resident.
080620 Great Egret 2
081820 Great Blue Heron
A shining example of fun in the sun, just like Great Egret.
Least Sandpiper
A common bird in the area during migration.
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Thursday, July 2, 2020
June and Its Inherent Beauty of Bird Life
060920 Bell's Vireo
061120 Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe 2
061520 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
061820 Green Heron Adult
070220 Alligator Snapping Turtle
and Channel Catfish
Bell's Vireo has been increasingly active this year, as well as adding an extra bird to the fold, so to speak. This was a former youngster of Bell's 1, an original northeast breeder, no longer living. This current adult came to us courtesy of construction involving added electrical lines and the supports. While last year saw much removal of Bell's 1's territory, it simply moved to a new location apparently with either a juvenile in tow with hatched eggs south of the original location, of course temporarily out of service.
This new territory became Bell 1A's neighboring territory to Bell 1's south border. There is technically speaking, no territory north of that, which remains Bell 2's extended region, and it sometimes visits, but its main territory is north of Airport Rd. Bell 1 never visits this unoccupied area, which may become territory for another Bell's Vireo.
The above photo shows the male Bell 1A, who temporarily took a rare hiatus from his birthplace.
The above Eastern Phoebe, a sassy juvenile, tends to visit this extended area across from Kicker or Stillwater Designs where it hunts and could eventually nest.
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher shown, especially for those readers not in Oklahoma, see a classic example of a neotropical migrant. This beautiful specimen is clearly a bird of the tropical forest with its bright coloring. Its tantalizing hues are actually a very subdued example of how it would look to another bird viewing it in the ultraviolet spectrum. As most of humanity is limited to the visible spectrum, people with a rare condition known as aphakia do possess natural ultraviolet vision. Birds usually have one extra cone that we lack, prohibiting normal vision from detecting the increased intensity of the ultraviolet spectrum.
This colorful adult Green Heron is obviously a member of the heron family, which also includes egrets. An egret is a heron, but a heron is not an egret. Ponder that thought...
The photo of the month is clearly this example of an alligator snapping turtle upon its prey, a channel catfish. As writer was on the way to Boomer Lake, an oddly moving channel cat caught my eye. It was eventually learned to be in motion due to the foraging turtle, who was consuming. However, it remains a mystery as to whether or not this turtle caused the demise of the catfish. It could well have been involved in cleanup detail, which is normal for these scavengers.
Monday, June 1, 2020
060120 Some Breeding Birds of Oklahoma
053120 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Our state bird is gorgeous, isn't it? Some of the salmon and redder hues are covered by the wing, so a shot with the wing in a upper position highlights additional beauty.
060120 Eastern Phoebe
Carolina Wren
There was hope that one migrant might be holding out for us, but it wasn't for writer at Boomer Lake. There are plenty of breeding birds to be observed, as well as their young. The Eastern Phoebe provided several different spots where it perched, some perfect for photographs, others not so good. There was one close shot that just didn't come up to muster with cottonwood fluff in front of it. However, the one shown has backlighting, and it's passable.
The Carolina Wren was within a shady wooded area and very active. I believe a second bird was also in the area, and this one wanted to make certain that its territory was safe from the second bird.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Saturday, April 11, 2020
041120 Spring and Migration Is Feeling More Seasonable
041020 Pied-billed Grebe
This had been a group of ten migrant grebes that was observed from Heron Cove, a group of three a short distance from the rest. Hoping to obtain a better photo, writer began to respond to location. Halfway there, a Bald Eagle flew overhead, not in their direction. Upon arrival the remains of one of these birds had been freshly killed. Knowing that the eagle was not responsible, there was no clue, other than it was not a Cooper's Hawk.
Red-shouldered Hawk
This bird was observed flying in from the south, and the Purple Martins were not happy as it was too close for comfort. They rarely had been in the area in the past, as the house was too close to trees. Ten of them were overhead calling vociferously. This is where the hawk was captured, most likely looking for a meal of coot, which had been found on land a hundred feet east of this location. Someone even sweetly put a daffodil under one of the coot's wings. The unknown suspect had it removed by the next day.
The hawk moved a little further south on the date of this photo, eventually drawing attention to itself. It was soon followed by three Fish Crows to Boomer Creek.
Eastern Phoebe
This little flycatcher was hawking insects in the area and managed to settle here for a a moment.
041120 Least Sandpiper
It appears that the same bird that has been around for about a week is molting. Its feathers appear to be more colorful.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Our State Bird seems to be warming up to the area and being less flighty around people. This was the first early bird of the years, and has since been joined by three others in the area. Two of them tend to travel from the west side of the lake across the water to the east side, and vice versa.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Monday, July 29, 2019
Nature, Birds, and Mammals of Payne County and Boomer Lake in July 2019
Webworms
American Lotus
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
071319
0700-0744/79-81 degrees/partly cloudy/E-5/76-75% RH/29.99 Hg and steady
Webworm shot was taken in Perkins across the street from an old sandpit where were found a family of Killdeer and heard an American Bittern. We went to several locations to find a part of a heron colony, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo (rain crow or storm crow as it is called in the South) trying to hide, and a wonderful pond in Perkins that may get a Wood Duck pair in the winter that only stay a day or two. This pond had several songbirds, including an Eastern Phoebe. We also discovered a portion of a Great Blue Heron and Egret Colony with several adult birds. A visit was also paid to Ghost Hollow for Indigo and Painted Buntings that were everywhere on our journey, as well as the Blue Grosbeak. What a day!
Green Heron and New Nestlings
072119
0716-0848/79-83 degrees (feels like 86)/partly cloudy/S-12/71-69% RH/29.91 Hg and rising
This was the first day that I noticed that the eggs had finally hatched and clutch 3 had tiny nestlings. At the time, it was unknown how many there were.
Green Heron (Below)
Nestlings in Nest (Above)
072219
0706-0840/77-78 degrees/variable clouds/N-12/77% RH/30.05-30.07 Hg and steady
This was the day that three Green Heron nestlings were observed at Boomer Lake's Heron Cove.
Green Heron Adult (Right)
with Nestlings (Left)
072319
0718-0809/69-72 degrees/clear/NNE-9/67-65% RH/30.24-30.21 H and rising
The following day, we observed the back of the adult and the pile of young behind.
Eastern Phoebe
072519
0719-0825/70-75 degrees/partly cloudy/S-6/65-63% RH/30.14 Hg and steady to 30.17 Hg and rising
Today we had both the adult and a juvenile Eastern Phoebe learning the ways of the world.
Baby Opossum #1
Baby Opossum #2
Three Green Heron Nestlings
Clutch 3
072619
0709-0807/72-74 degrees/partly cloudy/S-8/59-58% RH/30.13 Hg and rising to 30.12 Hg and steady
Melissa and her dog found three young opossums that she couldn't wait to show me. Upon our return, we found Tracy, who was standing guard with them, as she feared that they would wander in the road. Tracy brought them to the Perkins Road Veterinary Clinic at request of our local animal rehabilitator. It was thought that something happened to their mother, and they wandered from the nest due to hunger. The third little one appeared to be sick and hid by a telephone pole, but the others seemed quite healthy.
Two of the nestling Green Herons were standing on the nest with an adult not far away.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
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.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
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