Wichita Mountains NWR Starring the Black-capped Vireo

                                                                 Longhorn Steer

                                                                Longhorn Steer

                                                               Black-capped Vireo

                                                               Black-tailed Prairie Dogs


04-20-19
80s-1030-1430 hrs-partly cloudy

Prior to the Upper Rio Grande Valley jaunt, half a day was spent at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Comanche county at Little Baldy.  My target bird was the recently endangered Black-capped Vireo, which was delisted about nine months ago.  The better part of the time at Wichita Mountains was spent trying to obtain a photo, which fortunately was successful.  This vireo had been very susceptible to predation by the Brown-headed Cowbird, an obligate brood parasite.  Biologists worked with keeping the cowbird away from the nesting Black-capped Vireos here at the Wichita Mountains NWR, which is why they were removed from endangered status.  As long as this has a long-term effect, the species will be more successful, just like the Kirtland's Warbler was able to do with the Brown-headed Cowbird.

Also discovered were longhorn steer and the black-tailed prairie dogs, all five of which are young animals.

Also observed were Cliff and Barn Swallows, as well as nesting Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Mourning Doves, Black-chinned Hummingbirds,  Turkey Vultures, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice,  Carolina Wren, and the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle).
                                                 

Oklahoma Vagrants: Acorn Woodpecker

ja-cob, ja-cob or wake-up, wake-up

Common in oak woods or mixed oak woods, this gregarious and clownlike appearing woodpecker gathers acorns to store in drilled poles, buildings, or trees.

Discovered in Oklahoma in 2012 at the Wichita Mountains NWR, as a single bird, it hasn't been seen since--yet.

                                                                 Acorn Woodpecker
                                                             Madera County, AZ 2018

Half of its diet consists of acorns and the other half is insects (usually ants), fruit, seeds, and sometimes eggs from other birds.  Acorns are stashed for the winter, which might stimulate the need to breed.  There are sometimes so many in granaries, they cannot all be eaten, and some will rot.  Others will be stolen, some will be lost, and others will be oak trees.  Acorn Woodpeckers will also consume sap from trees, as well as the insects found in the sap.  Sometimes they will even investigate the sap wells of sapsuckers.

Due to the huge cache, these locations will be guarded very well.  Thieves tend to include squirrels and jays.  Not all Acorn woodpeckers will use storage areas, sometimes just using natural tree cavities, and bark cracks will suffice.  If these sometimes magnificent stores are eaten, the woodpeckers will go to Mexico to winter.

During breeding season, family members will help with brooding and feeding, as well as other birds that might join together to defend the valuable storage granaries.  Older birds of the season might hold jobs as helpers to learn how to successfully raise young.  Breeding coalitions are usually brothers and sisters, and inbreeding is very rare, due to the nature of unsuccessful breeding.  When several females nest together, they generally deposit all eggs in one nest cavity.  When all the females begin to lay, they will no longer destroy eggs that might have been in the cavity.

Non-native species, like European Starlings, are always a threat to nest cavity success in woodpecker families, especially in urban and semi-urban areas.  Mature forests are paramount to the needs of these woodpeckers. Human preservation of oak and pine-oak stands are a necessity to the strength of the species, as well as conservation of snags and intact dead limbs.

The World According to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Indiahoma, OK

                                                                   Western Fence Lizard
                                                                   (Blue Bellied Lizard)

                                                                    Prairie Dog

                                                                 American Bison

                                                              Wild Longhorn Steer

022016 -  We made a pitstop at the refuge on the way home from Aransas NWR.  The Wichita
Mountains is a haven for wildlife, and also is home to a beautiful herd of elk, which happened to appear.  It was shortly after noon and the animals were in the wrong place at the wrong time, so
the photos will not be shown.

Cruising around Camp Doris showed a number of birds, which included several woodpeckers,
the Eastern Bluebird, and some of the Sandhill Cranes that we just left were on their way home
north for breeding purposed.  All eighteen of them were overhead, so there are no photos for that, since they were a mere speck.

Here's a small sampling of the beautiful animals that we encountered.  Keep Mount Scott in the
back of your mind for hawk watching ventures, and tell them that I sent you, as they pass by.

Birding the Oklahoma Skies for Hawks by Deb "Birdie" Hirt

https://hubpages.com/education/Birding-the-Oklahoma-Skies-for-Hawks