080925 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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101523 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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052822 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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052622 Late May Rains Hold Up Some Migrants, But Not Others

 051722                                                      Eastern Wood-Pewee

Today the Least Flycatcher was heard, but this character popped out at the end of the trip.

052422                                                          Orchard Oriole

This Orchard Oriole was observed between raindrops on the second rainy day of four.

                                                    

                                                              Great Crested Flycatcher

A pair of these birds were observed looking for protein when the rain held off for a while.

052622                                                            Cliff Swallow

This was the snag that a two Cliff Swallows had an interest in, though many were scouring the area for gnats and other tiny insects.  They rarely perch as their feet are somewhat rudimentary since they spend so much time on the wing.  Writer also tried for shots yesterday, but it began to rain and that made me more interested in heading home. 

                                                                        Canada Goose

A pair of Canada Geese preferred this quiet wet part of The Lowlands in which to set up a respite.  Photo taken to show a little water depth.

052120 Boomer Lake, a Good Hotspot for Many Resident and Migrant Species

 051920                                                     Female Purple Martin

                                                                 Carolina Chickadee

                                                                Male Orchard Oriole

052020                                                   Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

                                                                Female Purple Martin
                                                           Gathering Nesting Material


052020

This was a 42 species day, which is good, since spring migration is stating to wind down to some degree.  I say this because I believe that there is going to be a little migration extension, as songbird migrants don't have to be in that much of a hurry with warmer weather staying around a little longer, unless they breed in the extreme north.

The Green Herons are still on Heron Cove, which is a little overgrown, allowing the birds more privacy.  One was heard, but it's better that we not get too close as they need to retain their wild bird status.  Writer was getting into their DNA, and they were comfortable with my presence last year, which is not something that is needed to continue.  I nonchalantly look at the area without going on the bank.  With cover, when the young are stretching their wings and foraging, I might watch them a little more closely.

There are breeding birds at The Cove, which includes American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, European Starling, Great-tailed Grackle, Purple Martin, Warbling Vireo, and Brown Thrasher.  This is good news, as the area contains too many Bradford pear trees, which are only good for cover.  Birds are not able to forage within them, since they don't have any attraction for native insects.

Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are below the berm, as are plenty of Cliff Swallows searching for insects to fuel their youngsters.  Plenty of Cedar Waxwings are hanging off all available mulberry trees and bushes, as are European Starlings, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, American Starlings, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and the occasional Western Flycatchers.  The Bell's Vireo is questionable as to whether or not it is staying long term this year.  It may have left the area.

Carolina Chickadees, Eastern Bluebird, Yellow Warblers, Northern Mockingbird, Least Flycatcher, and reclusive Gray Catbird are found within the deciduous trees across from Lakehurst Drive area.

An interesting assortment of aviary delights have been frequenting the Bald Cypress Row vicinity, including at least one Great Crested Flycatcher, Western Kingbirds, Least Flycatcher, Yellow Warblers, Carolina Wren, and a Bright Eastern Bell's Vireo was photographed for the short time that it was present.  Empidonax flycatchers also tend to favor the habitat as well.

Shorebird Jetty usually bears watching for the swallows, songbirds, and shorebirds that tend to stop over for purposes of foraging and rest all year long.

Other fruitful magnets for migrants include both north and south of Memorial jetty area, as mulberries were strategically planted by birds, many of which have been avidly fruiting this year.  The large oak north of the restrooms hosts many species due to the trees insect attraction.

Many other semi-resident and passage migrants enjoy the small cottonwood/deciduous grove across from Kicker, which is also providing habitat for a Bell's Vireo couple.  If you're lucky, you might see at least one of them.

The outskirts of the northeast jetty is home to more mulberries and good marsh grass, where sparrows tend to congregate during winter and spring.  The Kicker (Stillwater Designs) property is well-kept all year but the native trees also attract many birds.  If you'd like to bird it, gain permission first.

Boomer Lake Proper hosts many ducks, including such less often seen species like scoters, Great White-fronted Geese, and Common Yellow-eye during the winter.  The colder it is, the better are the spoils.

There are several other less visited areas on Boomer Lake that have excellent habitat for other less often seen birds like Purple Finch, Swainson's Thrush,  Pine Siskin, Wilson's Warbler, Grasshopper Sparrow and other less often seen species.  Search the area on your own and see what you can find.  We still find birds that have never been seen there before. 

051820 Immature Birds of Boomer and Summer Neotropical Residents

051720                                                    Male Orchard Oriole

                                                                   Eastern Kingbird


This was an average day with a little over two miles covered, about as far as the rest area.  The most noteworthy item was the Bald Eagle.  Three Eastern and five Western Kingbirds were counted, as well as the Bell's Vireo around the Cove.  Winds were from the NNW at 14 mph and the forty-two Cedar Waxwings were picking mulberries like fiends.  There are several more trees and bushes producing fruit this year, feeding more birds than last year.  One Green Heron was counted, just passing and eyeballing The Cove with no real time spent trying to find Green Heron nests.  One immature American Robin was found in a bald cypress, and all the common birds are nesting.

It was ironic that the Eastern and Western Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (all flycatchers) were actually not perching far from one another.  They are behaving like non-breeders at this point, like they would be on their wintering grounds.  If they had eggs and young, they would not be this social!

                                                          Immature American Robin

                                                                Traill's Flycatcher #1

                                                               Traill's Flycatcher #2

                                                               Traill's Flycatcher #3

                                                       

                                                                 Yellow Warbler

                                                           Double-crested Cormorant

                                                             Female Orchard Oriole
                                                           
                                                                                                   

                                                             Great Crested Flycatcher

                                                      Immature American Robin #2

Today started off very well, a little cooler than the day before, winds from the north at 8 mph with a flat barometer.  Expecting to see activity, I was not disappointed.  A pair of Eastern Kingbirds were found at Heron Cove, along with a few Yellow Warblers, a couple of Barn Swallows were moving through the area, and there were a handful of Cliff Swallows.  Looking at the side of the Lakeview Road Bridge, there were few mud nests, which is unusual.  No Green Herons were seen or heard today.  On the return trip home, writer even went to the waters edge, but saw none of the Green Herons.

Cedar Waxwings mostly picked all ripe mulberries, but there were a forgotten few that immature American Robins ate.  Usually they are on a strict protein diet, but the three that I have seen are well flighted, and at least two birds (one above) are losing their juvenal plumage.  This bird is a good five weeks old.

There are still several Least Flycatchers still with us, as well as three Black Terns that were found well before 0700.  Four Turkey Vultures were riding early thermals, and both European Starlings and Great-tailed Grackles have young that are successfully making their way in the world foraging for their own food.   Five Fish Crows had their morning meeting, splitting into two groups.  Both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles have been represented in their new trees.  The Baltimore Oriole used to nest in the large oak by the east restrooms, but now it appears that the Orchard Orioles are there now, and one pair of Western Kingbirds are possibly not going to nest on a wooden telephone pole this year.

Today we had four Bell's Vireos!  One at Heron Cove, a pair just north of the culvert drainoff to Boomer Lake across from the Kicker offices.  These two were performing the chase ritual, and the historic male (who could also be paired, as he is usually the first to be as well as the eldest with the best territory).  There is a bit of a story with that.  Last year the tall metal power poles were put in, which destroyed some of the original territory.  This pair then moved over to west of the Kicker offices.  The assumption is that the original pair returned to the main territory, while the young male returned to to his birthplace and just found himself a mate and is now courting her.

Also within this active area today was a traditional Warbling Vireo pair, a pair of Common Yellowthroats with a very active female today, multiple Yellow Warblers, a late Yellow-rumped Warbler, and a Least Flycatcher.  I believe there was another flycatcher in the top of the cottonwoods, but he didn't call and my view wasn't good enough to be able to get a halfway decent glance.  Therefore, I was unable to count an assumption.

A trip was also made to the wooded area north of Airport Road.  No Swainson's Thrushes were found, but a late Eastern Towhee was sounding off, though unseen.  There were also Northern Cardinals, Yellow Warblers, Great-tailed Grackles, and European Starlings in the wood, as well as a Mallard Drake.  It was pretty quiet out there this morning.

Flycatchers can be so confusing, especially if they don't vocalize.  Today there are three photos posted as I wasn't sure which flycatcher I had and it was necessary to get shots from as many angles as possible to try to determine what the bird was.  It was either a Willow or an Alder Flycatcher, which are both in this area now.  It was last year (I think) that I photographed the willow, which was south of this location at the beginning of this two acre land plot.  It made sense.  This year, I finally was able to capture the Traill's, which is what both species were once called, until they were renamed Willow and Alder Flycatchers.  As of now, I'm still trying to get a photograph of the Alder Flycatcher, which will happen sooner or later.  Unless these species vocalize, it is impossible to determine what they are.

On the return trip, there was a nice male Double-crested Cormorant with his crests that was photographed.

050520 Cinco de Mayo By the Migrants

050220                                            Male First Summer Orchard Oriole

                                                                  American Bullfrog

050420                                                    Neotropic Cormorants

                                                                  Carolina Chickadee
                                                                           View 1

                                                                   Carolina Chickadee
                                                                            View 2

                                                                  Carolina Chickadee
                                                                             View 3

                                                               Rose-breasted Grosbeak

050420

There was plenty of activity today with plenty of Yellow Warblers, Savannah Sparrows, an Eastern Phoebe, Spotted Sandpipers,  a Forster's Tern, and our lone Least Sandpiper.   Cedar Waxwings were all over the area eating mulberries on the south and central part of Boomer Lake, while the White-winged Dove came out of its neighborhood to perch upon the new high wires.  We even had more Cliff Swallows than Barn Swallows, and they gave great views at the end of Shorebird Jetty.

We've moved up to at least two Least Flycatchers, are up to three Eastern Kingbirds, and five Western Kingbirds.  Two Neotropic Cormorants were on their normal snag off Goose island sunning themselves.

There are two Mallard families, and more than enough going on where there are ripe mulberries, which means that the migrant fruit eaters are getting their fills.  That also means that raptors like the Red-shouldered Hawk that was out today is finding numbers of songbirds to attempt to prey upon.

A pair of Greater Roadrunners were a sight for sore eyes in the Kicker field.  This is where our lone resident Killdeer is also hanging its hat since we have no available gravel or bare cement for camouflaged eggs.

The male Bell's Vireo was back to protecting his territory by the northeast martin house.

I was first greeting by a very social Carolina Chickadee that gave several poses, along with Swainson's Thrush, Northern Cardinal, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak activity dining upon the mulberries that were ripe or close to it.

The Pileated, Red-bellied, and Northern Flicker were not far from all the action.

The longer that I waited, the more birds I heard in the woods, like the White-eyed Vireo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Northern Parula, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak,  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, and Prothonotary Warbler.  It was birdy, pleasantly breezy, and all was well until the Red-shouldered Hawk that I spied going into the Kicker field earlier, showed up here.  Prior to its arrival, many of the mentioned birds exited south, and an Ovenbird and Kentucky Warbler were even flushed.  The Red-shoulder was first seen on the ground, but missed whatever it was, then came right past me.  It was probably what saved the warblers.

When it left, also heading south, I knew my chances for more photos were over for. while.  The hawk was on the power lines and while I was readying to get a shot of it, it headed further north by the northeast martin house and planted itself there.  All ten Purple Martins were in the sky dive bombing it, and as I came around, it again fled, perching a little north while it again perched on the low power lines.  Round the bend, it headed back to Kicker.  I don't think the juvenile got anything to eat during all that action.

However, it was a 60 species morning for me and I added the Ovenbird and Kentucky Warbler to my numbers today.

042120 Here We Are At Migrant Central

   041920                                              Bonaparte's Gulls

   042020                                                      Orchard Oriole

First day at the lake.  Baltimore Orioles were right behind, one of which was here near my residence before this oriole.

    
  042120                                                   Blue-winged Teal

There was a total of eleven of these at Boomer this morning.

                                                                 Savannah Sparrow

There were three on Shorebird Jetty alone.  There were five or six spotted.

                                                                  Least Sandpiper

Two on Shorebird Jetty.  Migration is quite active active with a lot to offer today.

                                                            Yellow-headed Blackbird

Six were fueling up on Shorebird Jetty, while these three took their time.

                                                                    Lesser Scaup

Still coming through the area.  The scaup were not far off the point of Shorebird Jetty when they took to the air.  They preferred settling on the east side of the jetty and were much closer by choice.

                                                                 American Avocet

This group of 35 arrived shortly before 0800 and as is their habit they made around six passes over the lake.  They were flushed a few times, by both a Bald Eagle and an Osprey, which you'll see shortly.

                                                                   Lesser Scaup

As can be seen, their plumage is very striking.  They were only twelve feet from the shore.

                                                                 Mallard Ducklings
                                                                   First of the Year

This is the first group that we've observe this year, obviously some were adopted.  There were eleven.  Mother and father are not far.

                                                                Mallard Ducklings
                                                                        View 2

                                                                Grasshopper Sparrow

It was surprising to see this sparrow up in a cottonwood tree near the water, a typical riparian area.
It must have been desperate for a rest and sustenance.

                                                              Great Blue Heron (Rear)
                                                       Double-crested Cormorants (Front)

Writer considered this a striking pose, something not seen every day.  The Great Blue Heron is a second year individual.

                                                                         Osprey

Pretty close, eh?  This raptor was in the area the entire morning.  It was spotted on the return trip.

                                                                    Green Heron
                                                                  "The Patriarch"

Before we called it a day, it was in order to check The Cove to see if Green Heron was here yet.  It was not disappointing.  Also made a swing by to see if the Summer Tanager arrived, but not quite yet.
The mulberry bush near here has berries just starting that were pollinated over the past ten days or so.

Overall this was an excellent birding day with 56 species in a four hour day.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Orchard Oriole

The Orchard Oriole (an icterid) is a blackbird, as many other birds that sport black in their coloring.  They are uncommon in areas with isolated tall trees or where there are scattered shade trees, orchards, parks, and farmsteads.  Grasslands will also be considered if suitable nest sites are in the vicinity.  They prefer being in habitats with water, a solitary species, and glean insects and larvae and will take fruit and nectar at birdfeeders.  They are also attracted by trumpet shaped flowers for nectar.

A deep russet or burnt orange color, the male will sing at treetops to attract the yellow-green female, and is the smallest of the orioles.  Females make themselves attractive to males by head bowing, begging with rapid wing fluttering and a high whistle, and seesawing by alternately lowering and raising the head and tail.

                                                                     Male Orchard Oriole
                                                                       Boomer Lake Park

Experienced males will reach the breeding grounds first, followed by females, then the first year males.  These passerines do not compete with the Baltimore Oriole, possibly considering it an ally.  They will share large trees (oaks) with Eastern Kingbirds, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, American Robins, and other birds.

                                                               Juvenile Orchard Oriole
                                                                     Boomer Lake Park

Nests average about twenty feet high in crotches or forks of broadleafed trees, but willows or cottonwoods may also be used due to good shade.  It is a hanging basket made of woven fibers, but tends to be wider than deeper than the Baltimore Oriole.  They are single brooded, breeding from May through July in Oklahoma.

Females will occasionally be confused with New World Warblers, especially if the tail has been lost due to a predator's action.

                                                              Female Orchard Oriole
                                                                  Boomer Lake Park

081218 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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072218 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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Latter Half of May 2018 Is Time to Reflect and Count Our Large Bounty of Birds

                                                             Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

                                                                Adult Green Heron

                                                                 Mallard Ducklings

                                                               Male Orchard Oriole

                                                               Mallard Ducklings

                                                             Neotropic Cormorant

                                                 Two Out of Three Neotropic Cormorants

                                                                 American Bison

                                                              Great-tailed Grackle

                                                                 Canada Gosling


Last Half of May 2018


We were officially past migration, but as you know, there are always going to be exceptions to the
rule.  There are always going to be exceptions and no rules anymore, because with future heat
waves, we'll be see a lot more unusual birds.  Winters will be colder and things are going to be changing more and faster than we dreamed possible.

Our Green Herons returned to colonize their Heron Cove and quite frankly, I don't believe that I know any of them.  We appear to have a completely new crop, but since they are all breeding age, it could well be the hormones talking, so it would stand to reason that they would be ignoring me.

They were left alone since they arrived in the breeding area a little earlier than usual and they appeared to be anxious, so there was no reason to provide the opportunity to force them to move on, so I stayed as far away as possible.  There is no question that we now have a nest, which I believe is occupied.  There could even be a second nest, but I only saw twigs going to another spot.

The American Bison was not at Boomer Lake, so don't get your hopes up.  This beauty came to us
courtesy of the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, and I know that this its the closest that I have ever come to a male bison.  He took it all in stride, so I got my shot and returned to the confines of the car.

There are a couple of cute shots of Canada Geese and Mallard ducklings, Neotropic Cormorants, and an unusual shot of our state bird, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

The shot of the Orchard Oriole is more attuned to their wintering grounds in the tropics, as this is a common posture there.

Naturally, it was important to include at least one shot of the colorful Great-tailed Grackle.

Just because I didn't grace this segment with a lot of birds doesn't mean that they weren't here.  They certainly are and were, but I was looking for a little more unusual variety this time around.