Chirpings – Summer 2014
by Patti Muzny Summer 2014 The calendar indicates summer is on its way to wherever it goes, but the temperatures reflect that summer has finally … Read more
Pat
Summer 2014
A delightful summer After the long drought, it was a delight to find summer filled with frequent showers and cooler temperatures. Birds nested, fledglings left … Read more
California Condor
by John Shackford My best birding moment over the summer was not in Oklahoma but at Grand Canyon National Park; that is where my wife … Read more
September 2014
Migration fallouts As September began a northern cold front pushed its way into central Oklahoma causing a migrant fallout, and reports for one day cover … Read more
American Goldfinch
By John Shackford In the September 2014 club newsletter, Patti Muzny had a wonderful story about the American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), a pair of which … Read more
October 2014
Migration Continues October was a pleasant month with several migration surprises. The really big surprise was the report of a Costa or Costa hybrid Hummingbird … Read more
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) comes to mind around Thanksgiving time. In the last 10-15 years this species usually shows up on our Christmas Bird … Read more
Chirpings – 2014 CBCs
by Patti Muzny December 2014 Just a few random bird experience thoughts and things I found memorable from the past:— At the young age of … Read more
November 2014
Terns and Gulls As the cold fronts continue to push into central Oklahoma, they have brought some unique bird species but not all in our … Read more
Bonaparte’s Gull
The Bonaparte’s Gull (Larus pheladelphia) was a bird species that snuck up on me. Many years ago, John Newell said something about seeing Bonaparte’s Gulls … Read more
March 2014
Early arrivals From ice to fire multiple changes kept weather, plant and bird watchers on their toes this month. The month started with cold, snow … Read more
Long-billed Curlew
by John Shackford The Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), the largest of our shorebirds at 23 inches, was once a breeding bird over much of the … Read more
April 2014
Busy, Busy, Busy It is hard to write this report as I sit beside the river in The Great Smoky Mountains with birds singing and … Read more
Cliff Swallow
The Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) is a nesting bird everywhere in Oklahoma, but rarer in the eastern part of the state. Breeding bird surveys show … Read more
Cattle Egret
by John Shackford The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), is probably the most common heron in Oklahoma today. According to Cornell University’s website on birds, the … Read more
The Mockingbirds
By Patti Muzny A world without Mockingbirds would be a dismal world indeed. I don’t think I could handle their absence very well. We have … Read more
Late January 2014
by Patti Muzny Our winter so far has been a potpourri of extremes and each one of these dramatic changes brings about a different challenge … Read more
Northern Shoveler
by John Shackford Now a bit about the Northern Shoveler. A. C. Bent, in Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl (1987 Dover edition) stated … Read more
January 2014
From Arctic Blast to High Fire Danger the weather toggled back and forth during the month. Swimmers moved from lake to lake as they froze … Read more
Early March 2014
by Patti Muzny The month of February has sort of catapulted across our lives with an amazing spectrum of weather extremes. The humans must center … Read more
February 2014
Oh Spring, Where art thou February roared in like a lion with snow storm after snow storm, but then it warmed up for the … Read more
CBCs for 2013
Christmas Bird Counts for the 2013 counting season are now an assortment of statistics in participants and compiler’s records. Those statistics do not reflect the … Read more
December 2013
Not one but for two weekend ice storms arrived in central Oklahoma and sent birds and waterfowl searching for food in a frozen world. How … Read more
Northern Saw-whet Owl
by John Shackford Recently there was an inquiry by a gentleman on OKBIRDS@LISTS.OU.EDU about where to look for Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) in Oklahoma. … Read more
November 2013
A new birder As the weather changed from mild to freezing rain, the winter birds arrived looking for shelter and food. The first central Oklahoma … Read more
South Polar Skua
by John Shackford The South Polar Skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) that showed up at least from August 7- August 10, 2013 at Lake Overholser was more … Read more
Severe Weather
by Patti Muzny In the aftermath of the devastating May storms, it’s so incredibly amazing to observe the healing, not only from those generous human … Read more
Great-tailed Grackle
by John Shackford The Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) has an interesting history. It was lumped with the Boat-tailed Grackle in 1910 and only split in … Read more