Don't say "no" to Jane Goodall. Young people are our future and they have already started as activists.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
041820 Boomer Lake Migrants and Residents Make the Sky the Limit
Savannah Sparrow
This bird has been living here for a few weeks now. It is usually a lot shyer.
American Robin
More nest material, most likely due to yesterday's windy weather. A bird's work is never done.
Lesser Yellowlegs
This shorebird has been here since yesterday's challenging weather, making several birds batten down the hatches.
Osprey
As can be seen, this individual was somewhat distant. The sun's rays didn't help capturing it, either.
Savannah Sparrow #2
Note differences in coloration.
Today was a far cry from the front that came through yesterday. It was quite a bit warmer and more
songbirds were in the open. We shared time and space with two Common Loons first thing in the morning. Sadly, they left with no goodbyes. Soon discovered were three Blue-winged Teal, two males and a female. Just south of Shorebird Jetty, three Pied-billed Grebes were lazily swimming, three more later discovered by Goose Island near three American Coots. Sleeping in the sun were a pair of Northern Shovelers, the male's coloration being intensified by the lighting. Wafting overhead, an Osprey proved the health of the lake.
Four Franklin's Gulls, three of which rested upon the southern part of the lake, while eight Spotted Sandpipers moved from one location to another in search of sustenance. Three or four Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were heard before they were seen, then four Great Blue Herons flew off with a distinct purpose. The Warbling Vireo called in the distance to remind us that spring is here. One American Crow passed overhead with the sound of three Fish Crows denying its presence. Nearly three dozen Barn and Cliff Swallows rose up near the Lakeview Road Bridge gobbling up insects until their bulging crops refused them more. Harris's Sparrows crept along the ground near the sidewalk until they were flushed by by human presence, who completely ignored them. The male Common Yellowthroat probed the leaf litter and stayed within the brambles near shore, while the Purple Martins remained astute for possible intruders.
There were considerably less shorebirds and ducks that stayed and hunkered down until yesterday's storm system passed. Hopefully they are winging their way near and far to mate and raise families, while we watch the Circle of Life begin once again..
Friday, April 17, 2020
041720 Fallout Hits Boomer Lake
041420 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
This beauty is the Oklahoma state bird. It is a neotropical migrant that spends our winters in balmy Central and South America. When it is time to return the the US and builds its nests, it surprises us with some of the things that it builds with--cigarette filter papers, soft plastic sheathing, paper, cloth, and carpet fibers. One can even observe this bird speeding by in a car with those bright colors and long tail.
041720 Bald Eagle
There were two eagles at the lake this morning, a cold, windy and heavily cloudy day. When the barometer was heading up since last night, it made sense that birds were going to be on visiting today. That was an understatement. The lake was filled with hundreds of birds, including Ruddy Ducks, rafts of Pied-billed Grebes, American Avocets, Blue-winged Teal, and American Coots, just to name a handful.
American Avocets
When I began scanning the lake with binoculars, there was a lot there. At first, it appeared that there were sixty of these birds, with a Bald Eagle sitting on Shorebird Jetty. It surprised me that it was not a mobil raptor. Perhaps it was awed by the sheer numbers of birds that it had a choice to dine upon. A second eagle was over my head fifteen minutes later, the previous photo. By the time the avocets were flushed (the eagles never even got near them), the counter in my head went off to show 85 birds, a definite species record at this lake.
American Avocets, View 2
This view of the avocets shows them right in front of me as they're winging their way across the lake, which was their sixth pass. It was impossible to get all birds in one frame.
Spotted Sandpiper
There were two Spotted Sandpipers that have been in the area since late March, unusual for that early in the season. Once they have arrived, they'll not turn around to head south again, so they're making the best of it, even though they are not happy with the weather. These sandpipers are easy to identify, as they bob when they walk, no matter what plumage they are wearing.
Baird's Sandpiper
A lone Baird's Sandpiper was here several days ago, two of them near one another.
Semipalmated Sandpaper in center
As I headed west on Shorebird Jetty, I counted seven, two of them here with a Semipalmated Sandpiper sandwiched in the center. All of them were moving and will not all look at the camera.
There was also a Lesser Yellowlegs, another having been here last week. A Willet had been in the area earlier, but I stationed myself at Heron Cove where I managed thirty species alone.
The Hudsonian and Marbled Godwits were found elsewhere this morning in Payne County. We also entertain the Buff-breasted Sandpiper in the area, too.
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