100321 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-which-birds-are-headed-this-way/article_e7b2e7da-2242-11ec-9ac6-cfd76eb6dd07.html 

100320 SNP Edition, Life At Boomer Lake

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/life-at-boomer-lake-bird-sightings-plentiful-around-town/article_d7dd7624-0450-11eb-8924-cb0b6c8e790a.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 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 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.