Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Harris's Sparrow

This is the largest sparrow in the US with a pink bill, white belly and the adult has a strikingly lovely black face and throat.  One of the easiest sparrows to identify, and a common Oklahoma winter bird, this is just a small part of the inclusive Great Plains wintering venues.  While here during the coldest of the seasons, it will be in brushy areas, near riparian corridors at woodland edges and will sometimes be in the presence of Dark-eyed Juncos, Song, White-throated, or White-crowned Sparrows.

This beautiful bird was named after Edward Harris, an amateur ornithologist, by none other than Audubon, who did not realize that this same bird was named by Thomas Nuttall.  It was designated by him as the Mourning Finch.

Harris's usually sings from a high perch, which will immediately differentiate it from the also wintering area Lapland Longspur, which stays strictly on the ground and shows rufous greater coverts.  The migrant sparrow will usually arrive in the Great Plains as early as late October, but most commonly in November or December, then depart in late February for northern areas as high as the Grand Boreal Forest.

                                                                Harris's Sparrow
                                                          Boomer Lake Park, 2016

These ground feeders will forage for seeds and leftover fruit while they are visiting our grassland ecological regions.  The males will still retain some dominance even during the winter, and it will be noted that the eldest males have the largest facial masks and bibs and are most at home exercising their authority over females and younger males.

Not as frequent a visitor to feeders as some winter sparrows, it will investigate human food sources on the edges of town.  It can be drawn in with protective brush piles, and its sheer size will help it to stand out among the other sparrows, as it will often show itself in the open.   Since this is the only songbird that breeds just in Canada, its range is becoming somewhat restricted, possibly due to logging and degradation of soil caused by fire.

Our own George Miksch Sutton found the first nest of Harris's Sparrow in Manitoba in 1931.

A gathering of Harris's Sparrows is collectively called a poll.

Learn Sparrows with Photos:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2015/12/sparrowing-along.html

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/04/a-little-action-between-purple-martins.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Swamp Sparrow

pete-pete-pete-pete-pete, chip! or  Zeeeeeeee!

Common at pond edges or in wet marshes around cattails, shrubs, prairies, salt marshes, or grass, the Swamp Sparrow can be found in old fields or other wet areas during times of migration.  They will mix with the Song Sparrow, and usually stay low under thick cover.  Do not expect this bird at your feeders, though stranger things have happened.

The throat is usually unstreaked and there are blurred streaks upon the buffy gray breast, and a light belly with solid rufous wing coverts.  Even though it has a red crown, its bulky build should not suggest a Chipping Sparrow, as it rarely comes out in the open and stays within a different habitat.  Remember GISS, general impression, shape, and size as a rule for sparrows.  Also note that is has gray cheeks and eyebrows, another defining characteristic from the chippie.  Northern and western birds are lighter in color than the eastern and southern birds.

                                                                  Swamp Sparrow
                                                           Boomer Lake Park, 2015

These songbirds breed in boreal Canada, as well as northern and eastern parts of the US.  Wintering in the eastern part of the country, they make their way to Oklahoma frequently, as well as south to Mexico.

If one is able to photograph the bird, note its longer legs than most sparrows.  This enables it to forage in shallow water.  They usually begin their song early in the day and can even be heard during a nicely moonlit night.

Numbers have been declining in parts of its range, naturally due to loss of habitat, as well as degradation and ill health of its favored waterways.

This bird will clearly be expanding north in its ranges, most notably for winter limits.

Oklahoma Irruptive Species Profile: Pine Siskin

zhreee-zhreeee-zhreee

The Pine Siskin often associates with the American Goldfinch, and can be a common nomadic winter bird in Oklahoma.  But as an occasional compatriot, its presence can vary on a yearly basis.  It feeds upon insects, buds, seeds of many conifers, as well as what could be left upon deciduous trees.

Sometimes displaying yellow wingbars, this finch enjoys thistle and will be at your feeder when it is present.  Large numbers of this migratory bird can appear sporadically and it is usually due to lack of food in its normal habitat.  They have a remarkably high metabolism and will eat constantly.  They are generalist feeders, so almost anything will please them.  Mineral deposits will also send them to roadways and roadsides in order to eat these sparse flecks from road salt.  However, the newer melting agents are made of less worthy chemicals, which could cause them physical angst or worse.  They also tend to be run over in the roadways, leading to added mortality.

                                                                        Pine Siskin
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2014
                                             
During times of breeding in the northern states, mountains, and the Boreal Forest, they are a known Brown-headed Cowbird host.  Forest fragmentation has increased this probability, so they tend to have their young survive much better through appropriate forest management, where large swaths are not clear cut and replanted the following spring.

These songbirds are often afflicted with salmonella which can be common at bird feeders, a reminder to keep them very clean, much more than normal during inclement weather.  Cats should be keep away from feeding stations, and they are also victims to other predators like raptors, crows, and red squirrels.  They will do well in a yard with much cover, especially shrubs and enjoy ornamental conifers.  They also enjoy remains from leftover sunflowers, weeds, and thistle plants.

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

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Dickcissel

Sparrow-like, thin, and sleek, this passerine of the tallgrass prairies can flock with House Sparrows out of breeding season.  They are insectivores and seedeaters that enjoy fallow fields with scattered trees, shrubs and hedgerows.  The male will often sing atop fleshy plants and tall weeds, which makes his presence quite noticeable.

A summer resident of the Great Plains and Midwest, and scattered eastern and southeastern parts of the US, many are acquainted with the sound of "dick-dick-ciss-ciss."  This handsome bird is attracted by forbs, alfalfa fields, timothy grass and similar weeds and plantings.  Surprisingly, it is polygynous, but may also be quite monogamous.  Other than provide sperm, the male does little else, other than find a second mate to procreate the species.  The Dickcissel may nest upon the ground or in a sapling, whatever suits it during that stage.

                                                                 Male Dickcissel

The biggest attraction for this bird is extensive grassland, which tends to vary on a year-to-year basis, depending upon weather conditions.  In drought years, they will come north more often, and conversely, they will remain in southern Texas during rainy breeding seasons.  This practice also occurs on the wintering grounds, which can also markedly vary.  They are generally an agricultural pest in their winter range, and have been poisoned as a result.  The birds will flock before migration, much like Purple Martins, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, etc., creating a very large and often noisy group.

Unless we propagate more grassland, this bird will lose population and turn into an extirpated species if we allow it.  Since these things can rapidly occur, it is in our best interests to do what we can for the species, like eliminate pesticides.   Neonicotinoids can and will be a rapid negative effect for other grassland birds, namely the Bobolink, as well as many other pollinator species.  This bird is seeking out what can be turned into grasslands in the northeastern part of the country according to eBird numbers.