032226 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

 https://stwnewspress-cnhi.newsmemory.com/?publink=0cfb7e6c6_1352005&fbclid=IwY2xjawQsmJFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe6vtwXNZeQEb4_9S75iajlBx69E4mZb-yBrSYuzS63IAUbrqBa1toEh2hAE8_aem_33HRZHTKW9aq8-XgS0rYVw

080225 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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113024 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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112324. SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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111624 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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061524 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

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042323 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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040823 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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011023 January 2023 Kisses From Boomer Lake

 010523                                                      Sharp-shinned Hawk

This was a once in a lifetime photo, which took me completely by surprise.  Writer had just opened the front door to hear House Sparrows being worried.  As I looked atop the bush where they were hidden , and this was what I saw before i grabbed my camera.  The door was left open, and I backed away to grab my handheld camera, but the battery was dead.  I grabbed the tripod with the 500mm lens and returned to the door, hoping that this lens would not be be my demise for this shot.

Lady Luck winked and gave me a grin.  The sharpie dove into the bush, coming out empty handed, as it could not really get inside the tangles.  This is when I was able to get my shots.  A sparrow exited the bush, the hawk went into pursuit, but came up empty, and both birds disappeared.

082922                                                Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

As can be seen, this shot was in the summer, but it was not possible to get anything else worthy.  Enjoy the state bird of Oklahoma, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

110722 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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100922 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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070322 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

042322 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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041022 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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040222 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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061621 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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050121 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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040421 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

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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.

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.