120218 Muskogee Edition, Birding Today

https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/lifestyles/birding-today-a-lesson-in-bird-body-parts/article_c6f9835e-edeb-5021-8e23-0168f8d39700.html

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Canada Warbler

This attractive, small warbler is uncommon within shaded deciduous undergrowth in mature forest along low, thick areas and many times along streams.

The necklaced warbler spends less time on the Boreal breeding grounds than most warblers, arriving late and leaving early.  It has also been known to breed along the Appalachians as far south as Georgia.  Due to overbrowsing by deer, deforestation, the wooly adelgid (a killer of hemlock and spruce), this passerine has been losing numbers.  In the Andes, where a large portion of these neotropical migrants overwinter, loss of habitat is hurting them on the opposite end of the spectrum.

As a strong flycatcher, it will flush insects while foraging along leaves and twigs, then darting out to catch escaped protein.  Also watch the ground, as they will forage among the leaves there,  Within dense foliage is can usually be located from a couple of feet from the ground to the higher canopies.  It will feel the effects of climate change as the years pass, and loss of forest due to clear cutting will take its toll.



               Canada Warbler
      Wikipedia/William Majoros

The male will have a darker necklace and a longer tail than the female.  They really are not dimorphic.  This passerine has thicker spectacles than most warblers, and fresh spring coloring will show a bright yellow chest, belly, and throat, as well as a dark gray back.  While nesting, they are often a Brown-headed Cowbird host.

Look carefully for the necklace, which will keep one from identifying it as a Magnolia Warbler and if there is a yellow throat, ID as a Yellow-throated Warbler.  During the fall, it is not difficult to determine the identity of this bird.  The adult male will show strong similarity to the spring male, but sometimes slightly duller with fringing upon the crown.  The female adult will have an olive cast to her upperparts, missing the black in her plumage.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Spotted Towhee

Sweet-sweet-teeeeeeaaaaa!

Larger than sparrows with a long tail, dark head, rufous flanks, and white spotting, the Spotted Towhee has several subspecies.  We have our Great Plains, the southwest has their Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest has theirs.  These are all self explanatory, and later, there will be discussion on the Eastern Towhee, which also comes to Oklahoma.

These good looking large sparrows are common in brushy habitats including the undergrowth in open forests and shrublands, but are a secretive species staying within cover.  They scratch heavily within leaf litter, seeking seeds and insects, using the two-footed method to scratch simultaneously with both feet.

Since 1995 this species was separated from the Eastern Towhee, both species once called the rufous-sided towhee.  They share a very narrow hybrid zone in the northern Great Plains.  These birds will show a white patch at the base of the primaries, and their call can be a blend of the two species or sound like either of the two, so it is imperative that one pay close attention in this part of the country.  However, bear in mind that juvenile birds can emulate a hybrid during early winter, though it is rare.

                                                                    Spotted Towhee
                                                       Mount Lemmon, AZ-- Spring 2018

As omnivores, this towhee will eat nearly anything, but during the breeding season it will eat more insects and arthropods, mainly as the young require protein for good growth.

They also have about the largest range of any towhee, found over the southern portion of the western Canadian provinces and over half of the US.  They also do not flock.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Hermit Thrush

The beautiful Hermit Thrush can be identified from other spotted thrushes by its complete narrow white eye ring, as well as its contrasting reddish tail.  It chooses drier and brushier habitat than most of the other thrushes, foraging upon the ground and can generally be located in habitat similar to the Swainson's Thrush.

There are three distinct subspecies, which include the Taiga or Eastern, Interior West, and the Pacific.  The hardy Eastern birds have thicker bills with pale buffy tips on greater coverts, stocky, and brightly colored.  Interior West are pale and grayer with very limited red wash on the flight feathers.  The Pacific are more spotted than the Eastern, thinner billed than all of them, with white undertail coverts.

The voice is like that of most spotted thrushes, an ethereal flued whistle without the clear rising and falling, which is due to the syrinx, the double vocal organ at the base of the bird trachea.  The thrushes have some of the most advanced organs in the world, leading to a dual sound, much like the ability of the twelve string guitar.

                                                                   Hermit Thrush
                                                NW Corner Payne County CBC, 2017

The most hardy of the thrushes, this passerine migrates earlier in the spring and returns to its home base later in the fall in late September-October.  It is likely the only thrush to be found in most of the US in the winter.  Those that do migrate will be in flight overnight, except the Pacific Northwest, which usually remains there.  This thrush is more related to the Mexican Russet Nightingale-Thrush than to its own US family members, and usually can be found singing from a high perch.

Often found during the Christmas Bird Count, this unusual bird of never ending wonder has been described in many written works.

East of the Rockies, this bird is usually a ground nester, and West of the Rockies, it nests in trees.  This neotropical migrants finds its way as far south as Central America in the winter.

To See Interior West Hermit Thrush and Birds of Arizona:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/05/birding-on-shoestring-wilds-of-arizona.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Ruby-crowned Kinglet

                                                             Courtesy Timothy Barksdale

One of the smallest birds, this nervous-appearing, constant wingflicker in continual motion possesses olive-green plumage with a pale eye ring, thin dark bill and legs with pale feet.  Often confused with a warbler, this solitary bird often joins chickadees, titmice, warblers, and other small songbirds of the wood.  When agitated or excited, the adult male will flick its bright red crown.  It also has a dark bar on the base of its secondary feathers and appears to be a warbler or a tiny flycatcher with its rapid movement.

It has a loud, complex, and highly variable confusing song, and lays the largest clutch of eggs for its size, numbering up to a dozen. This songbird breeds in the western mountains of the US and the northeast, but mainly attends nests in the Boreal Forest of Canada.  It breeds high within spruce-fir forests which lends difficulty to its breeding habits.  They do favor mixed forest and old growth habitat.  The adult male arrives first upon breeding territory and leaves last in the fall, even later than the juveniles of that season.

                                                               Ruby-crowned Kinglet
                                                      Boomer Creek Park, January 2016

In the winter, it prefers thick understory.  Having studied the species extensively in the Boomer Creek area over several years (2015-early 2018), it was found that they will readily habituate to humans.  One particular male would appear when called and was very amicable to numerous photographs, coming very close.  However when disturbed by loud traffic and other abnormal non-forest noises, it would disappear, but return quickly.  It never remained in the area longer than ten days.  Its song consisted of rapid warbles, clear notes, and whistles, lasting approximately six seconds.  Its song is so loud, one expects much larger than a four-inch bird.

The songbird enjoyed small insects and readily investigated old spider egg sacs, as well as red cedar fruit, and sally out after gnats or similar insects.

At Boomer Lake, another individual male bird was observed during the same period in 2016, which had a personality nothing like the original kinglet.  It was shy and retiring, never singing, making observation much more difficult.  It was not in the area longer than three days.

Most birds of the western part of the country will remain there, but many of the northernmost breeders will continue on to southern Mexico or slightly beyond for migration.  Oklahoma's birds can be observed for the entire winter and into early spring.

For More Photos of Ruby-crowned Kinglet, See:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2016/01/as-cool-wind-blows-stars-come-out-of.html

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2016/01/steady-as-westerly-wind-blows.html

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: American Tree Sparrow

Bold white wingbars, a clear rusty cap and eyeline with a bicolored bill and a distinct dark breast spot, the American Tree Sparrow sings a clear warble and its good looks will draw you in.

This common country bird winters in brushy or weedy habitat near trees, in back yards, and marshes.  Prone to mix with other sparrows in the winter, it will form large flocks that wander far and wide. Why it is named the tree sparrow is odd, as it is a bird of low shrubs.  They will beat tall weeds with their wings until the seeds fall to the ground outside of breeding season.  At that time they also subsist on berries and seeds.

The medium sized sparrow, as it is commonly called, has a long thin tail and often fluffs itself to make it appear larger.  Migrating late in the fall and early in the spring, these birds are near to or ground nesters, often lining their nests with ptarmigan feathers for both warmth and comfort.  They have adapted well to urban environments out of the breeding season and make full use of human resources.  They will eat scattered millet from the ground, and have been confused with the Chipping Sparrow, so know their arrival/departure dates.

                                                       
                                                               American Tree Sparrow
                                                                   allaboutbirds.org

Their breeding and wintering ranges do not overlap, having remarkably wide ranges between breeding season and their equally large winter range.  The key to find them is to look for them near low points.

The winter sparrow has a large breeding range between the tundra and boreal forest transitional zone in shrubby habitat.

If you wish to attract these beautiful birds to your back yard, forego the raking and keep a section of your yard unkempt.  Many sparrows enjoy scratching upon the ground for food, as do the remainder of their family like towhees and juncos.  Have a water source nearby, as well as untrimmed bushes still holding their dried fruit on the branches.  Also save your seeds by not dead heading your spent flowers for additional food.  Also build a brush and/or rock pile from the garden, forego pesticides, and plant natives in order to attract native birds by contacting your local forestry service, a good source.

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 Migratory Species Profile: Clay-colored Sparrow

buzz-buzz

This common migratory sparrow is similar to a Chipping Sparrow, but more buffy overall and paler.
Since we will see it (as a non-breeding bird in the fall), it sports a clean gray nape, a strong dark mustache, a pale eyering, pale lores, and a buffy breastband.

As shrubland and field edge breeders, these passerines will visit Christmas tree farms and grass areas with short and scattered coniferous trees.

                                                     Clay-colored Sparrow, fall plumage
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2016

Wintering in southern Texas and south, as well as breeding in the north central US and the western Boreral Forest, it passes through the prairie and Great Plains states.  In the winter, if one travels to those regions, it can be found in the company of White-crowned, Brewer's, and Chipping Sparrows along upland plains, brushy hillsides, and fields.

Fond of shrubs and forbs, they will dine upon soapberry, mesquite, mustard, and spiders, small insects, as well as moths.  Brushy areas of streams and rivers can be a favored location to locate them, where they will be observed hopping under thickets.  This is a fabulous hot spot during their migratory period.

They are parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird during breeding season, which could be attributed to their slight population decline.

For More Clay-colored Sparrow Photos, See:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/05/pre-and-post-storm-events.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 Winter Bird Profile: Vesper Sparrow

Half the state will see the Vesper Sparrow as a winter resident (in the southern half) and the northern half will see it as a migrant.

As a short grass prairie breeder it often perches on barbed wire or small trees, not mixing with other sparrow species in the Northern US and Canada.  In the winter, it can be found in loose flocks upon agricultural fields or dry and sparsely vegetated pastures.  It is best to look for them in full song at that time, as they are at their least shy during the breeding season.

Rarely observed, it has a small red shoulder patch, thin white eyering, flashes white outer tail feathers while in flight, and sings a sweet series of trills within the vespers of twilight.

They will quickly settle in abandoned farm fields and old mines as they revert to their forest stature.

These ground dwellers and nesters scratch upon the ground and take frequent dust baths.  After the breeding season, they will migrate south and forage with mixed sparrow species that include Brewer's, Savannah, and Grasshopper Sparrows, as well as the Lark Bunting.

                                                                  Vesper Sparrow
                                                          Boomer Lake Park, 2015

Populations are declining to some degree due to likely loss of grassland habitat, frequent mowing of fields, early harvest, and hedgerow removal.  Certain populations could become threatened or endangered due to this continued activity in the eastern ranges, but in general, they are still a species of low concern.  They enjoy meadows with open soil, stubble fields, and grassy areas above sandy beaches.

They are rather early spring migrants and return later in the fall.  They usually have been peaking in May and October.

Oklahoma Irruptive Species Profile: Red-breasted Nuthatch

yank-yank-yank-yank-yank

One of the smallest songbirds with the classic steel-blue upperparts and orange breast and belly, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is either in your face at feeders, or a distant tease with that nasal call.

A few Oklahoma residents are already predicting  an invasion, which may or may not come to pass, but if food is scarce for them already in the northern hinterlands, they could be getting interested in the Great Plains as a possible range expansion vector.

Known for a strong interest in the spruce budworm, this nuthatch can almost smell them for their weight in gold.  During the massive budworm infestation of the 1970s in the Boreal Forest wildness, a change was created in forestry over a ten year period that still lasts today with irruptive migrant behavior.  Tied in with this species, it also includes the Evening Grosbeak, Black-capped Chickadee, both crossbills, Pine Siskin and more on the tail end of the phenomena.  This will be discussed in the next section.  For more information, see:  https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/10/long-term-effects-regarding-late-1960s.html

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Wikipedia

The species has already increased its range in a southward moving by nesting in ornamental conifers, especially in mature forest, which is required for nesting sites in decaying wood.  Like its white-breasted cousin and others, this nuthatch is known for hitching backward down trees.

The future of this bird over the next several decades to half century will be in a northerly direction.  However, areas with conifers will always win out, be it north or south.  Therefore, there will be much more range loss in summer than in the winter.

Known for its friendless and lack of fear toward humans, if one stands still in its favored zone, it will come quite close.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Song Sparrow

One of the most welcome sounds that I hope to hear for winter to bring cheer, is that of the Song Sparrow atop a bush or small tree.  Common to brushy areas near water, this ubiquitous sparrow is often found with several of its species in loose groups, as well as with the Dark-eyed Junco.

Several subspecies across the country are known, including the Eastern, which is also the bird of Oklahoma, Aleutian, Southwest, California Coast, and Pacific Northwest, all self-explanatory. Many of these birds are actually intergrades, with a wide latitude on streaking.  There is really no audible variation among any of them.

In Oklahoma, most likely the first streaky and robust bird of winter that you see is the Song Sparrow, and memorizing the voice in the above video will seal the deal.  The bill is semi-conical with wide breast streaking with a central "stickpin" in the midst of the breast and flesh-toned legs.  They will often visit feeders.

                                                                    Song Sparrow
                                                        Boomer Lake Park, March 2015

The Song Sparrow enjoys a number of habitats as a generalist including wet meadows, lakes, thickets, forest edges, bushy marsh margins, parks, roadsides, gardens, salt marshes, etc.  It will scratch upon the ground for seeds, and usually flies low to the ground.

Its beautiful song increases with the advent of spring and tends to be variable and quite complex at times, but very familiar.  Many birds in the northern section of its range will be migratory, but some will rely upon bird feeders.  These insectivores will also eat fruit and seeds all year.  They will usually dine upon whatever is available no matter where they are found, insuring the success of the species.

They can be a victim of the Brown-headed Cowbird, but they are quite resilient with an uncanny ability to raise their own as well as that of the obligate brood parasite.  The Song Sparrow also has the most numerous subspecies in the US.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: White-throated Sparrow

Poor Sam, Peabody, Peabody, Peabody or
My Sweet Canada, Canada, Canada 

Many times near openings in openings in mixed woods, along brushy understory, or woodland edges, this classic sparrow has a powerful song for such a small bird.  A stocky and dark brown-red sparrow, the gray breast is either understreaked or coarsely mottled.

The offset white throat has sharp delineation and the yellow lores are another identification point.

Attracting this beautiful songster to a feeder will  not be difficult if it is near a thicket for rapid cover.

This late fall migrater can be a slow mover to its southern sources and moves mostly at night.  The tan striped supercilium (eyebrow) adult is more drab and the white striped supercilium adult is more brightly colored.  Oddly, one of each tends to make a pair and it has been noted in studies that the white-striped adult is the more aggressive.

                                                             White-throated Sparrow
                                                           Boomer Creek Park, 2015

This ground forager enjoys fall berries and in the winter likes grass and weed seeds.  A good way to be attractive to the species is to have an unmowed section of back yard for its feeding pleasure.  Wintering birds are most common in the south and east and not difficult to find in Oklahoma and as far west as the Pacific coast, especially when it belts out song.

Mostly a Canadian breeder, this bird is very susceptible to window strikes and is a prey choice of many smaller raptors.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Red Fox Sparrow

The Red (Taiga) Fox Sparrow is the most brightly colored Fox Sparrow that winters in Oklahoma.
It comes to the southern Great Plains area around October to mid-November and stays until early April, when it goes back north for breeding purposes.  It is widespread locally over the entire state except the Panhandle, which is lacking in brush and trees.

Associates of many other wintering sparrows, they are also ground foragers, as backward scratchers within leaf litter seeking insects, fruit, and seeds, similar to towhee behavior.

This large sparrow is the most prolific of all of the Fox Sparrows with the largest swath of migratory and breeding range, especially in the Boreal Forest.  Depending upon the races or forms, their coloration can vary from foxy red to dark brown to gray.

                                                          Red (Taiga) Fox Sparrow
                                                         Boomer Creek Park, 2015

Out of the breeding zone, these are generally solitary birds, occasionally in small groups.  Their distribution has changed somewhat due to human proclivities involving logging and both natural and set fire regimes.  Both of these create a heavy understory, which this bird finds very appealing.

This stocky sparrow is larger than the Song Sparrow and more brightly colored.  Sometimes confused with the Hermit Thrush, it has a much different GISS (general impression, shape, and size) and coloration will not change with the season.

It is a long- to short-distance migrant, whereby the Alaskan population may go as far southeast as Florida.  The Sierra Nevada subspecies is an altitudinal migrater, and the remainder are more of a short distance mover.

As can be seen thus far in the winter bird profiles on sparrows, this will be another easy sparrow to identify.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: White-crowned Sparrow

more, more, more cheezies

This common bird has dialects all over the country to denote where it is from.  These birds are observed in the winter in Oklahoma in brushy or weedy areas.  They will feed in flocks on the ground and when disturbed, will all fly back to cover.  Our adult East Taiga subspecies has a pink bill and white head stripes.

A Boreal Forest breeder, as well as portions of western states, these sparrows are resident in most of the southern US.  Gambel's sparrow enjoys shrubby and woody thickets, as well as hedgerows, forest parks, and gardens in many open areas.  Because of its wide range and distribution, it is often seen, especially during migratory events in the same areas.

                                                      East Taiga White-crowned Sparrow
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2015
Just like most sparrows, the white-crowned hops and scratches, but will sometimes hawk for insects in flight.

The undulating flight with alternate flapping is a characteristic of many birds like this one.  This sparrow can show a strong preference for certain territories and be within a flock of a dozen to four dozen birds in winter, especially in agricultural fields and back yards.  They can be attracted by brush piles and sunflower seeds if you'd like to see more of them.

They prefer seeds, buds, and berries, and like most breeding birds base their diet upon protein sources in spring and summer.

Most of this species migrates at night.  The northern and mountain region subspecies are strongly migratory, with the Pacific birds usually resident to their region.  Alaskan birds are known for orange bills and the Pacific coast birds have yellow bills, while the remainder share the pink bill, including the Rocky Mountain subspecies.

The Gambel's sparrow is very familiar to the eastern and mountain subspecies, but will not have black lores, yet the bill is more orange.  Nuttall's sparrow is a very regional non-migratory coastal bird of the Pacific, restricted to parkland and restored scrub.

Known for the short series of clear whistles followed directly by buzzy tones, it gets easier to tell when they are in the area if one enjoys birding by ear.  Once the GISS (general impression, shape, and size) is learned, one should have no trouble picking out young birds, who have brown as opposed to black head markings.  The bill is just as short and the tail is just as long in comparison to an adult.

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: Lincoln's Sparrow

Often a mild winter resident of Oklahoma in dense thickets and overgrown fields, some of the Lincoln's Sparrows are already moving in from northern US and Boreal Forest breeding grounds.  These sparrows tend to like grassy patches around trees and brush near water sources.  Generally solitary, they will mix with other flocks of sparrows.

This streaked brown and buff sparrow clearly shows malted-milk sides with a black streaked breast and white belly and throat.  The buffy mustache stripe is bordered with brown lines.  The crest commonly moves up and down when the bird is intrigued or alarmed, but is not a clear delineator of the species.

The medium sized sparrow is not as dainty as it appears and is a skulker.  It often is missed in migration, so tune your ears to its sound.  Pishing will draw it out, but never do that to any bird in the winter so they may conserve energy when they need it the most.

                                                               Lincoln's Sparrow
                                                         Boomer Lake Park, Winter 2017

This New World sparrow covers most of North and Central America in subalpine woods,  thickets, and even subarctic streams, fens, swamps, wet meadows, and mountain meadows of the western US.  Alders, willows, spruce, tamarack and thick ground vegetation will draw it within.

If one hears the characteristic double scratch of a sparrow, look carefully for the source on the ground, as it could well be the shy migrant.  Flitting from one spot to another,  Lincoln's will incessantly chip when faced with an intruder's approach.

Enjoying grasses, weeds, insects, seeds, grains, and invertebrates, they can be expected in September or October as migrants.  Expect it for Christmas Bird Count if in the appropriate area in Oklahoma.

This bird was named by John James Audubon for his friend, Thomas Lincoln of Dennysville, Maine.  It was originally called Tom's Finch after the man that shot it for Audubon.

Oklahoma Vagrants: Vermilion Flycatcher

pete-pete or  pete-a-weet

Uncommon and local in diverse mixes of brush, trees, riparian woodlands, agricultural areas, savannah, grassy openings near water, and in desert habitat, the Vermilion Flycatcher will enamor you.  The usually solitary bird will sally for small flying insects like a typical flycatcher from an open perch.

This spectacular red passerine of the south and southwest is a star in its own right.  The species is dimorphic, and the female is very similar to the Say's Flycatcher with her peach colored belly.

From Alaska to central South America, the wide range is enjoyed by this neotropical migrant, which encompasses over seven million square miles globally.

Males will bound across the high canopy while fluttering and singing a solicitous song in the spring to a chosen female.  They will fluff out the feathers, perform aerial acrobatics, and then swoop down to the perch from where they came.  The male will offer the female a butterfly to seal the deal.

                                                            Male Vermilion Flycatcher
                                               Patagonia Lake SP, Santa Cruz County, AZ
                                                                          2018

First found in Oklahoma in the twenty-first century, Darwin's flycatcher has visited the panhandle quite often, and has even made guest appearances in other parts of the state.  It has even been as far as the state of Maine.

A species of least concern and one not to be easily forgotten, the Galapagos flycatcher will bring a smile to one's face with its friendly nature.  Both parents care for the young, and the male will handle parental duties while the female begins a second clutch.  These small flycatchers are insectivores.

Land development and water redirection caused a serious problem in the lower Colorado River Valley for this bird.  It has rebounded and is spreading its wings as can be seen with its diverse range in other locales.

Other Birds Seen with the Vermilion Flycatcher:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/05/birding-on-shoestring-american.html

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/02/representatives-of-days-3-through-5-in.html

Vagrants of Oklahoma: Great Kiskadee

KREEtaperrr, Kiskadeee, Christopher, BEE-tee-WEE

Whatever dialect you choose, the raucous Great Kiskadee will say something that you will understand.  This handsome passerine perches conspicuously in treetops in small groups, and due to its coloration, it is very easy to locate.

Common is dense woodlands, as well as around a water source, this perching songbird sometimes consumes fish, lizards, insects, and berries.

Seen only from spring through summer and until migration, a Great Kiskadee presented itself at Red Slough in McCurtain County in 2012.  It had been seen several times during that stretch, but was the only time recorded on eBird.  As several people there would agree, it was a very eye-catching vagrant.

Open and second growth wood lots appeal to them, as do scrubby irrigation channels, and suburbs when in a breeding area.  In the tropics and subtropics, they are within shade-grown coffee farms, and citrus and banana plantations.

                                                                Great Kiskadee
                                                   Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX 2017

These bold large flycatchers will eat animal or vegetable matter, human offerings, and even steal cat and dog food from the dishes.

Commonly found in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas as a permanent resident, this is one subspecies out of ten seen worldwide.  In 1957, the large flycatcher was introduced to Bermuda to control the large number of lizards.  It has proliferated to this day, and was never interested in Caribbean amphibians as a food source.  Only rarely will it migrate to Arizona.

In flycatcher fashion, it will mob hawks and larger birds due to its nature.


More of the Great Kiskadee and the Lower Rio Grande Valley:

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/02/birding-on-shoestring-days-11-through-13.html

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/02/days-one-and-two-of-birding-lower-rio.html

Oklahoma Vagrants: Cassin's Finch

Uncommon in western montane coniferous forests, this finch has a more pointed and longer bill than the Purple Finch, as well as a longer primary projection.  The most distinguishing characteristics between House Finch and Purple Finch are the short, deeply forked tail and the peaked head.  They usually forage upon the ground, feeding on fruit, insects, buds, and conifer seeds.

First seen in Oklahoma in 2000, the American rosefinch has steadily become more common and was observed several times during 2018 at the Black Mesa Bed in Breakfast in winter, as well as New Year's Eve, as well as once in spring.  It was also seen in the spring this year in Guymon.  In Oklahoma, they appear to be moving west to central to likely survive climate change over the next few decades.

These birds breed throughout western conifer belts of the interior mountains between 3,000 and 10,000 feet.  They favor most pines, spruce, and quaking aspen.   Some prefer open sagebrush scrub with interspersed western juniper.  Breeding numbers tend to change as the food supply does over yearly periods.  Some northernmost birds will migrate south for the winter, yet others choose not to do so.

                                                                 Cassin's Finch
                                                         Madera Canyon, AZ 2018

In late summer and early fall they will flock with Red Crossbills, Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks,  and other assorted birds of the mountains to forage and seek out salt through mineral deposits.  In the winter, they migrate to lower valleys, or altitudinal migration.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Tufted Titmouse

peter-peter-pete!

Uniformly pale gray with gray crest, black forehead and buffy-orange flanks, this common bird is often in mixed flocks including chickadees, nuthatches, kinglets, and other forest birds.  Its range has been expanding north over the past half century.  This species comes to feeders frequently during fall and winter and is often found in deciduous forests.

Foraging along foliage and branches, as well as seeking insects within bark folds, it is commonly seen upside down while consuming fruit and seeds from trees. Caterpillars are a favorite summer staple.  During winter, they enjoy seeds, fruit, nuts, and berries.

This species is monogamous and pairs for life, and both sexes contribute to nest building within a nestbox, old woodpecker hole, or natural cavity. Besides the normal lichen, moss, hair, bark and grass, the cup nest will include snakeskin and fur from raccoons, squirrels, and opossums.  Titmice have even stolen dog and human hair on the wing.  The female incubates five to seven eggs for nearly two weeks for one or two broods a year.

                                                                   Tufted Titmouse
                                                             Boomer Lake Park, 2015

There is a very small hybrid zone for the Tufted and Black-crested Titmouse, which stabilizes over time.  Many of these birds nest just a short distance from where they were hatched.  A group of titmice is known as a banditry or dissimulation.

One of five titmouse species in the country, this one does not migrate.  Many will stay within a nest cavity through the winter.