Afield in Oklahoma

Reluctance In Conservation

2011-08-03T15:50:00.000-05:00

I knew very little about what a decision like being a voice for the birds was going to be. Not only that, but little did I know what it was going to take to be a voice for the birds in Oklahoma. Let's face it, most humans think and base their daily decisions purely on what they want, need or hope to attain. Money, a better job, comfort at home and work and then of course there are the items of pure enjoyment. You know what I mean; I just spent three months paying off my dream guitar. My point is simple; when you decide to speak for things that don't have a voice, you also make a decision to put your needs and wants to the side (not all, but some). You make a decision to stand, sometimes alone, sometimes with help but most certainly to stand against things that are larger and far more complicated than your simple life should have been.

I have been digging, dredging, call it what you will, in the world of Oklahoma birds and bird conservation for about five years now (give or take). I've spent time putting together some of the necessary information for Oklahoma's Important Bird Areas Program. I've put myself out there a few times with concern for the dwindling Lesser Prairie-Chicken population, which also put me into the realm of the national energy development issue/crisis. I've trekked through swamps and marshes in the dead of night looking for a little black bird no larger than a sparrow. All of this and more with the intention of learning more, and helping to understand and protect a group of organisms and their habitats, those of which some people couldn't give a damn whether or not they even existed.

About five months ago everything changed for me, I found myself wondering whether or not I could keep doing it or if I even wanted to. I found myself overloaded, confused, and basically struggling far too much for something that I supposedly loved. If I were to identify my big mistakes, the first would being having said yes to far too many projects. Yes, I was told multiple times by friends and colleagues, and by my especially loving and supportive wife, that I was taking on too much; to that I say, "well if I hadn't done it who would have?" Maybe there was or is someone else but I have yet to see a new arrival (and I am waiting). Don't let me give you the wrong idea, there have been plenty of successes. But truth be told some things haven't changed at all.

In Oklahoma we are still struggling to find a balance between wildlife and energy, and with the current trend taken into consideration, it looks as though wildlife is getting the back seat. I mean what do you do when your own state Senator supports beating the hell out of our Endangered Species Act and the species it protects? I assure you Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe are not concerned with our wildlife or wildlands, especially if it stands to slow progress. Even if the progress is ill planned, sides with the wants of a few and stands to change the landscape of Oklahoma for generations to come.

So what's a poor boy to do (using the words from a sad song) when the place you have chosen and the work you have chosen have almost no place in the state, a state that just doesn't want to join the global push to make the world a better place, unless we stand to make one hell of a profit? Well, for a moment I almost folded (truth be told I shut down briefly), I nearly gave up all I had worked for and believed in because, well because I just didn't think it really mattered anymore. I didn't think anyone really cared. Sure I know you are out there: the folks that write letters to the USFWS, the folks that spend their time teaching children how to treat this world with a little respect, the folks that would spend their own money to drive three hundred miles to help the cause for a species of bird that you may or may not get to see in your lifetime.

I know what you are thinking, or at least some of you. It does matter and you are right! Perhaps being run through the wringer was just what I needed. Boughts of insomnia, stomach problems from stress and too much caffeine, tears when I couldn't get enough money together to pay the mortgage, frustration when I was using my own money to get back out in the field even though it should have gone to the electric bill and more. So when I look back at it all, am I sorry about having taken those first steps? Hell no! Have I made errors and mistakes, committed myself to too much, spoken when I should have kept my mouth shut, and generally just ran amuck where and when I felt like it. Your damn right I did, and what have I learned? Well, for one I've learned that having a voice is a gift, if you don't use it you don't deserve to have it. Two, there's nothing wrong with being out-spoken. Three, know when to say no, and when to say yes even if everything inside of you tells you the opposite. Four, well I'll just say be careful and it's very important to take care of yourself. Don't sacrifice your body, because without it you've lost your dream. Five, moderation with everything, unless of course it's really, really good!

I'm still not real sure why I put this tell-all post together, or if I really want people to know some of the truth behind my curtain. But I will say one last thing. Conservation is the most important thing in this modern world, and you had better recognize and think about the truth of that comment. Is conservation work a good place for a person that tends to be a little depressed? Mmm...I guess it depends on who you ask. But one thing's for certain, I'm not going away, I'm reloading the guns and I'm getting back to my business, the business of conservation. Reluctantly? No, with rejuvenated spirit and whole backpack full of lessons learned and all the wiser. Should you be concerned? Not unless you pose a threat to wildlife and wildlands; then I would be very concerned. Am I afraid of the big boys out there, theAlpha Dogs (you know who you are), why should I be?

Into the Pine Woods

2011-07-07T10:53:00.000-05:00

Louisiana hot, that's the answer for the question I've been getting as of late. Is it hot down there? Well, not as hot as Lawton, where I've taken to not even looking at the thermometer, it's become ridiculous. It's Louisiana hot down in McCurtain County, Oklahoma and the Ouachita National Forest. But there's plenty to see and do just the same. My days are filled with heat, sweat, bugs, and of course birds. This is my second season on a project trying to understand the Bachman's Sparrow's that inhabit scattered locations in the forest. No, not Michele Bachman but the Bachman Sparrow, the "Pine Woods Sparrow".

Shrubby St. John's Wort
(Hypericum proloficum)

The 'Blazing Star" found below is a first for me, I identified it as a "Spiny Blazing Star"
but I believe that name may be a bit out-dated or perhaps something has changed and I just haven't figured it out yet. Nonetheless, I will do my best to figure it out. If you already know, fill me in.

Blazing Star
(Liatris sp.)

Red-spotted Purple
(Limenitis arthemis)

I approached this butterfly like a mountaineer. One hand holding steadily to my canoe tie-down rope and the other concentrating on camera functions, all the while teetering of the hood of my truck. And, there are those who might say I can't multi-task!

Variegated Fritillary

(Euptoieta claudia)

Well just a few photos to keep anyone who might be wondering where and what the heck I'm up to these days satiated. Until later!

The Top Ten Things You Missed While Failing to Attend the Lek Treks & More Lesser Prairie-chicken Festival

2011-04-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

Number 10: Most likely your lifer Lesser Prairie-Chicken. If you think a few birds along a county road and 75 yards away is good enough then you haven't seen the photos from this year's celebration!

Western Snowy Plover,
Buffalo Creek Salt Flat

Number 9: You missed an opportunity to experience the Selman Ranch. It's private and the birding there is a business, so you can still come but you'll need to schedule it. Let's see Snowy Plovers, Ladder-backed Woodpecker and did I mention Lesser Prairie-chickens?

Number 8: There were so many talented artists at this year's symposium and art show you would have had a hard time walking out without dipping into that tight-wad wallet of yours (hey, I'm speaking for myself here too!)

Number 7: The star gazing show at the Selman Living Laboratory, not to mention the expert guidance of Dr. Bill Caire, oh and don't forget the International Space Station flight across the sky that Saturday evening.

Number 6: The Saturday night "Owl Prowl" and your's truly successfully calling in an Eastern Screech Owl, using I might add not a single electronic device. Did I mention that it perched just over top of the sidewalk, in the clear and only about ten feet away; it also allowed each tour participant an opportunity to view? I'm nearly failing to mention the Common Poorwill that also responded to my coaxing, although we failed to get a look at the rascal. Am I gloating?

Drake Wood Ducks

Number 5: On Saturday's Harper/Woodward County Birding Tour we racked up 77 species for the short day and watched the Fort Supply Reservoir go off like I've never experienced. Let's see,Marbled Godwit, Bald Eagle, 2 Western Grebes, over 350 Eared Grebes in breeding plumage, American Pipit, Burrowing Owl, Snowy Plover, Least and Baird's Sandpiper, Wood Duck...........that should be enough to wet your appetite for next year's festival!

Osprey

Number 4: You missed participating in the fence marking conservation event. We helped the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife mark fences on their Cimarron Bluffs property, for prairie-chicken conservation.

Number 2.5: You missed the opportunity to meet Merlin Little Thunder, this year's festival artist, and his beautiful painting "When the Prairie Danced and Sang Under Painted Sky". The original has been sold already so if you want to see it you either need to view it on-line, buy a print, or come out and bird for a day at the Selman Ranch and you can view the original. Did I forget to mention though that it's a business, and you'll need to schedule a visit.

Number 2: You missed meeting and listening to our keynote speaker Bill Thompson III, editor of Birdwatcher's Digest, writer and blogger, musical meistro and all around fun guy to be around. Did I mention the live performance of a wonderful Wood Guthrie standard, and then later two more songs one of which the whole crowd joined in on.. "Momma don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowbirds". Yeah, you missed that!

I couldn't make up my mind which talented guest deserved the number two slot, so I took them both halfway in some sort of weird, justifiable only in my own mind, kind of way.

and the Number One "Thing You Missed When You Did Not Attend this Year's Lek Treks & More Lesser Prairie-chicken Festival.":

Did I mention the Lesser Prairie-Chickens?

And just in case my top ten list didn't get through to you, how about the fact that all of the photos in this post are from a very talented twelve year old, John David McQuaig. Yeah, you missed him too..

A Visit to Indigo Hills

2011-04-06T10:33:00.001-05:00

Julie, Bill and Chet Baker, three fifths of the tribe.

In honor of last year's and this year's keynote speakers for the Lek Treks & More Lesser Prairie- Chicken Festival, I saved this post for just the right moment (hopefully this is it)! About four weeks ago, well easier put, during "spring break" I made my way to the east coast for a little visit with family. Particularly pertinent to current topics on this blog I made my way to Indigo Hills, Ohio as well! Indigo Hill isn't exactly a town, more the name of a beautiful house atop a ridge-line in south-eastern Ohio. It also happens to be the home of Bill Thompson III and Julie Zickefoose.

Indigo Hills!

The former is the editor of Birdwatcher's Digest ; the latter, a widely known artist and writer, both well known for being drenched with talent for which it would take too long to describe here. You'll just have to trust me and visit their websites, links provided, see for yourself!

After having missed my exit for the the dynamic duos house, and after a long evening of restless sleep in my car in West Virginia, I finally arrived to a smiling and supportive Julie. Whom, like every good mother ran a hot bath and told me to go chill and to rest my score muscles. I obliged, with bubbles I might add, and found myself sitting, rested, and ready for some conversation a little later in Julie's kitchen. Perhaps one of the kindest shows of hospitality I have seen through my years traveling here and there! Conversations ran from birds to music, life and then back again. This was pretty much the case for the entire visit.

So for two days and nights I spent the evening in the glow of both Bill and Julie, and their two wonderful kids I might add. There was talk of a particular new bird guide that didn't thrill me too much, that might make a nice little post for later. Discussions between Bill and I about the life birds we are planning to get him while he is in Oklahoma. Things like how much time do we have to pretty much cover as much of western Oklahoma as possible? Which, let me tell is gonna make for one hell of good time! Will we be visiting Meers for a famous burger, etc, etc.. Music was of course, mentioned previously, also on topic. Both Bill and Julie are wonderful songwriters and musicians, something of which I try to live a bit myself, so the instruments were opened up and the three crazy birds took to singing! Reluctantly, only because I'm shy about it, I have added one of two basement recordings (okay so it's been added as a widget on the top left of this web page, song title "When You Gonna Let Me In"), the other to be shared for another post that's coming soon.

Bill giving me a lesson, on my guitar!

So generally, I'm here telling you that when you don't show up to the Lek Treks & More Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival you're missing a sure fire good time and it's your own fault! Not only that but you're gonna miss Bill Thompson III's keynote address at the banquet Saturday (April 16) evening in Woodward, OK. I'm sure just like his wife, who we were honored to have last year as the keynote speaker, Bill's address will provide plenty to think about, chuckle at and generally enjoy. This ain't no three day tour though, you get to hear him for one night only! Understanding what kind of schedule this guy keeps I can say with some confidence, it will be a little while before he graces Oklahoma again!

So what about the birds? Well, I mostly got treated to the smorgasbord that the Indigo Hills feeders provided. Everything from Eastern Bluebirds to Red-bellied Woodpeckers and even a Fox Sparrow which I hadn't seen in a while. The entire visit it was either raining, snowing or looking like it was going to in the near future, so we stayed indoors most of the time. Of course I did get my year's first American Woodcock. I only needed to step out on their back deck and give a quick listen. So for now that's it, I'm still in the trenches up in prairie-chicken land, "Afield in Oklahoma" or Ohio, whichever fits at the moment.

Tis' the Season for Chicken Love

2011-04-02T11:28:00.000-05:00

That's right ladies you heard me, chicken love. If you know anything about anything, you know there ain't nothin' like it! How can you resist the temptations of the male cock strutting, stomping and cackling it's way into your heart? Well if you think you can resist just read on and you might think differently afterwards!

Eye combs swollen and air-sac vibrating.
"There's a female somewhere, I just know it!"
photo by: Susan Hammerly

Okay, so maybe I went a bit far, but seriously it is time for some chicken love. Lesser Prairie-Chickens are gathering in the southwest, the hills and prairies of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. The sand-hills will be filled with the peculiar sound of cock Lesser Prairie-Chickens doing what they do best, puttin' on for the ladies! There will be feathers lost, air-sacs punctured, close calls with coyotes and the occasional raptor. If the boys are lucky there will also be the occasional successful copulation.

I am currently cruising the country roads of NW, Oklahoma in search of leks or mating grounds. Working with and for the University of Oklahoma, and the G.M. Sutton Avian Research. The goal of the surveys are to assess habitat, and determine the number of leks in the region. I'm sure the data will be used for plenty of other things, but I'm not completely sure what those other things are. So am I seeing birds you ask? Well of course, as a matter of fact two days ago held two leks and a total of fourteen birds. Even with less than favorable conditions the birds are out and are really kicking up the scratch..

Two males squaring off for a confrontation, it's time to get serious!
photo by: Susan Hammerly

So, as I sit in front of a nice little fire I've built for myself this evening, I figured I could show you some photos to wet your appetite; just in case you were thinking, "Hey, I still need that dang bird on my life list." I've included some shots taken by Susan Hammerly. She was just one of three wonderful ladies that visited the Selman Ranch this past Saturday for a chance to view grouse in what they called a "scenic setting". Of course they were right on target. So excuse me while I throw in a little festival promotion quickly. The Oklahoma Audubon Council with the help of numerous supporters are holding their third annual Lek Treks & and More Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival this year in Woodward, Oklahoma. There's too much going on to try and summarize it here, but we are going to have one heck of a time! Just click the link and take a look, and then send in your registration because there is still lots of space!

The three researchers/students were from the University of Northern Texas and all have traveled a great deal and shared many stories with me that got my blood pumping for new life birds again. I dropped them off Saturday morning, wind starting to blow and the heavy fog releasing a dense mist that made observation pretty cruddy. But, they kept the faith through the weather and came up with some great shots. After a morning of photographs and videos, some of which they have allowed me to share with you, I spent the better part of the afternoon showing them around the ranch. Our list pushed up to around forty species, highlights being the grouse of course, but we also managed to dig up a few lifers for everyone, well except for me that is!

Some highlights for the day, either a life bird for someone or just a fun observation!

Marsh Wren
Vesper's Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
Rock Wren
Greater Roadrunner
Snowy Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Semi-palmated Sandpiper
American Golden Plover
Baird's Sandpiper

After an afternoon of birding and some short lessons on sparrow identification they went on their way. They left behind some goodies they had gathered up for me: cookies, sweets, muffins and a homemade Chocolate Chip Pear Cake which I had never heard of but quickly learned to appreciate, all in all and weather aside it was a great day to be afield in Oklahoma!

Briefly, the past two months or so..

2011-01-23T22:07:00.000-06:00

Admittedly I have been less than successful keeping things updated here at Afield in Oklahoma. Just the same I am keeping things going, and will definitely keep moving along trying to create some kind of place for people to stop and enjoy. I will also try and post a few more times than last year!

These past two months have seen the end of my part-time paid work for the National Audubon Society. Like a roller coaster that year of being employed, by the organization I have been a member of since I was a boy (on and off though), was a real dream come true. If things work out in the future, I’m pretty sure all parties involved would love to see it go back to the same state. But until then I’ll keep representing the state as the Important Bird Areas Coordinator for Oklahoma, albeit on a volunteer status. The downfalls of non-profit work!

So what have I been doing you ask? Well lets see, a little carpentry work, trying to find sources of funding for Oklahoma’s Audubon endeavor, trying to manage getting some habitat improvement work completed on the Selman Ranch Important Bird Area and in general trying to stay busy! Birding has been slow for me, and I drool as I read posts from birders all across Oklahoma reporting the rare and uncommon species that are showing up this winter. But you’d be mistaken if you thought I didn’t have anything rolled up in my sleeve. So here is a smattering of photos from the past couple months with some comments to fill in the blank spaces.

Morning sunrise, breaching the West Range of the Wichita Mountains

Wild Turkey on the Quannah Range of the Fort Sill Military Reservation. Taken during the 2010/11
Wichita Mountains Christmas Bird Count.

Another amazing Oklahoma Sunset

What we like to call a "Ditch Parrot" in Oklahoma! Okay so we all know that it's a Ring-necked Pheasant, I'll be honest the ditch parrot name was something I picked up last week from Dave Brown of Dave Brown Outfitters, a Quail Hunting Guide, who visits Oklahoma. Actually its more like what Canucks from Arizona call them, but hey I thought it was funny and decided to share.

So the pheasant took me back a few years. When I was teenager I hunted every season with my father, uncles and cousins in Pennsylvania. For some reason I never stuck with it, although every now and again I think about some of that White-tailed Deer bologna that he used to have made and I reconsider my position. The bounty of quail that were coming through the doors of the Selman Ranch didn't help either!

Bald Eagle, one of many at Canton Reservoir this season

Below are some documentation photos and information for a juvenile Glaucous Gull that I located and photographed thanks to a little help from Candyce Kline and Sue Selman. It was on Experiment Lake in Woodward, OK on the 14th of January 2011. It never approached any closer than around 100 yards, fortunately it was a crystal clear day so it wasn't too difficult to observe and photograph. I cropped the hell out of these photos but nothing else was adjusted.

Well, until next time!

Red-necked Phalarope

2010-10-10T11:25:00.003-05:00

Well, on my way to the Selman Ranch for some fence work and conversations over mesquite smoked ribs and home made, well home made everything, I managed to swing by an alkaline pond that has provided numerous good birds over the years. It is extremely dry in Harper County at the moment and the pond I visited has never been as shallow as what it was on Friday evening. Usually there are at least a few birds around its shores and flitting about here and there. However, that was not the case this day. There was a single bird on the water though, and much to my excitement it was a Red-necked Phalarope.

It took wading out a hundred yards in two and a half feet of mud to get a few good photos but it was certainly worth it. The bird was extremely patient, it allowed me to approach as close as 15 feet away and never flew. I watched and recorded it feeding for around twenty minutes and then turned my attention to wading back to the car and figuring out how to keep the inside of the vehicle clean. I've included a few of the best photos, enjoy!

The celebratory after photo, and yes those are bare feet.

There's Still More Work to be Done!

2010-09-28T12:23:00.000-05:00

So hear is the meat of the situation! The second weekend of October, the Oklahoma Important Bird Areas Program with support from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, The Sutton Avian Research Center, TogetherGreen, SIA the Comanche Nation Ethno-ornithological Initiative, The Selman Ranch LLC, the Oklahoma Audubon Council, and the Tulsa Audubon Society.......surely I'm forgetting someone, will be holding a fence work weekend at the Selman Ranch IBA and other properties nearby. We will meet at the Selman Ranch starting on Friday the 8th of October in the evening. Work will begin on Saturday morning, the 9th and will wrap up on the 10th. Volunteers are welcome to show up through out the weekend, staying the entire weekend is highly recommended. I will post directions to the event in the near future and will accept questions via email, phone calls, facebook...ect...The weekend will not be limited to just work, there is always plenty of time for wildlife watching, good conversations, and a lot of fun. Food details are being worked out and there will be more information coming out about that in the future. If you can't attend but still would like to contribute, through a donation to the Tulsa Audubon Society you can help pay for food, beverages or help off- set other costs such as lodging compensation for the Selman Ranch ect. Just contact me or John Kennington ( johnkennington@gmail.com) for more information on that.

So while you consider the event let me take you on a short trip to the prairie!

The thermometer has begun its decent into the fall and young, male prairie chickens are beginning to gather at the lekking grounds for a chance to work on next spring’s repertoire of ritual song and dance. The annual migration is well on its way as well, and every once in a while the sound of an overhead Upland Sandpiper charms your senses. As you continue to walk along the fence line, every few moments you are reminded by subtle beauty, the reason you have come to western, Oklahoma. Sure your taking some time out of your day to make a few miles of fence safe for a local population of threatened game birds, but you also realize that quiet moments like the one you are in now are truly what life is about.

A week and a half ago I spent some time in the Texas panhandle working to remove and mark fences in prime prairie chicken country. Lipscomb Co, Texas to be more precise. By the end of day three my body was already starting to feel pretty worn over. Marking fences is pretty relaxing, removing fences on the other hand is dirty, hard work. Blood, sweat, and well, there are no tears but you get the picture. Even with gloves you sometimes get scratched; numerous times I found myself working away and completely oblivious to the fact that my whole fore-arm was covered in blood. Really a simple scratch but had someone seen me they would have freaked out, believing it to be a bit more serious

Lesser Prairie Chicken (one of two), Lipscomb County, Texas. September 7, 2010

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Because, it apparently got confused by the fence that was blocking its way. Not unlike a Guinea Hen this particular bird, pictured above, would not follow it's companions example and fly over the fence. Instead it ran up and down the fence line then turned around and high tailed it back over the county road and into an unfenced area. Yet, there are still those who continue to argue that fences don't pose some particular type of problem to prairie grouse! Or that the problems cease to exist in particular states, seriously! Did I go there...

I don’t like to refer to it as “fence removal”. I much rather prefer a description, something like: “breaking the prairie free of its steal and wood barriers.” Recapturing what was once the Great Plains, and making it so again. That sounds far more tantalizing to me! I like to imagine what it was like when you could stand on the knoll of a hill and gaze upon the seemingly endless ocean of prairie. Winds create ripples upon the surface of the grasses; Northern Harrier’s moving, not at all unlike an albatross across an open sea. The smells of sage, and ragweed draw you into the scene more deeply.

One of the best feelings I have ever had was that of turning around, after having removed about a half mile of old fence, and catching a glimpse of a fenceless prairie. For that brief moment, there in front of me, in my small field of vision was that ancient prairie from our not so long ago past. Like the harrier pitching and rolling over the sandhill, my mind was free and so was my body. I want to share that feeling with as many people as possible. I want to show you why I, and so many others have dedicated our lives to ensuring that these special places and the flora and fauna found within them persist. I want you to hear the sounds and smell the air, and then decide for yourself that these birds, wildlife, and the lands they depend upon for survival can and will be preserved for future generations.

I have come to our community numerous times with the same request; time and time again people step forward and willingly make the excursion to northwest, Oklahoma to work and share time. We have shared sunrises and sunsets that set the earth afire, all standing silently in awe as the the shy shared with us vibrant purples and reds. Some have seen mountain lion bounding over the prairie. Bluebirds have stood out starkly against a background from a whole different color palette, amazing onlookers with the brilliant hues that were deeper than the blue sky above where we stood.

All of this beauty was shared during a volunteer event that was coordinated for the benefit of a local population of the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Through the many volunteers hours that have supported the Oklahoma Important Bird Areas program we have been able to make thousands of acres safe for travel for the prairie chicken. Your support has allowed us to show the different state, and federal agencies that this issue is important and how we are willing to put the time in to show how much we support any work for this threatened species. It's important to keep moving forward with this work, for a number of reasons.

Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)

The battle over land in western, Oklahoma continues to drive on. Slowly but surely the permanent plans for oil, gas, wind and transmission line development are being agreed upon and the lines in the sand are drawn permanently. Thousands of acres, many native prairie, are being lost to new energy development every year. In the case of wind farms and transmission lines their development carries on with only the suggestion of voluntary environmental reporting. Areas like the Selman Ranch Important Bird Area and public properties like Cimarron Bluff and Cimarron Hills Wildlife Management Areas become the sites that we need to turn our attention to. These places will serve as holdings for this and other species in the future, and it is all of our duties to make sure that the lands are in good order for them and the rest of the wildlife present. Managing lands for the Lesser Prairie Chicken is pretty simple. Summarized (hugely) it all boils down to invasive plant species control, a good fire regime, seeing to it that fences are removed and marked, and ensuring that we keep these large land holdings public and that if we can, see to it that they increase in size over time. Sure I know some of you hard science types are saying, "well it's a little more complicated than that". Honestly it is, but the actual heavy lifting that needs to happen, when your feet are firmly planted in the soil, is simple and can easily and quickly be taken care of, that is no lie! If you want to argue with me about it then stand your ground at the next volunteer event and I would be happy to have a conversation!

See you in the prairie!

Sachem (Atalopeded campestris)

A very young rattle snake, only about seven inches long and as thick as my pinky finger. Never figured out what species it was.

Pollinate Me Baby!

2010-06-22T22:09:00.014-05:00

I don't often watch cable television, but sometimes I find myself in a hotel for a night and will "plug in" for a bit. One particular evening at a hotel, a commercial came on the television for a hardware store. The point of the commercial, "don't waste your time turning your backyard into an oasis, come to so and so (it may have been Ace, but that doesn't really matter) and get the job done quickly so you can watch the game, or read some comics." Well this post is a tribute to that commercial and my continuation of living a life in a world of beauty, sweat, hard work and some fun in there too!

For the record, I will turn my backyard into an oasis! Here's an idea, next time why don't you tell me to stop using my brain or stop filling it with new ideas. Or better yet teach me one way and tell me it's completely okay to be so narrow in my thoughts that I shouldn't look for answers to life's questions anywhere else. As if the answer or answers can be found in only one corner of the world, yeah, not likely! I like my dreams and using my imagination, and I'd like to keep it that way! I will spend as much time getting the job done as is required and I will not be persuaded to sit in front of the television constantly (sure I enjoy movies and the John Stewart show...Colbert too for that matter) instead of relaxing and watching the birds pick bugs from the compost pile or the butterflies and bees pollinate my wildflowers and plants. So this is my tribute to the on-going work in what will be my first masterpiece for a yard. Just saying....

No captions just the beauty that can be found in my yard, your yard, and your neighbors yard. Just stop and take a look; in my opinion some of the answers to the worlds problems can be found in our backyards....Oh yeah and when I'm finished with this post if you need me you know where I am!

Take Two from McCurtain County

2010-06-12T10:40:00.008-05:00

The trip was more bust than bang, although it really depends on how you look at the world. To me locating a new population of Bachman's Sparrow is a pretty important little find. After Thursday there wasn't all that much more that happenened in the way of the red list species, unfortunately. Just the same I still managed to enjoy myself while searching more areas, with good company from Tim Ryan until Saturday morning. At one point on Sunday I located a wonderfully large Blackberry thicket and proceeded to plunder it for it's juicy goodness which I added to my lunch a little late; plain yogurt, honey and blackberries...mmmm. Carter Creek was tucked away pretty far up into the forest and it took a little while to get there, and was the boundary for one of my search areas. It served as a nice break/lunch spot during an extremely hot (98 degrees) and humid (80%+) day, admitidaly I took a little break in the water which served as a great recharger to get me through a very long and bust day in the field. It was more than just satisfying.
I also took a few minutes to take note of as many of the butterflies and odonates as I could. The stream had thousands of Water Willow (above Justicia sp. with a Dainty Sulphur doing its job) blooms throughout its pools and the beautiful little purple and white flowers were pretty popular for the pollinators. Below are a few of the species I was able to get photos of.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
A wonderful little Stream Bluet (Enallagma exsulans), first I've identified but seemingly common.

A pair of Powdered Dancers (Argia moesta), caught in the throws of bugginess!

Reakirt's Blue (Echinargus isola)

Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) on Water Willow
I ended up leaving the area on Tuesday of last week after being handed a couple of hints. Hint number one: Sunday evening I spent inside the tent in the middle of a pretty severe thunderstorm and shower. What made it even more interesting was the amount of water flowing under my tent, at least two inches worth, enough so that it made the tent floor into a water-bed of sorts. Hint two: Monday afternoon I was traveling an especially littered and rough forest service road, later I would find that I had picked up a nail which was leaving enough air out of the tire that it was completely flat in about 2.5 hours and me without the spare. Two signs is enough for me, I spent the night in a cheap hotel had breakfast early in the morning which is a whole other story and the fuel for a song I wrote. It didn't take long to get the flat fixed, and shortly thereafter I got the hell out of McCurtain County!

I added a few more photos below just for the sake of sharing, taken at different moments during my last foray into the frontier.

Ipomopsis rubra - Standing Cypress

Coreopsis tinctoria - Plains Coreopsis

Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Weed
Reversed Haploa (Haploa reversa)
Diana Fritilary (Speyeria diana)

A quest for the Pine Woods Sparrow!

2010-06-09T17:14:00.009-05:00

On a quest for the elusive Bachman's Sparrow and unknown populations of this Audubon Red list species. I arrived late in the afternoon on Wednesday of last week, Tim Ryan had already arrived and was patiently waiting to hit the field, set-up camp and just get moving. It didn't take long before the tent was up, and we were off for a little bit of scouting. By the time that was over I think we were both pretty worn out, enough so I couldn't even begin to muster the energy to get my guitar out and pluck a few chords like I had promised; it would have to wait until the next evening.

Up and out early in the morning, we spent all day Thursday checking recently thinned and disturbed stands of mature pine for any sign of the species. For most of the day we had no luck. Driving miles and miles of beautiful National Forest roads is not such a bad thing, even if you are not locating the species you were looking for. We had ample opportunity to take in all that the Ouachita National Forest had to offer and at given times, when we would find seemingly decent habitat, we would stomp around and give the area a good search. No Bachman's to be found, but let me assure there was plenty of flora and fauna about and I've provided a few of the photos that go along with the journey. My wife and I (but mostly my wife since I'm not home much) has been building a nice little garden of wildflowers and herbs around the house, and I have been paying attention to those a bit more when I'm out in the field; I'm always looking for some new beauty to add to the collection at home. Of course I relocate the same species along the highway and gather seed stock from there. Why? Because it is illegal to harvest anything from a National Forest without the proper permit, which I do not posses. In order to figure out exactly what it is, I have been taking photos and making sure to take good notes and label any samples that hop in the truck with me from the road side.

Beauty to be found in Ouachita National Forest; above: Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)Below: correct me if I'm wrong; White Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Late Thursday afternoon we hit the jackpot. After having struck out all day and getting turned around on the seemingly endless National Forest roads, we found ourselves in some particularly good habitat. I remember saying out loud, "now this looks like exactly where a Bachman's Sparrow would want to be." About ten minutes later, we heard it; I gave Tim a wide eyed look and he said "what do we do now?" Stumbling for my gear and moving as quickly as possible to get myself out of the truck, I responded, "we chase it!" And off we went down through the woods. Five minutes later I was on a sparrow, a few minutes after that we kicked another out of the grass accidentally (no, not literally!). All of the sudden, as if they detected our excitement, numerous birds started calling in close vicinity. I estimated no less than four calling individuals in the general area. A very exciting ending to an extremely hot and long day!

I decided to return to the same location Friday morning, but not after Tim got to finally hear me play a few tunes around the campfire on Thursday evening, after a celebratory Shiner! He also insisted on taking video of the whole experience which he later threw into a nice little edited highlight reel, which I have thrown in here just for the fun of it; just don't expect all that much! We returned Friday morning to the same area from the afternoon before. I wanted to check the entire location and get a better handle on the number of Bachman's present, no such luck though. There was a dense fog well into the late morning and the birds were not calling, moving or making themselves known. We ended up mapping the roads and checking around the peripheral areas for more potentially suitable spots. Finding ourselves at the lake at one moment, we took a few minutes to snap some photographs of the foggy situation.

Birds, birds what about the birds? Well, the resident warblers were out and making themselves very apparent (wish I could say the same for the Bachman's Sparrows), Black & White, Kentucky, Common Yellowthroat, Pine and Prairies as well. I was pretty surprised at the number of Prairie Warblers we actually heard and observed, far more than I had expected. Yellow-breasted Chats were out making their ruckus as well. We had an exciting moment with a pair of Scarlet Tanagers, it had been at least five years since I had last heard the chekkk-brrrr call of the male. It filled my mind with memories of NW Massachusetts in the spring; a nice way to bring back fond memories! We ran into two Broad-winged Hawks throughout the couple days Tim was with me, unfortunately no photos to go along with it. Hmm, let's see, of course we had a number of Brown-headed Nuthatches and lots and lots of the other smaller but much more common species like Carolina Chickadees, wrens, Tufted Titmice, ect, ect, ect. . . There is far more to talk about, having spent seven days out in it so I think that will warrant a part II.

The Selman Ranch, birding, bugging and herping...oh my!

2010-05-30T14:45:00.008-05:00

I am preparing to hit the South-east region of Oklahoma for yet another adventure with the Bachman's Sparrow. Before I set out, and after a short honey-do list I decided to put down a little something about my visit to NW Oklahoma over the weekend. I spent 3.5 days doing morning surveys, gathering fence work data (for future fence marking volunteer events) and then splitting my time trying to document the breeding species of birds on the Selman Ranch and working to beef up the county list of Odonata for Harper County, before a certain frontiersman from McCurtain County comes up and plunders the place!

Great-crested Flycatchers are common on the ranch, their cousin the Ash-throated Flycatcher not so much, I have only located them once in the past five years.

The days are long and the summer heat has been turned on in the high plains of Oklahoma. The kind of days when you wake before the sun, put a good morning in, take a break and then wait for the cool evening to arrive before embarking on another adventure. Unless of course you like the punishment of an unforgiving no-mans land mid-day burn-athon. It depends on my attitude as to whether or not I approach something like that!

The birds were a little slow, most of the migrants have pushed through the area and now the locals are paired up and nesting. The Selman Ranch is home to numerous species that show up on the National Audubon Society's Watch List, which is exactly why it is considered an Important Bird Area. It was designated as such on the state level, and being nominated on the international level because of the presence of the Lesser Prairie Chicken (of course, and shame on you if you haven't kept up enough to know that fact!), but what people may not know is that 14,000 acres ranch boasts a fairly large population of the Northern Bobwhite. The quail were out in full force, just about every stop you made in the ranch you could hear three to four in the local area calling back and forth. Red-headed Woodpeckers and Painted Buntings, both global species of conservation concern, are also present though not in great numbers; but, common enough that you're sure to find at least one or two a day. I didn't spend much time on the Buffalo Creek Salt Flat, but if you need another example of how significant this ranch is you can spend the morning or evening looking at the local breeding populations of Least Tern and Snowy Plover (former being federally endangered, the latter a state listed threatened species). If you want to know more about visiting the Selman Ranch just visit the website by following this link.

As I ramble around on the ranch while looking for birds I tend to gather fence marking data and also manage to get distracted now and then on the occasional dragon or damselfly, okay more than just now and then admittedly. There is just so much beauty to behold while in the field I pretty much allow myself to be swallowed up whole by the experience, full immersion and really I wouldn't have it any other way. Just get blown away by it all, flowers, birds, bugs, reptiles; you name it and my curiosity gets the best of me

Sue Selman (seen laying about in the photo below, okay she was actually getting some wonderful macro photos of a very photogenic Texas Horned Lizard) and I spent one particularly fine morning in the marshes of Sleeping Bear Creek, hopeful to find some kind, any kind of marshbird. However we were unsuccessful in our hunt, but I think the both of us made up for it with taking photos of common bird species, damsels and dragons and the numerous spiders which seemed to be everywhere. We moved on through the ranch stopping at different locations for the occasional bird, snake or whatever else needed some type of investigation. I managed to locate three Texas Horned Lizards much to my excitement, including one little fella no larger than my big thumb.

A very tiny, and most likely unhappy Texas Horned Lizard; I was gentle with it though!A particularly photogenic individual, i think I was about three inches from it at this point.

Dung Beetle....
Mites on the abdomen of a Blue-ringed Dancer

Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis- Six-lined Racerunner
One last short bit, the Odonata were a good deal of fun. I managed to add three new species to the Harper County list. The opening photo of the post was of a pair of Desert Forktails (Ischnura barberi), one of the only species I located along the Buffalo Creek Salt Flats, the others consisted primarily of Familiar Bluets (Enallagma civile). Above is the documentation photo for a Plains Clubtail (Gomphus externus), I found this female along Buffalo Creek as well, a little further west and not along the salt flat. The final addition to the county record list was a Sulphur-tipped Clubtail, I chose not to add the photo but it's a good looking bug! Well, onto the next adventure. Next time around, more stories from SE Oklahoma and the Bachman's Sparrow Overdrive show!

A Dash of the East

2010-05-24T08:59:00.008-05:00

I stopped chasing rare birds almost two years ago. Unless the adventure involves "work" I don't take the time to go look or chase a species that I haven't seen, although that does not mean I have an issue with anyone else doing it. Time doesn't allow me that treat any longer and honestly I would feel too guilty about using the resources to do so, call me crazy! But I am okay with it, I have plenty of time ahead of me and the wonderful journeys that will come with it. The Bachman's Sparrow, named so by John James Audubon a grandfather of mine ( I can claim as many grandfathers as I like!), has been a bird that I have not had the fortunate opportunity to observe. Just like the Greater Prairie Grouse (I support the effort for changing the nomenclature for the Prairie Chicken species of the Great Plains), I knew at some point in my life it would come to me, time on my side sure enough the opportunity presented itself.
This weekend I found myself in SE Oklahoma, amongst the mountains of the Ouachita National Forest and hills of the Pushmataha Wildlife Management Area. My first stop was Pushmataha WMA, this site is being nominated as a Globally Important Bird Area for the state of Oklahoma. Now that I have actually seen the place and taken a few photos, I finally feel like I can finish the packet for it! It is being nominated because of the Bachman's Sparrow (below, a somewhat grainy photo from Friday) population that is present at the site; this is a species that sits on the National Audubon Society's Watch-list.The first thing I learned about Bachman's Sparrows...if you don't hear the first call note, which is a clear single extended whistle, the warbling or trilling notes that follows can be easily confused for a Pine Warbler maybe even a Chipping Sparrow if you're not careful. It took my ears a little longer than normal to get it straight, but soon enough I was tuned in and chasing birds through the fields hoping to get a look, which I did.
A bird of open Pine/Oak Savannas, the species now relies on modern habitat management practices, which replace the practices of Native Americans as well as unchallenged fires started by lightning strikes; there is evidence of such practices, if you will take notice, in the above photo where the charred bark from a recent controlled burn can be seen. I was impressed with the WMA, with a total acreage of over 19,000 it's pretty significant. Not only that but it was pretty obvious that the manager took his job seriously and did a fantastic job of keeping the roads, campsites and in general the area free of litter; which is no easy task. Speaking of litter, Kevin whoever you are I found your Styrofoam cup and am not pleased at all, you can do better! I can't even imagine how much work they have to do in order to keep that understory from overgrowing every few years and suitable for the sparrows, good work guys!

At least eleven Bachman's Sparrows and a few Brown-headed Nuthatches later, and feeling pretty comfortable with the call and the species I moved further east and into the Ouachita National Forest. By the time I got to McCurtain County it was getting pretty late in the afternoon so I called it a day. Having waken at 4:30, driven a few hundred miles, hit the field for numerous hot hours and then hitting the road again I was pretty much wore down. I bunked down, woke the next morning and hit an area south of the Broken Bow Reservoir dam. It was a nice cool morning, fisherman were out in full force taking advantage of the cool water and the trout that could be found in its pools and eddies. A few hours of hiking produced no Bachman's Sparrows, although I never did find what could be considered appropriate habitat. However there were plenty of Pine Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, a few Louisiana Waterthrushes and of course the numerous Carolina Chickadees, Wrens, Tufted-Titmice and Norther Parula. Moving on and further north I spent the rest of the day surveying the National Forest roads for appropriate habitat, which I found, and Bachman's Sparrows which I did not find. Needing to get back home, I rolled on back west and landed at home Sunday morning. That's about it for now, got things to do, reports to right and paperwork to finish. Till' next time and while you're waiting how about some more photos from the adventure!

(male Orchard Oriole, Pushmataha Wildlife Management Area)

(the Mountain Fork of the Little River, mist rising in the morning)

Just Captions

2010-05-16T13:08:00.011-05:00

Tyrannus forficatus, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher nest

Abaeis nicippe, Sleepy Orange

Castilleja sp., Indian Paintbrush
Icterus spurius, Orchard Oriole (female)
Cupido comyntas, Eastern Tailed Blue

Libellula pulchella, Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Ischnura hastata, Citrine Forktail
Lestes disjunctus, Common Spreadwing
Stryman melinus, Gray Hairstreak

Texas County Highlights

2010-05-01T10:53:00.025-05:00

Back in the field and will be for the next three months. Currently I'm in Texas County, I've spent the last few days participating in prairie chicken surveys in the morning and then poking about taking a look at different sites and soaking up the western species and the lone migrant here and there. The high-plains provide a nice place to gather ones energy, rejuvenate and heal; so, I've been taking some time for that as well.

Maybe there should be a black and white theme to this post. Between the Black-billed Magpie (above) and the Lark Buntings(below left) flitting about it, it would seem appropriate. The Magpie would be my first in Oklahoma, and the nest (right) it was using would also be a first. I climbed well into the tree, but couldn't find footing to get close enough to tell whether or not there were any young or eggs.

When things with birds are slow I tend to turn towards smaller objects of fascination. It is still a little cool so the pickings are slim, but I did find a few little beauties here and there. There were two species of dragonfly about, Variegated Meadowhawks (below and to the right of the breeding plumage Bonaparte's Gull) and Common Green Darners. Damselflies were also slim pickings but I did manage to find three species, after much digging about. Below are two examples of the first Texas County record of Eastern Forktail, adult male (below) and an immature female (below the adult male).

The multiple Eastern Forktails were located at the spillway of Optima "lake". The second Texas county record would come from Schultz Wildlife Management Area. There were plenty of Familiar Bluets and Eastern Forktails around, but the Fragile Forktail (adult male below) was by far my favorite catch (bugs that is) for the past few days. My first visit to the Schultz WMA was a lot of fun. There is a spring fed stream which provides plenty of cover for dragon/damsel flies, the passerines liked it too.

Yellow-rumped Warblers were out in full force with the Audubon's race outnumbering the Myrtle's and intergrades by about 2:1. Ladder-backed Woodpeckers were pretty numerous, as well as Ash-throated Flycatchers, Wilson's Warblers and Lincoln's Sparrow. The best bird of the trip, well they are all good if you ask me, would definitely be an Olive-sided Flycatcher (last three photos).

Have a look at the photos and feel free to leave a comment...don't forget you can click on them to enlarge the view.

Afield in Puerto Rico!

2010-04-24T11:37:00.021-05:00

Puerto Rico, oh yes it was fun, too short, but fun! My darling and beautiful sister got married, and I got to see the family for the first time in a couple of years. Without going into much detail about the more personal, family side of the trip, why not catch up on a story that has been sitting for too long. (One side note, Juan we never got a chance to get together, which only means that there needs to be a next time that lasts a lot longer than 3.5 days...ouch!)
Yes, I was the guy walking around at 3am looking for frogs amongst the motel's neatly kept gardens. Yes, I was the fella back out in the morning with binos and camera in hand taking pictures of Banaquit and nests (above), Red-legged Thrushes, and the seemingly very common Zenaida Dove with the floater White-winged Doves coming in here and there. I was also the guy on the Bacardi tour getting excited about my life Magnificent Frigatebird, the tour not so much, but the time with my mom and her husband was nice and so were the tiny little mojitos served at the end of the trip as I picked up a lifer grackle!

Later while visiting the San Cristobal Fort, another female flew about 15 feet overhead; had I not been trained by professionals, I might have mistaken it for a Pterodactyl. Great fun! In any case, the Brown Boobies, also viewed from the Fort, I did not get to see as closely; nonetheless my 10x45 Nikon Monarchs got me close enough to distinguish exactly what they were. A few of them were hanging about on a small buoy about 200 meters out, and that would be the closest I would get to them.

The truly wonderful adventure did not start until Friday morning, when with Aunt and Uncle, we toured the El Yunque National Forest. I will have to admit I wished we had rented a car, which would have allowed us the time to really get some hiking done. But that said our tour guide, Tony, was pretty knowledgeable about the local flora, particularly medicinal plants of the rainforest which appealed to a much older ethno-botanical side of my curiosity. Maybe next visit. It appears that there are some very interesting tour leaders in Puerto Rico who will show what you can eat, what you may not want to eat, and well, let's just say the place was popular back in the late 60's with the hippies! I did manage to break from the tour just once and when I did, that is when I found the most endemic species, actually the only endemic species of the trip.

Now is the appropriate time to make some excuses, my camera was not gathering enough light under the canopy which made for an awful time of getting pictures of little birdies. But I am going to share them anyway, or at least the best of the bunch!

This Greater Antillean Oriole, Puerto Rican race, was my first exciting moment in the forest. It perched about 25 feet in front of me and stayed there for about five minutes eating a fruit of an unknown identity.

Just a few minutes later I heard a woodpecker-type call; I had no clue as to what it was at first but finally found it near the top of the canopy. A Peurto-Rican Woodpecker (above), was my first endemic species of the trip. Just shortly after that and a little more difficult to find but equally as exciting, another endemic species, the Puert Rican Tanager (below).

There were a number of other birds for the trip including the Puerto Rican Bullfinch, Western Spindalis (below), Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Plain Pigeon, Greater Antillean Grackle and a few others. My family was top priority so the rest will have to wait until the next visit, hear me Juan?

Before I sign off one last little bit. No, I did not see the Puerto-Rican Parrot but I think someone needs to do a little more work down there with them, and it should definitely be me! Seriously though as our tour guide walked us through a portion of the forest he brought us to one of the man-made enclosures, parrot box(below) if you will, designed specifically for the parrots and specifically to keep the Pearly-eyed Thrasher from entering the cavity. I think the box was actually set-up so travelers could see it, but I got the point. Anyway, as he stood there telling us how they were designed to keep the Thrashers out and from predating the nest, I watched in silent laughter as a Pearly-eyed Thrasher flew over his head, rested in the entrance and proceeded to drop down into the cavity as if it had done that a thousand times, which I'm sure it had. The tour guide never caught on, but Aunt, Unlce and I got a good laugh about the whole ordeal.
The "culprit"

The plundered cavity (hmmm, no comments please)! Well, enjoy the remaining photos I will let them speak for themselves. I now have a new love in my life, Puerto Rico, I just hope I get the opportunity to visit her again and next time with my wife and kids!

Wild and Wonderful Weekend

2010-03-08T13:36:00.013-06:00

The weekend started Friday evening with many of the volunteers getting to the Selman Ranch after dark. Some of those who arrived a little earlier were fortunate to get a chance to eat dinner at Stables which is next to Alabaster Caverns. After a good dinner and nice conversation, we headed back to the ranch and bunked down, thanks to Sue Selman's gracious hospitality!

Saturday morning arrived early. In Larry Hancock's case, he spent the dark hours of the morning taking stupendous photos of the moon (below). Due to the lack of manmade light in the area, the clear skies and darkness provided some great views of the stars as well. A few of us took a trip before breakfast to look for some Lesser Prairie Chickens. We were not disappointed. At one point we watched, a little stunned, as a Ring-necked Pheasant seemingly chased a Lesser Prairie Chicken across the lek about 20 yards or more. The sounds of the prairie chickens in the morning with all their activity combined with the dense fog that was hanging in the bottoms made for a surreal morning. After heading back and stuffing ourselves with a great breakfast provided by Sue, we got organized and headed a few miles north to ODWC's Cimarron Bluff WMA. After gathering for a nice little photo, we broke into three teams and went about getting down to business. Over the entire weekend.... all day Saturday and a few hours Sunday morning.... we were able to mark 7.6 miles of fence and remove about 1.5 miles of fence. We positively impacted about 2000 acres of prime Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat. Equally important, we provided hard evidence that the birding/conservation community is willing to put their backs into it for a good cause proving that we can pull the weight just like the other outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and fishers. Don't tell me we don't contribute. I assure you there was plenty of money involved in the effort as well!Participants Left to Right: Berlin Heck, Denise Rose, John and Candyce Kline, Brandy , Jay Pruett, Michael Harvey, Jimmy Woodard, Ethan Miller, Larry Weimer, Jim Miller, Larry Hancock; Kneeling: John Polo, Eric Beck, Fumiko Sakoda; Shadow/Photographer: Tim Ryan; Not Pictured: Sue Selman, and Mark Sherman

This whole weekend was a lot more than just a volunteer event. There was time for birding, sharing stories, banjo picking (Debby, I promise I won't hesitate on getting the guitar going next time!) and overall just good natured fun. People from all over the state, a grandfather and son team from Kansas, people of varying backgrounds all combined to make a truly wonderful event. The stories from Saturday evening over the dinner table with brownies and some red wine capped off a truly inspiring day. Admittedly, sometimes I become overwhelmed with the need to keep pushing forward on this issue, Lesser Prairie Chickens that is; but days like Saturday fill my spirit with strength and give me the power to forge on ahead. Thanks to everyone who attended and showed me that I'm not the only one out there who's willing to put it on the line.

The wildlife of the event provided everyone with loads of excitement. Mountain Bluebirds were out in full force....their electric blue with soft hues of the prairie combined for a memorable scene. I know there were a few who added this species to their life list this weekend. Congratulations! There were loads of Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Pine Siskens, Goldfinches, and numerous other species both on the Cimarron Bluff WMA and at Sue's ranch house. I think the Yellow-headed Blackbird thrilled all of us, and on Sunday I got some good views of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

Birds were not the only wildlife for the weekend. Jay Pruett managed to get some wonderful photos of a Coachwhip (above, by Jay Pruett) on Saturday at lunch time. Apparently it was taking advantage of the sunny day, stretching out to soak in the full sun. Perhaps the single greatest highlight of the weekend was the Mountain Lion that four or five volunteers got to observe. Everyone came to the same consensus on the observation, but what helped to set it in stone for me came just a little bit later. The cat was observed bounding through the prairie about 150 yards out and along a fence line that we were getting ready to mark. When we reached the area, we were pleasantly suprised with numerous tracks and a pile of scat. I have since dug around for different pictures online to try and verify its identity and feel sure that is what it was. One of our volunteers got a few photos of the evidence, and I am still waiting to get a copies of it and will share if and when they come my way. Adding to the evidence, from a completely different group but around the same time, Tim Ryan walked upon a few tracks that he identified as Mountain Lion. These tracks were approximately 300 yards away along the same fence line, and he was part of a group that had no idea of the others' observations. He actually told me about it before I got a chance to tell him what the other group had seen. Coincidence, I think not!

So with that, I'll close with some photos from the weekend provided through my lens and some of the volunteers' lenses that were present. Just in case you missed it, scroll to the top of this page and eat your heart out. Saturday afternoon was capped off with one of the most stunning sunsets (photo by Sue Selman) that I have ever witnessed. I think everyone in attendance agrees that Saturday night on the Buffalo Creek Salt Flats was an inspiring event!

Great Horned Owl, Larry HancockLesser Prairie Chickens, Larry Hancock

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Larry Hancock

A fence line stretching for miles, what do you notice first....the fence or the the fence posts? Photo by Jay Pruett

Another shot of the stunningly beautiful sunset, taken by Jay Pruett.

Making sure those buckets stayed full!

Event Details for this Weekends Fence Marking Activities

2010-03-02T22:11:00.001-06:00

Hello Fence Marking/Removal Participants, Thank you for expressing interest in this weekends events that will be taking place at the Cimarron Bluffs Wildlife Management Area in eastern Harper County, Oklahoma. The events will begin with a gathering at the Selman Ranch Important Bird Area Saturday morning at 9am, at that point we will depart for the WMA. Attendees can show up as early as Friday evening, there is a bunk house at the ranch that Sue is allowing us to use. We have also received permission to use UCO's Selman Living Lab trailer, 5 miles away, for overflow if we need to. Both bunkhouses are heated, have warm water and generally comfortable living conditions. Please let me know if you will be arriving Friday evening so that I can start filling out the space in an organized fashion.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner will be provided Saturday. Breakfast will be at the Selman Ranch at 7:30 am sharp Saturday and Sunday, however only breakfast will be provided on Sunday. Saturday morning we will break up into a number of teams depending on how many attendees show up. Hopefully we will have two teams each for fence removal and marking. I would recommend those who are not afraid of getting dirty and breaking a good sweat to leave the fence marking for others that may not be as comfortable with that kind of work. For fence marking you will need to bring a reusable cloth bag or light bucket that can be filled and re-filled with sharp edged vinyl fence marking tabs. You shouldn't need gloves for the fence marking, however if you want bring along a light pair of gardening gloves to avoid any scratches from the vinyl material please do so. For those of you who are more daring and will be helping with fence removal bring along some heavy work gloves, I will supply safety goggles. I would recommend work/hiking boots and nice comfortable socks for everyone.

The weather seems to be going our way and it appears that we may see 60 degrees this weekend, however the mornings will still be chilly. I plan to dress in layers. Walking through the prairie warms you pretty quickly, but you can also start to sweat which isn't necessarily a good thing. So being able to take a layer or two off will help to make sure you don't sweat too much and then proceed to cool off too quickly when you stop. A good warm hat might also be appropriate for the mornings.

Attached (contact me if you did not recieve my email) you will find the Volunteer Waiver form required for anyone doing volunteer work on ODWC property. If you don't feel comfortable giving your whole SSN I would recommend only providing the last four, please brind a signed copy with you! This is what ODWC uses for their filing system.

The Selman Ranch is located about 22 miles north of Woodward in NW, Oklahoma. Follow highway 34 north out of Woodward when approaching from the south. If you plan to come across highway 64 from the east or west turn south when you reach highway 34 and travel about five miles. The ranch is located on the west side of the road and is marked with a short white/faded sign that also has an IBA sign attached to it. Please let me know if you need more directions, which I can supply as needed. It is actually not too difficult to find.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the event. We have received a lot of attention from many organizations about this event, and we are sure to impress. I look forward to seeing all of you either Friday evening or Saturday morning. Don't worry there will be plenty of time to bird, and I suspect the prairie chickens will be out and getting ready for the spring season.....so maybe some of you can pick a lifer up on this trip as well! See you then!

A Whole Prospective on Ornithology

2010-02-17T16:36:00.017-06:00

Every now and then, you find yourself in a physical place where everything feels balanced and whole. Upon entering the doors of SIA, the Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological Initiative, I felt that balance right away. I had no idea what to expect, but felt certain I was going to be shown something inspiring and enriching. I was not disappointed. (Above, a male Adult Golden Eagle at the Wichita Mountains, one of SIA's many raptors)

The director, Bill Voelker (left with Temma, the Augur Buzzard, Buteo rufofuscus augur), and I had been trying to make a personal introduction with one another for a little over two years. Apparently we just had to wait for the right time, allowing the world to decided to bring us together, and let me tell you it was quite the meeting!

I spent a great deal of time telling Troy and Bill, co-founders of SIA, just exactly what the Oklahoma Important Bird Areas Program was up to in the state. Of particular importance was my work with the Lesser Prairie Chicken in the Northwestern portions of Oklahoma. I was aware of the prairie chickens importance to the Native American communities in the region, however I wanted to know more, which they obliged. But that is a discussion for another time. After talking, they showed me around the place. I feel my visit will be best represented through my photos, and photos that they have provided for this post.

Enjoying a lunch inside their aviary that I could not refuse, Salmon and salad, I had a great opportunity to view a couple of species of birds that I've never had the pleasure of seeing.

Blue-necked Tanagers, Tangara cyanicollis

Luzon Bleeding Heart Dove, Gallicolumba luzonica

It is hard to describe much of what I saw and felt on my first visit to SIA. Personally it was spiritually uplifting, professionally.....well it's all the same! The organization has spent the last thirty years developing an idea that many would be fearful of approaching, and apparently some were. They are working to re-invigorate the spiritual connection between birds, especially eagles, and the Native American community as well as other communities. This is something I have spent time thinking about and realised myself, particularly with the LEPC. If I am unable to make a connection between people and what the prairie chicken should represent to them, I might as well throw my hat in. Fortunately I believe the Oklahoma Audubon Council and the IBA program, with the help and new ideas from SIA and other partners, we are making those connections; and for that reason I am filled with optimism. So with that little notion I am going to leave you with a bunch more photos from my visit to SIA as well as a few that have been provided by the co-directors Bill and Troy. Don't forget to take a look at the youtube video to the side, a great visual and musical representation of SIA's work.

Martial Eagle, Polemaetus bellicosus,

Bonelli's Eagle, Aquila fasciata

Shiva the Ornate Hawk Eagle and Troy, co-founder of SIA

From My Heart the Prairie

2010-02-13T22:08:00.003-06:00

It is my pleasure to offer an opportunity to directly impact a local population of a Global Species of Conservation Concern. The Lesser Prairie Chicken (photo by Steve Metz) is an endemic species of North American grouse, and although the species is facing a number of issues, we can create a safer prairie for them to travel in. While we work in other arenas to address the larger issues of habitat loss due to the threat of unregulated energy development, we can positively impact this local population by marking and removing fences that cause such a high mortality rate in the species, particularly in Oklahoma. By impacting this local population through the formerly mentioned actions, we can help to increase overall yearly reproduction. I have mapped and identified 15 miles of fence along the southern portion of the Cimaron Bluffs Wildlife Management Area, a location that was purchased by the ODWC specifically for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. This conservation action, fence marking/removal, is expensive and time consuming. With the support of volunteers and our many partners, we can greatly impact a location in just a few hours; whereas it may take a team of two field technicians as many as 6-7 days to complete, along with thousands of man hour dollars.

Not only is this a way for the birding community to impact this population of threatened birds, it can also stand to show the state legislatures and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation that we are willing to support the birds we all love so much and show we care about what is happening in the western portion of this great state. It is time to realise that this species needs our help; the scientists, Oklahoma Gas and Electric and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation have been doing thier jobs to the best of their ability. They are purchasing lands, they are developing maps and tools for developers and they are talking with landowners. This issue can not be solved by sitting back and hoping that their efforts will solve all of the Lesser Prairie Chickens' problems. We need to show them that we care, that we can help, that we can take the time out of our busy lives, drive east, west, north or south and spend a weekend devoting ourselves to this issue. It doesn't have to end with the fifteen miles; that is merely my meager goal for this event. If you show me that we can go further, I will provide the necessary materials to make it happen on those days.

Please accept this invitation! I can promise you a few things if you join me the weekend of March 6th and 7th. I can promise you some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Oklahoma. I can promise you a time of shared goodwill; knowing that we are all there to give with our open hearts. I can promise you birds, not sure which ones but I can promise they will be there. We spend our time counting, listing and sharing with each other the beauty of these wondrous creatures that fill us with pride, joy, and over all well being; we willingly take from the birds in that way. It is now time to give . We cannot wait any longer, this bird represents an endangered ecosystem and as we sit and watch the battles back and forth, we show that we are willing to say good bye. I am not willing, my heart burns with passion for this species. They represent a historical connection for this land's Native American roots, this species represents America in all of its individuality.The Lesser Prairie Chicken does not exist outside of the continental United States. It represents what is left of the great prairie ocean, and when standing on a hilltop in the early spring with the smell of sandsage in the air you can hear the echos of the past through these birds.

Not so many years ago, I was placed in the leadership role of Coordinator for the Oklahoma Important Bird Areas program. You have seen my passion, sometimes the bite that it carries, but I am here standing and I need you to stand beside me. This issue will not disappear, but we can stand together and make an impact.

Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in details for this event. oklahomaIBA@gmail.com or ebeck@audubon.org
Eric Beck
State Coordinator
Oklahoma Important Bird Areas Program

Coming Full Circle

2010-02-04T19:54:00.017-06:00

* This blog was first published without editing. My wife and editor wants everyone to know that the copious amount of grammatical errors were not her fault, and that she has since edited.

We were without power for almost seven days. I haven't been out in the field in a couple of weeks, and I honestly haven't been doing very much birding lately; so this post is a smattering of a few things: a damage report, a little about some reading I've been doing, and finally something to think about that I noticed in Lawton, all nicely wrapped up right here!

I've been spending my time cleaning up the front yards of both mine and my neighbors' houses, which are littered with, well tree litter. Just don't ask about the backyard; I'm trying to ignore it! As always I'm keeping things rolling with the Important Bird Areas program, and I should have an update finished for the project in the very near future. I will post a link here later so anyone who is interested can check it out. In between those times I've been keeping my nose buried in Wade Davis's "One River," just trying to keep the brain moving, but in a relaxing way. There's a great video on "Ted Talks" in which Dr. Davis discusses endangered cultures, if you want to get an idea of this brilliant man's efforts.

This is the second time I've picked up "One River;" it's been well over ten years since the last time so it's pretty much like reading it for the first time. To sumarize, he discusses the ethnobotanical adventures of Richard Schultes, his mentor, and then treads off on his own adventures through the depths of the Amazon. I highly recommend the book; it is truly fascinating.

There was a chapter early on that was especially interesting and got me thinking about something I saw in downtown Lawton. The chapter's title was called "Peyote Road," it was basically a story about Richard Schultes's first forray into ethnobotony and it took place right here in western Oklahoma. It obviously involved peyote and his experiences with some members of the Kiowa tribe back in the late 1920's. If you want to know more about it, read the book, because that's not where I'm going with this.

There was a short passage about General Sheridan and how he basically pushed for the genocide of the Native Americans. He is quoted as making statements like, "the only good Indians I ever saw were dead," and is known for pushing for the eradication of the Bison in order to hit the Native Americans where they could be impacted the greatest....their food and leather supplies. I immediately realised this must have been the man that the street in downtown Lawton was named for; I was later able to confirm this notion, much to my dissaproval. I mean, are you kidding? Disregarding his pre-Oklahoma Civil War affairs, naming a main street in our city after a man who actually carried these opinions about other human beings makes me a little uncomfortable; I have to remind myself that those were different times.

What's really fascinating to me, and also the reason I named this post "Coming Full Circle," is sitting at the corner of Cache and Sheridan. It is a statue of a Native American man! Talk about making Sheridan roll over in his grave! I don't know who the artist is, or who made the descision to put this in the corner of their parking lot, but horray for you! It looks as though there is still a little work to be done, judging by the straps that are stabililizing it, but that's not important.

To me it's a symbol of change, hopefully for the city but also for me personally. To me it's about finally realising that we are all Native Americans in a way. No matter how little or how much native blood runs through your veins, most likely it's there nonetheless. It's about realising that I have blood of people from all the corners of the world coursing through my veins, some I know about, many I don't. It's about realising that through my everyday experiences, if I can remeber that one idea, then I see the world in a full circle; it's a complete and whole world. I'm not just a man of the US, I'm a man of the world, and everyday I should live to make this world better for everyone.

It's just something to think about. Stay tuned; I have a great new story to share about a new partner for the Oklahoma IBA program and a new chapter for me.

What They Didn't Show Us at the Oklahoma Wind Energy Conference

2010-01-24T20:55:00.001-06:00

Keeping to my statement that I had planned to continue working on topics concerning the Lesser Prairie Chicken, I decided to tackle something I have been thinking about since the Oklahoma Wind Energy Conference in December. During the conference there were a number of presenters, but the few that I am thinking about showed the crowd slides of a few different maps. We had an example of the Oklahoma Lesser Prairie-Chicken Spatial Planning Tool , which if you don't use the link I provided you can find buried deep in the vaults of ODWC's web page. I've provided a little example of this tool that was developed through a pretty significant partnership between a number of NGO's and State and Federal level entities; it was developed so that planners/developers like Southwest Power Pool could use it to avoid the areas with the most significant habitat and accordingly significant local populations. Let me remind you though, unlike Wyoming, Oklahoma is relying on a volunteer-based approach to doing the right thing. The developers and planners can simply ignore this map if they like. No regulations here; just do whatever you please! Well........

So what am I getting at? Well, we were also able to view a number of other maps. These were from Southwest Power Pool and a couple of other planning/developing agencies. What bothered me was the fact that I've seen these maps a number of times, but what I haven't seen is anyone actually combining them. You know, the spatial planning tool for LPCH's and the wind farm/transmission line maps all on one page together. I thought about it a bit, and you know, why would they? They don't want the 1,000 people sitting at the conference to see just how carved up this population was going to become. Well I've taken some time to use the google earth habitat tool from above and a slide from one of Southwest Power Pool's presentations, and I've done just that.

So here it is for everyone to see. It is obvious what the little red boxes represent, wind farms (planned and constructed); the red and blue lines represent high voltage transmission lines (planned and constructed). Now, you tell me how a declining population of North American endemic grouse is going to survive the likes of this kind of development? Let's not forget the Lesser Prairie Chicken isn't far from the USFWS's threatened and endangered list. Sure it's only on the "warranted but precluded" list but let's think about what that means, because I don't think people really get it. To me it means yes, this species needs to be listed but there are a few other higher priority species at the moment and we just don't have enough money to spread around everywhere.....that is unless we elect another Teddy R. I think hell will freeze over before that happens, but oh wait, didn't the Saints just make it to the big dance? . . . maybe it could happen!

I'll say it again and I'll keep saying it. Responsible planning, responsible development, responsible construction, responsible maintenance, over and over again until the people that are in control of this situation start making the right decisions........

Responsible planning, responsible development, responsible construction, responsible maintenance,responsible planning, responsible development, responsible construction, responsible maintenance, responsible planning, responsible development, responsible construction, responsible maintenance. You're going to be sick of me before this ends. I may be a yankee, but my home and heart are in Oklahoma and I expect you to do the right thing! Am I getting your attention yet?

Citations:

Horton, R., L.Bell, C.M. O'Meilia, M.McLachlan, C. Hise, D. Wolfe, D. Elmore and JD Strong. 2009. A Spatially-Based Planning Tool Designed to Reduce Negative Effects of Development on the Lesser Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicintus) in Oklahoma: A Multi-Entity Collaboration to Promote Voluntary Habitat Conservation and Prioritized Management Actions. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 79pp. http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/lepcdevelomentplanning.htm (accessed: 01/24-25/2009)

Disclaimer: The second map was something I created using a power point presentation prepared by Southwest Power Pool. I did not steal this image, I simply created it using their slide for an example. There was an important disclaimer at the bottom of the slide which stated: "Please note in the legend (not included in my version) that some wind farms are under construction and have not been committed to yet". I think the same can be said for the transmission lines you also see, although I couldn't find that disclaimer on the slide.

Response to the OK Gazzette's Lesser Prairie Chicken Story

2010-01-17T11:35:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday, the Oklahoma Gazette ran a story by Carol Cole-Frowe on the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the issues concerning the species in Oklahoma. There really wasn't anything wrong with the story, all accept for the "cash for clunkers" comment, it should have been "cash for cluckers", get it Cluckers...chickens? I thought I would make a few comments, as well as discuss some general thoughts on this particular issue. To Ms. Cole-Frowe's credit, this is a story that needs more press; the article provided just that. I came up with a few questions of my own.

1) Why did it take so long to get this article published, considering the Wind Energy Conference took place during the first few days of December?

Wouldn't it be better to keep issues of particular importance and urgency flaming hot? I'm not pointing this out to berate author Carol Cole-Frowe; this is a general trend I see across the spectrum. The issue seems to be just dragging along. OG&E and ODWC, and a number of other agencies, are doing their best. But will it be enough? We need more public involvement; we need more people in the state that feel compassion for this species to send letters, talk to their representatives and in general create more turbulence. I can tell you that the powers that be do hear us when we express our interest. Look at the past actions of OG&E and how they have gone from making plans to buy public lands for wind development, to donating money for buying public lands for prairie chicken conservation. It works but we cannot expect these few agencies to carry all of the weight. I don't think the public is being loud enough on this topic.

2.) Where are the other large wind developers/planners, why is it that OG&E seems to be the only company willing to do the right thing, taking extra steps to make the best decisions they can?

I hope someone comments on this question and lets me know that this is not the case. I hope I am wrong. I haven't seen any of the other large players who are using NW Oklahoma as their gold mine stepping forward....One example, where is Florida Power and Light? I was not impressed with their presentation during the wind conference and I have yet to hear of any grand steps from them toward the fight for preserving the native prairies in the NW. Please someone tell me I'm wrong about this! I want to be wrong!

3) Will listing this species as threatened or endangered solve the problem?

This is the big question. The last I checked the USFWS's success rate for endangered species was not all that great, something like a 90% failure rate.....I'll have to dig around for a good number and citation to go with it.... I can think of only a handful of bird species that have been delisted recently, to include the Bald Eagle and Brown Pelican. Is it likely that this species could benefit from a listing?

Actually it depends on who you are asking. I asked JD. Strong, our Secretary of the Environment, this exact question, if listing the species as threatened or endangered in Oklahoma could help the issue. His answer? No! The issue is touchy because if the bird is listed there could be a negative response from landowners that actually have the birds present on their land. There is an issue about the government stepping in and tyring to tell landowners how to operate; nobody wants that.

So if we can't address the issue by listing them, what are we to do? ODWC has been purchasing land in key LPCH habitat and that will certainly help. But what we need to consider is whether these lands will actually allow this species population to expand or whether we are just creating outpost for the species which will only turn into a genetic sink. The population is critically low, wind development stands to carve up the NW region like Billy Bob at an all you can eat steak restaurant. The answer is both in acquiring new public lands, and in developing strategies with landowners who are willing to work for the good of wildlife. We need landowner incentives, a pool of money that can be given to landowners who are willing to keep transmission lines and wind turbines off their property for the betterment of all wildlife, especially prairie chickens.

I think I'll keep running with this topic for a few posts. There are many things that need to be said publicly that aren't. A lot of the conversations are happening at round table sessions, which is good, but the problem needs more public attention. I plan to do just that.

Great Gulls from the North

2010-01-08T19:50:00.000-06:00

What a day Wednesday turned out to be. Ignoring the north winds which brought the thermometer down to a cool...cold...bitter cold 18 degrees, not counting the windchill, I spent the afternoon scanning over a couple thousand gulls hopeful to find a few rare birds. Patience and tenacity paid off. Below you will find photos of a number of species of gull seen during the day, I have also included a shot or two of another gull from Canton taken yesterday. So, enjoy the photos and please feel free to make comments or as ask questions about the identification of them.

Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri, above photos are of the same individual) - This bird was located on the far eastern side of the dam on Canton Lake. I was able to view it from as close as 25 yards which provided me with pretty good photos for id confirmation. Seen on 6 January 2010, at around 2:30pm until 5:30 pm. I think the photos are just fine for id purposes so I won't go into any kind of lengthy description.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)- This was one of two individuals present on Wednesday, the second was a first year individual which I was unable to photograph. This adult or another exactly like it was also present yesterday (8-January-2010).

Well, there is still some discussion about these last two photographs. My original identification was that this was an adult Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus). My experiences with them have amounted to a few observations over the past five winters here in Oklahoma. I have only just recently begun seriously digging into gulls, and each year I catch the fever it seems. Unfortunately I couldn't get close to this bird, he wasn't as tame as the Thayer's Gull was. But we can see a few important identification points from the meager photos I did manage to get. I was also able to view for approximately 25 minutes through my scope from only about 125 yards away. What initially drew me to this bird was the lack of streaking on the head and the yellow bill with red gonys spot. Because it was sitting in the water at first, and facing me directly I needed to be patient and waited for the bird to turn. It became instantly apparent that this was not a Herring Gull. There was a complete lack of grey or black tongues on the outer primaries, they were completely stark white. I am very sure of this fact and viewed the bird both at rest and on the wing and never wavered in my opinion on this point.

It was very close to the same size of the Herring Gulls that surrounded it, however my impression was that it was a little smaller in size, not by much though. Perhaps just a difference between sexes a colleague later discussed with me. Other important points which brought me to my Glaucous decision was the pale eyes the bird had, another of which I am completely sure of. Also the pink legs, which you can see if you click on the photo with bird seemingly hovering over the ice.

So in the spirit of discussion..hopefully please feel free to make a few comments if you like. There were some opinions that this may have in fact been an adult Iceland Gull (L. glaucoides), so that is something to consider.

I'm still working on yesterdays photos, but will add them later in the day.

Selman Ranch Northern Shrike

2010-01-07T18:22:00.000-06:00

I spent the early morning surveying fences on Cimarron Bluffs WMA. After exhausting myself and finally getting too chilled to continue I opted for a little "road" birding throughout the Selman Ranch. Birds were slim but I did locate a shrike. Unfortunately I couldn't get a great look at it before it flew off, but for what I did see of it I thought the chances of it being a Northern Shrike were pretty good.

I quickly made a dash for Sue's house to get a change of socks and shirt, and in the mean time Sue handed me her Canon with its 300mm lense, showed me how it worked and I hit the field for another hour late in the afternoon. I returned to the same general area I had seen the bird, spent about 20 minutes looking for it, and then wouldn't you know it posed for me! Enjoy!

A little bit from NW Oklahoma...again

2009-12-23T12:50:00.000-06:00

Another couple of days in NW Oklahoma. Blue skies and beautiful scenery, I couldn't have asked for anything more. I just have to say, at some point I made a right turn in deciding to pursue birds for my life's work, I couldn't imagine a better job!

In between scouting for new fence marking and removal oppurtunities, future volunteer work weekends anyone, I did happen upon a few goodies. The best surprise of the weekend was locating eight Lesser Prairie Chickens at the Selman Ranch. What's new you ask? Well, they were all down in a valley, most likely seeking shelter from the cold north winds that could be found on the bluff and hill tops. I've been visiting the ranch for around three years now and this was the first time I have seen this many birds that were not on a lek, exciting for me, no pictures though.

I had a chance to visit Fort Supply and the Cooper Wildlife Management Area as well. The lake wasn't exactly pulsing with life, but there were some birds to be found. There were two adult Bald Eagles along the eastern shore. I suppose they were male and female, although I never got close enough to find out if there was a difference in size between the two. I suspect in the upcoming weeks I should start looking for some nest building activity. Gulls were also abundant, at least the first day I checked, unfortunately they were all Ring-billed or Herring. I guess that means I'm still on the search for a state record!

Also had a run-in with a Striped Skunk who was happy to provide me with some nice photos. Fortunately, even though it did show me the dangerous end of its body, it never did follow through...thankfully.

Short and sweet! Happy Holidays!

More from the Northwest......Oklahoma

2009-11-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

I spent another 4 beautiful days in northwest Oklahoma had a grand time, as usual, and got a great deal of planning and field work done for the Important Bird Areas program! I made it to the Selman Ranch IBA late Friday evening, mid-nightish, and was promptly woken by Sue at 4:30 am. Nothing like a few hours of sleep to get you fresh for the morning! Sue had mentioned to me that she was heading over to the Salt Plains NWR to take photographs and see Whooping Cranes. Having never been to the Salt Plains during this portion of the year, especially Whooper

(Whoop..whoop) season I sort of invited myself. Sue obliged, and even drove!

Sue spent the morning surrounded by American Avocets and Am. White Pelicans; I ran about trying to locate as many species as possible. Overall the first few hours we were there were very enjoyable. Sue got some great photos, and I managed to see a quick smattering of birds. It was nice getting back out in the field after a few stress filled weeks. A lot of the winter migrants have descended upon Oklahoma. Not all of them, but it took me back to my days on the Winter Bird Atlas. I found myself surrounded by loads of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Juncos, and of course the little brown jobs (sparrows).

After Sue's photo session was rudely interrupted by a seemingly-less oblivious park goer, we moved away from the spillway area and over to a few other portions of the refuge. Quick note, if you are walking around at a State Park or Wildlife Management Area, or National Wildlife Refuge and you see someone with a large camera and lense patiently being still and looking very focused; do not interrupt. Wait until they move and find something else to do for a few minutes and then go ask them what they are doing and what it is or was they were looking. But if the person is obviously intently doing something, for gosh sakes be polite and wait!

The sound of Sandhill Cranes could be heard from all over the area. I was standing on the top of the spillway of the reservoir and all that you could hear were cranes. They were at least a mile off or more, their presence could be felt everywhere. As we progressed closer to the refuge headquarters and the Sand Creek Bay area, the sound got louder and louder. At Sand Creek, there were at least a few thousand Sandhills but no Whooping Cranes. We stayed and spotted the whole area with a scope but never came up with a species that was of great need to document; I made some notes. We moved on.

Next was the shorebird viewing area. There were at least 300 gulls of varying species. Most of them were Franklin's and Ring-billed, they were far enough out of reach that really picking through them for subtleties was near impossible. As we were getting ready to leave the boardwalk the flock did finally get up and move, directly overhead I might add. In typical Franklin fashion they swirled in the blue sky, no more than a hundred and fifty feet away, and then slowly, individually or by small group, the birds rolled out all headed northeast of us to a smaller more sheltered mud/sand flat. Watching the behavior of Franklin Gulls on migration is wonderful, the way they move as a flock is one of my personal favorites. Probably coming in a close second to blackbirds, in my opinion.

After stopping in Cherokee for a few minutes we made our last stop for the morning at the crystal digging area. It didn't take long before we located three large white crane at the north end of the reservoir. Pretty soon after that they took off and got mixed up with a few American White Pelicans, at which point I ended up following the wrong large white birds and lost them. Oh well! All in all, it was great few hours. Sue got some great photos, I got another look at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge and more fuel for the IBA summary we are preparing for National Audubon. We traveled back to the Selman Ranch and later went out for an evening survey. One of my last for the season at the ranch. More on the weekend later.

Afield in Texas.....it's only temporary

2009-11-02T11:43:00.000-06:00

Due to an unfortunate turn of events my family and I have spent the last few days in Houston. While my wife tended to family business I have been working diligently to keep my girls interests peeked, my mantra, keep the boredom monster from setting in!

We've had two fun trips, one to Galveston where we managed to not get run over by the thousands of bikers who were attending the Texas Biker Rally. We spent the afternoon walking the beach and running from the waves, loads of fun! In between photos of my girls I managed to see a bird or two, even managed to photograph a couple of them. I was surprised by the numerous Piping Plovers running about. Far more than I have seen in one sitting, none of them were banded. There were also numerous Ruddy Turnstones, Willets, Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings, and lots of gulls and tern. Unfortunately my Laridae list is shorter than it could have been, no scope, and certainly not enough time to pick through them all. Don't forget I had two little sanderlings of mine own scurrying about! There were loads of Laughing, Ring-billed, and Herring Gulls, also twenty or so Royal Tern. I was able to spot a Black Skimmer at night while walking the beech in the light of the full moon. Not bad for having two handfuls.

The girls had loads of fun gathering shells, poking dead jellyfish and chasing around dragonflies, which were numerous for November. Of course I'm not real sure they follow the seasons like birds. Maybe someone else can fill me in, but it seems they depend more on the current temperatures than the actual seasons.

Following Galveston we spent the next day checking out Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. We only spent a few hours there but had a great time. Our main purpose was to see an American Alligator, after some persistence we finally found one. The girls just loved it, this being a first for both of them. It was a young one, maybe 6 or 7 feet in length and still pretty small in the body. There were loads of birds around, but I didn't spend nearly enough time picking through them. Lots of Marsh and Sedge Wrens, Tri-colored and other common wading heron and egret. Neo-tropical Cormorants were plenty, we also manged a few American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. Maybe someday I'll get down there for a rope drag and get a Black and Yellow Rail or two.

We are getting ready to leave Houston, so it's time for me to go. Stay tuned though I am working on a post about wind development, Lesser Prairie Chickens, and a call to action for Oklahoman's and birders alike....Till then!

A Crazy Couple of Weeks

2009-09-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

Well lets just say I've been busy! Over the past few weeks I've traveled up to the Selman Ranch IBA, hit Robber's Cave State Park for the 2009 Oklahoma BioBlitz, a quick and dirty meeting at Beaver's Bend State Park with my favorite Okies from south of Muskogee. I took a three day trip to the US Fish and Wildlife Services National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, made it back to Cameron University for my Chem II exam and lab, and spent this past weekend at the Wildlife Expo at the Lazy E Arena. I know I'm forgetting something...

Oh well. Instead of a long drawn out story I'm gonna throw some photos at you. Enjoy!

A few shots from the NCTC in West Virginia, my second visit, and equally as enjoyable.

The man, the legend!

A shot of Theodore Roosevelt our 26th President. I should have taken notes on the photograph, I don't recall who the other prominent fellow is. I do know it is not John Muir.

The gun on the left was at least seven foot long, a punt gun, it was attached to the front of a boat and could take out a dozen or more waterfowl in one shot. I'm glad we finally caught on! If we would have kept up with that practice there would be no waterfowl left!

Dreaming of clear streams and Kokanee Salmon!

A Few Words of Wisdow

These photos were a big surprise to me. I had loaned my camera to a good friend and look what he gave it back to me with.

The 2009 BioBlitz, from the eyes of Cameron University

I drummed up a few volunteers from Cameron University for the 2009 BioBlitz at Robber's Cave State Park, no these two aren't it but they meant business! We had a great time, ran into a few birder friends I hadn't seen in a while, and managed to not burn the place down! All in all a great experience.

One of the most common butterflies of the event . An Eastern-tailed Blue (Cupido Comyntas)

Apparently the pressure of the Cameron Biology faculty is almost too much to bare. At the actual site "Robber's Cave".

The bug whisperer, she stunned us all later as she did a repeat performance with a Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia). She actually got it to walk onto her finger. I later tried this technique on the way to the Wildlife Expo with a Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis), I was pleasantly rewarded.

A Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis), these were pretty common along the shorelines of the lakes.

Till Next Time!

Salt Plains Mountain Plover

2009-09-16T18:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm mid stream with classes so don't expect much. I figured I'd post these Mountain Plover pictures from Sept 4th at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. An especially pleasant surprise. These are digiscope photos taken using a camera that I was a little unfamiliar with so there a little grainy. Observers that were present were Ron Sheppard, Jackie Vargo an SCA student from San Francisco, and yours truly. Later!

Butterflies from the Lake Lawtonka area in Comanche County

2009-09-01T23:06:00.000-05:00

I had a nice evening surveying Lake Lawtonka and surrounding areas. I was hoping to find some good birds, but came up short. The bugs proved to be interesting though. Lots of Leps and Odonates moving about. I captured some decent photos and thought I would share some of them. The first a Gemmed Satyr which was actually the last butterfly I found just happened to be a county record, woohoo! I'd never seen one and didn't figure out its identity until I got home.

Another species a little west of its range, although recorded plenty of times in the county were a couple of Red-spotted Purples. They sat patiently for me and allowed some pretty sharp photos. This species is just beautiful, this was the first time I was actually able to photograph the underwing which would be the first photo in the sequence below.

There were also plenty of Viceroys about, nothing really unusual but this is the best photo of this species that I have taken, so I threw it in there just for fun.

On to the more challenging specimens. I found two skippers both of which I am struggling to identify. So I'm leaving it up to the experts, let me know what you think.

North, East and all over again, part I

2009-08-17T21:46:00.000-05:00

Wow, so it's been a very long time since my last post. To say the least I've been busy, my apologies to the few people who check daily for changes (mom?). I took classes through the summer and they finally wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Since that point I have been desperately trying to play catch up with the to-do list at home, and the other list sitting in front of my home office desk. Needless to say some things have gotten checked off and some things haven't, the fall semester started on Wednesday, while things are still a little slow I decided to get some posts out.

Two weeks ago Monday (that's right 10th August 2009) I started off driving north out of Lawton, stopping at Tom Steed Reservoir before heading to the Selman Ranch. Birds were a little slow but I did pick up a few, including but not limited to, a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, ten Upland Sandpipers, and a number of common shorebirds. I actually fared better with dragonflies/damselflies, I managed to get
photos of what seemed to be a Powdered Dancer (above, female, comments on identification are welcome) emergence, or perhaps not so long after one. There were literally hundreds (<250) all moving about and testing my patience as a photographer.

I made it to the Selman Ranch that evening, and the next morning I watched the sunrise on the Buffalo Creek Salt Flats. Sue Selman and I watched the adult and young Least Tern pitch and dive for the little morsels of minnows that were still pooled up along the stream bed. After a few looks at Snowy Plovers, Black Tern, and both Greater and Lesser Yellolegs we moved on. Stopping here and there along the way back to Selman Ranch Headquarters we managed a few more common bird species and had a spectacular time chasing bugs around, some of which are shown below. This Variable Dancer (above), represents a new record for the county...(pending that is), a very attractive little guy.
The same can be said about this Blue-Ringed Dancer (also pending).

Ok, I figured why not throw this Sachem Skipper in for kicks, the photo just turned out so nicely.

I still have a number of photos to identify so that dragon/damselfly county record count may continue to rise. After a nice visit with Sue I moved on west to Laverne, but not before stopping at my favorite pond in Harper County, which followed a visit to Doby Springs. The springs produced a Great-crested Flycatcher, multiple Blue Grosbeaks, female and young Orchard Orioles, as well as a smattering of other more common species (BGGN, NOCA, ect..). The odonates weren't all that bad either. In the shaded spots were loads of Ebony Jewelwings (25 or so now that I think about it), and as I picked through them and others I was able to locate a Great Spreadwing (pending county record). I mean this guy was really neat looking, at least a quarter size or more larger than the Ebony Jewelwings, and a little more difficult to spot, a more cryptic color pattern and clear wings. There were also plenty of butterflies and other bugs as well. Cottonwood Burrowers were flying about. Jim Arterburn sent me this wonderful photo that he took at the Salt Plains on the 14th of August. Great shot Jim and thanks!

Can you believe I had some wonderful photos of two burrowers myself and managed to accidentally delete them all, all that is except for a few that I manged to crop and save right away when I got to laverne...........argggg, very frustrating indeed!).These guys would be pretty intimidating creatures if you didn't know any better.

After Doby Springs it was on to my favorite pond (Marty and George know the one). Just like always (or at least it seems that way) a great bird was awaiting me. It took some patience and a little good luck, but the molting adult Sanderling (owing that correction to Michael Patten, I thought it was a juvenile but you can definitely still see a tiny tinge of "rufous" under the birds chin) was a welcome return to the bird world.
It made me work though (probably because it was a state bird for me), constantly flushing and flying across the pond. I'd get my scope out and everything set-up for a digi-scope photo and then a truck would come by and off the bird would go, again. Just before I was ready to leave and after having spent entirely too much time working for a documentation photo, I noticed two birds flying straight at the truck from across the pond. Wouldn't you know it one of them was the Sanderling, the other a Semi-palmated Sandpiper. I couldn't believe it. I took photos, some from only 20 feet or so and then headed for Laverne and a quick gas up and visit to Oklahoma Lesser Prairie Chicken Headquarters. About twenty minutes later I stopped at Fort Supply, I scanned the lake and nothing. Soon after I headed east.

This seems like just the place to stop....stay tuned for part two of the story..Henslow's Sparrows and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

More thoughts on the Wild Turkey carcasses

2009-05-19T23:09:00.000-05:00

I'm in Wichita, KS at the moment and just finished up a series of two presentations over the past two days. My first, an Important Bird Areas program/discussion held in the beautiful town of Lawrence. It just seemed like a very tranquil place to live, lots of people walking, riding bikes, recycling centers, clothing/shoe deposit sites...... I wish I could have stayed a little longer. However that was not the case and I headed for Wichita today. This evening, a presentation on the marshbird distribution work that I am doing in Oklahoma. It was held at the Great Plains Nature Center which is a really great place. I may end up visiting the center again before I leave tomorrow morning. Both events went well and I think people enjoyed the presentations, I believe only one person fell asleep! No, just kidding.

So while I've been traveling apparently my post about the Wild Turkey carcasses sparked some feelings of concern with many people. First, it was my initial impression that this was in fact the work of a human. My comments about the predators were more of a hopeful nature, I've seen plenty of dead birds. Part of the field work I did for the Sutton Center required me to identify the causes of moralities with the Lesser Prairie Chicken we were tracking. Now that I really think about these carcasses must have only been a day or two old. Had they been there any longer I believe something would have consumed them. So maybe it was in fact a poacher.
Having said that I'd like to apologize for addressing my suspected culprit as a hunter. Having been a hunter myself, and been raised by family of hunters I should have known better than to address someone that would do something like this as a "hunter". Because in fact they are a "poacher". My apologies to any hunters out there. Well I've got a little work to do so until the near future....

Cold, Dead Turkey

2009-05-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

So this past week while I was surveying/camping at Fort Supply resevoir. Usually mid-day is my time to rest and sometimes bird. In this case I was checking out the local woodlands that surround the resevoir. I was walking the limits of the campground hoping for warblers, but mostly picking up orioles, waxwings, and lots more common stuff. Something I didn't expect to find were some rotting carcauses. Five to be exact. They were no more than a few feet from a campsite, just lying in some tall grass.

This was very perplexing to me. Who and what did it, was it human or did some lucky predators get into a group of turkey and have a field day. I'm leaning torwards the former. So in the interest of interesting comments and theories I have a few questions.

1) Look closely, is this the way turkey are normally field dressed? I mean you can actually make out the sternal keel in the photo on the bottom, on the center bird . Do hunters cut the meat off of the breast and leave the bone, in the field?

2) If this was a predator(s), the only individuals I can think of that could take down a turkey would be a Bobcat or some Coyotes. Could this be the case in this situation?

3) If this was a hunter(s), why leave the carcasses lying and rotting so close to the campsite? Talk about no respect for others.

4) Again, if these were game for someone it seems like a lot of waste. Isn't there something all of those feathers and parts could be used for?

If you'd like to comment either email me personally brdbrn1979@yahoo.com or maybe even comment on them on the listserve Okbirds. Just be mindful that we shouldn't try to offend anyone in our comments.

Black Rail Fun

2009-05-15T09:40:00.000-05:00

Well I was standing there at my second broadcast point with my camera around my neck and turned off...can you see where this is leading. I had a single Black Rail calling about 20 yards in front of me when all of the sudden another Black Rail gets up and out of the sedges and flies about eight feet only ten feet from my dumb-founded face. No, no picture, although I've got some great recording of one calling from only a few feet away. This is by far the best look that I have ever had of a Black Rail. Full morning sun, you could see the soft grey tones of its underwing and it's belly. It's feet were held in typical rail fashion, hanging down below its body. Just a really great look. Very exciting.

Another interesting thing from this morning was a young blonde racoon.. I did get photos of this guy. Obviously not an Albino, but still very cool. I'm not sure how common this is but I'd be interested to hear anything anybody has to share about it.

Harper County...well, mostly just the Laverne area

2009-05-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

Well another good day of marshbird surveys. I spent the entire day in and around Laverne. Many of the playas north of town are full, including the large Gate playa that sits along the Harper/Beaver County line. In all I had 78 species for the day. The morning marshbird survey turned up 4 each Sora and Virginia Rail. Some other birds that came along the way included 36 Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and a drake and hen Cinammon Teal. For the first time in three years at this site I was unable to locate any American Bitterns, very surprising and a little dissapointing. After completing the surveys in the morning I checked a few of the local playas. They are full of water, however the shorebirds were a little slim and I was only able to pick up ten species, including 10 White-faced Ibis, and a few American Avocets. Three Black Tern were a first of year for me, and one of the better birds of the day.Cinammon Teal, 14-May-2009,

The evening was spent surving for marshbirds yet again. I located three more Virginia Rail, still no American Bittern. For some reason there are far more Green Heron present this year. So it makes me wonder wether or not the usual locations that I find the bitterns may either be to deep or the vegetation just isn't dense enough, not sure...The best bird of the day was a single male Bobolink. This was a new state bird for me, I always manage to miss them at the Red Slough. Didn't miss him this time, although when I went for my camera it headed for cover. Still exciting though! Not a bad day at all, and tomorrow morning 0530 sharp I'll be chasing Black Rails.

336 Miles, Hackberry to Laverne and Inbetween

2009-05-13T20:29:00.000-05:00

Monday (11-May-2009) evening at Hackberry was overcast but productive. My survey route ran the east west levee of the Goose and Yellowleg Units. The highlights of the marshbird survey included 2 Sora (Porzana carolina), 3 King Rails (Rallus elegans), an American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)and two unidentified medium sized (most likely Soras) rails. I picked up some great birds along the way. Ibis were everywhere (225+), conditions wouldn't allow proper identification so there could have been Glossy present but I can't be sure. A flock of 22 Willets (Catoptrophus semipalmatus), were seen and heard flying from one unit to another, and shortly after a flock of around 35 Godwits (Limosa sp..) . Conditions remained bad but I countinued and it paid off. At around 2020 hrs I located 13 Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres), there were probably more but the conditions were so awful I could only make out the individuals that were in the open and clear. Fortunately they really stand out in their alternate plmage, I didn't even bother worring with peep identification.

The good birds continued the next morning (12-May-2009) with a Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) and King Rail. After surveying for marshbirds, I turned my attention to birds in general and decided to stay in the area until noon. This to paid off and throughout the morning I picked up an American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)and Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) in the south boundary willows. I added 5-Black-bellied Plover(Pluvialis squatarola) and Buff-breasted Sandpipers (Tryngites subruficollis, 6; a first for me at Hackberry). Lots of other great birds were present but most were the usual suspects for this time of year.

I moved on and north to Fort Supply and was greated by yet another Ruddy Turnstone. This guy was all alone, except a single Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla). This brings my spring total to 15+ Ruddy Turnstones; just think up until this year it was a state bird for me! This individual was particularly tame and I was able to lay on my belly from about ten feet away and took loads of great full light shots, this one was especially good.

Fort Supply was nice, and quiet, and empty. Just the way I like. Through the 20 hours that I was there the birds worth mentioning included 7 Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) , lots of Spotted Sandpipers (Actitus macularia), 23 Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), 36 Plegadis Ibis, 2 Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), a family of Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe), and one unidentified Catharus thrush. Well tomorrow includes surveys of some sloughs associated with the Beaver River just north and east of Laverne, and then on to Black Rail territory so stay tuned!

Ruddy or Knot

2009-05-03T19:28:00.000-05:00

So yes there was infact a Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) today at Hackberry Flats WMA around 9:15 am. But no, there wasn't a Red Knot; I just couldn't avoid using the title, it just came too quickly. The turnstone wasn't the only good bird though, so keep reading.I spent last night and today wrapping up my first rounds of marshbirds surveys for the 2009 season down at the now sopping wet survey site. Last week I visited the flats as well, and things were a whole different story. I was actually considering not going back this year because it was so dry. What's the point in looking for marshbirds in dry habitat? Well I'm glad I did go back to check it out. No marshbird photos, although I had a one Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola, 2-May-2009) and Sora (Coturnicops noveboracensis, 3-May-2009) each, both responding to broadcasts. Now that things are adequately wet at the flats I suspect we'll begin seeing the usual numbers of rails, ect. for our wet springs.

Some other highlights included Yellow-headed Blackbirds ( Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, approx. 64), White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) , and a single Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus). Ok, so the Glossy Ibis photo sucks more than usual, I'll try to explain what I saw in the field. The small white lines (moderately visible in the photo) that outline the dark lore had a bluish tone to them. The lore, unlike the other adult Plegadis sp. present, was a dark plum kind of color. Distinctly not the pinkish lore surrounded by white that you see in P. chihi. I observed the bird from about 85 yards or more, for about fifteen minutes. It was pretty over cast, however it was late enough in the morning that the sun was breaking through at points. So the light and brightness could have been worse! What I didn't notice until I got the photo home is that the green on the head of this individual looks as though it wraps around and below the base of the bill, making the head appear dark. Now in my field guides this varies to a degree between authors. In Peterson's and Sibley's they both show a darker head for the Glossy. My Nat. Geo. does as well, be it a little more defined. I guess what I'm getting at, is this a field identification mark that you could use while picking through adult Ibis?

Other birds of particular interest were a couple Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), a single Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialus squatarola), one Dunlin (Calidris alpina), and at least 14 Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus). I walked four different tree out croppings after my marshbird surveys, hoping to pick up some neo-tropical migrants that may have dropped out during the weather....no luck. Well that is except for an unidentified Empidonax, and a handful of Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata). There were plenty of Clay-colored Sparrows (Spizella pallida), and about 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula), and oops almost forgot 3 House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon)! This was a first for me at Hackberry and I was little surprised to see them to be honest. First of the season as well.

Along the way I found a couple of nests, so I thought I'd share them as well.

First, two Morning Dove (Zenaida macroura) chicks, they almost look like little Dodos!

Second, an Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) nest with

5 eggs

The Woodward Oklahoma Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival

2009-04-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a weekend. Lots of great people, lots of great birds, and lots of great fun. I've taken birders out and shown them a few rarities here and there, but never under this kind of situation. By situation I mean paying participants, and trying to make the best of a completely *$^##@ couple of mornings. That said the beauty of wild west Oklahoma charmed them all, and I managed to add a few good, some lifers, birds to the fun for most of the participants. A few well known individuals from the blogging world were attending. Sharon Steitler of the blog BirdChick (visit her site and you can see my white GMC being pulled out of the mud!), the wonderfully talanted artist and banjo picker Debby Kaspari (next time I'll bring the guitar, Debby!), and world traveler, and all around great guy Timothy Ryan of the blog From the Faraway Nearby. A number of talanted artists from the Oklahoma birding scene were also present with their photographs, sketches, and really cool colored pencil tile work.
Unfortunately I was so busy that I forgot to take any pictures except for a few from the first evening. The first night of the festival I spent cutting fence markers for the fence marking activities that were taking place over the weekend. It was nice and quiet throughout the night, and I was kept company by an adult Barn Swallow. I'm sure it was glad to have me turn the lights out in the barn at an early two in the morning. Hopefully it didn't feel as bad as I did three and a half hours later.

The first field trip was modest but we did find many of the target species I had hoped for. Boiling Springs State Park provided a Louisianna Waterthrush, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, and a calling Pileated Woodpecker as well as few more common species. The Selman Ranch provided looks at Rock Wrens, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and Snowy Plover, as well as the sites usual abundance of other winged visitors and residents, to include a great flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

By the time the trip was over I was pretty delirious with exhaustion and retired to the hotel room for a quick and much needed nap! A couple of hours later, refreshened and ready to go, I headed for the festival banquet, where I was surprised by a generous gift from Sue Selman in the form of an original Debby Kaspasri, Lesser Prairie Chicken watercolor. Thanks Sue and Debby, its in my office already!

Day and attempt two of the birding tour was just as interesting, well actually a little more. Cloudy skies, wet weather, and wind don't make for great birding. However we did modestly in the first half of the morning with another Northern Parula, and Lousianna Waterthrush at Boiling Springs State Park. We opted for Fort Supply Lake next and were met with Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Duck, and a number of Tree Swallows (4+). The Cooper Wildlife Management Area provided great looks at three Burrowing Owls, and a couple new species of sparrow.

We moved on to the Selman Ranch after that. Making a short stop for me, I ended up getting stuck on a muddy road and needed some assistance in getting out. If only my truck was four wheel drive, it wouldn't have been a problem. The Selman Ranch provided more Rock Wrens, Semipalmated & Snowy Plovers, a Prairie Falcon, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and lots of more common species. All in all a great time, and a great success for Oklahoma and conservation.

A few quick thoughts on my dealings in the festival.........

1) An entire day long birding tour. Don't stop till you drop!

2)Four-wheel Drive......need I say anything else.

3)Bring the wife and kids! It was a load of fun, and there was plenty for children to keep busy.

Note from wife: Maybe next year, honey, but you're wearing the toddler in a backpack!

Selman Ranch: Trip Report #1

2009-03-19T10:50:00.000-05:00

I arrived at the Selman Ranch around 11pm on Monday night (15-March-09), and then got ready for the next morning, which came all to early. Breakfast was great as usual and then out the door just after the first crack of sunlight. I spent the morning and most of the afternoon covering the north portion of the ranch, and had a very pleasing time of it I might add. The map shows my route as well as some points of special interest. Marsh Wrens are abundant on the ranch and very vocal at the moment. The large ponds that the survey route cut through held many calling individuals, spaced out around the edges of the pond in the thick cattails. Very easily seen and heard, and fun to watch. Marsh Wrens are the antsiest little things, they never stop moving. American Wigeons, Ring-necked Ducks, and Redheads were the most common ducks on those ponds, a few Common Goldeneye were with them as well.

I moved north on a small two track through the prairie, parked and then walked a ways. It didn't take long to find a few Mountains Bluebirds (MOBB) still lingering around, and just a few minutes later I heard a few cackles and gobbles from the prairie chicken lek that was somewhat close to that point. A surprising woodpecker made itself known as I walked back to the truck. The first Hairy Woodpecker that I've seen on the ranch (still within its known range), but not the last interesting woodpecker for the day by far.....keep reading.

It would be another twenty minutes or so before another "good" bird came along. I made stops aproximately every half mile, unless something presented itself, which another woodpecker did. A Ladder-backed Woodpecker (LBWO) flew in front of my truck and then proceeded to forage amongst a mixture of mesquite, cottonwoods, and some other unidentified scrubby stuff. I chased it around and managed to get an identifiable photo. This is the second LBWO that I have seen on the ranch, the other was I think two summers ago.

Moving on, I headed back north again, on and over the pennisula that jets out into the Cimmaron River and Buffalo Creek. A couple of Loggerhead Shrikes have set up territories on this north side, and presented me an oppurtunity to freshen up on their songs. More MOBB's and Eastern Bluebirds, as well as American Robins all forgaing on the ground in the short prairie grasses. I checked the Cimarron River briefly and found a couple of Greater Yellowlegs foraging, as well as some dabbling ducks. After that I moved south and parked (good parking indicated by the red "P") at the Buffalo Creek Salt Flats.

Before walking the Salt Flats I looked over the bluffs that were nearest to me, and turned up one Rock Wren (RKWR). Not more than two minutes later a sparrow flew into some kind of a bush very close to the Rock Wren. I put the scope on it and low and behold a Rufous-crowned Sparrow, I watched for about five minutes before I lost it. But that was plenty of time to see the buffy grey breast, tan buff belly, vent, white malar, typical rufous crown; I made some notes, whooped it up real quick and then moved. This was a first record for this species for me at the ranch, and it may be a first for the county, I'll have to do some reading to figure it out.

Onto the Salt Flats and lots of Baird's Sandpipers. There were aproximately 300 shorebirds on the flats. Baird's were the most abundant of which I was able to identify aproximately 45, I suspect that the remaing portions were the same species. The foraging group flew a few times and none of the birds stuck out individually so I didn't consider it a mixed flock, although I did turn up one Semipalmated Sandpiper, that was it though. Both species of Yellowlegs were present, Greater's being the dominant abundance with aproximately 9 individuals, and three Lesser. Other than a few Mallards and Green-winged Teal that was it.
The Salt Flats did provide the other most startling observation.....a Pileated Woodpecker. No, not on the Salt Flats but directly south of the creek there are a number of small and large Cottowood outcroppings. I could hear the bird cackling and whaling away on some trees pretty much the entire time I was on the flats. This bird was not on the Selman Ranch, but it's still worth mentioning.

After the flats I went back to bluffs to search for more RKWR and hopefully some kind of documentation photo of the RCSP. No luck on the sparrow, but I did find more RKWR's including a pair of which I will try to keep an eye on. Butterflies were not numerous but there were a few Sulpher's flying about, as well as a Variegated Fritillary that I managed to photograph...poorly, but you can still ID it which is the most important thing if you ask me. Hey if you don't like the photos send $3k in a stamped envelope to Eric Beck in Lawton, Oklahoma and I'll go out and buy a Canon 40D and a telephoto lense and then we'll talk.

All in all a great day of Selman Ranch birding.......it's unfortunate that this weather is keeping the OK City group from visiting the ranch...rain or shine....I'm sure it would have been fun . Do stay tuned I need to report on the rest of my time in NW Oklahoma last week, and the spring field season is just around the bend.

My Deal with Gulls

2009-01-24T13:22:00.000-06:00

I think coming to realize that I know absolutely squat about gulls may end up helping me with gull ID in the long run. Take for instance the other day and my visit to Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City. I'm still very unfamiliar with this lake. I spend my time predominately in the South and the Western regions of Oklahoma, and when I visit Hefner I spend a great deal of time trying to orient myself to the best locations. That said, my city driving skills aren't great, and I always seem to place myself on a street that has a detour and only runs one way!

I've had moderate success with gulls and terns in the state, and have managed to rack up thirteen species in the past 5 years, most of those on my own. I think I dropped in on Berlin Heck's Lesser Black-backed Gull a couple of years ago at Hefner but that's it. My personal best two would be a Sabine's Gull at Lake Lawtonka in 2006, and last year's Mew Gull at the Kerr Reservoir Lock and Dam (Beck et al. 2008 ). It's difficult to be patient enough to stand in the cold, while picking through a few thousand individual birds in a huge swirling mass. Hoping to find that one single (sometimes more) rare or accidental species. But when I find one, it makes me feel like jumping and shouting, which I have been known to do. Chance and luck give to patience, and numbers of individuals present (or at least that's the way I see it).

Here's my problem (confession if you will). Sometimes during gull ID sessions, my mind ends up giving in to confusion. That's usually when I take a break and go looking for something else. Here are some examples of this confusion of which I speak: is the mantle on that bird darker than the rest, or is it light and shadow playing with my perception of the gull? How old is the bird that I am looking at, 1st year, 2nd, adult, what... ? What about the bill size, shape, colors, rings, gonys spots, long, short? Aaaghhh! I'm sure many of you may feel the same. I don't normally give to looking at the guide right away; it always seems that the moment you look at the book the bird is gone. My mantra, "be patient and look at the bird." I take notes and do my best to get a clear photo. Some of which you all have endured! That's it.

So to Hefner, and my half an hour chase of what I presume to be a Herring Gull of interest (Larus agentatus sp.). There may be a chance that it was a hybrid, although Howell and Dunn (2007) noted that it's "generally rare" to find them, although it doesn't seem that its too uncommon of an event, especially in western North America. There may also be a chance, most likely, that it's just a regular run of the mill Larus a. smithsonianus, perhaps displaying some of the variablility that this species is notorious for. Either way it was a fun 30 minutes and also a chance for me to knock out an assignment for Ornithology. The assignment: in our field journals for the semester, write fifteen species accounts. Guess what my first is. You get to come along for the ride! I've gone into a little more detail than we need for the assignment ( I think!), but I could use the practice. Not failing to forget that understanding the more common species such as Herring will help with identification of the more obscure gulls in the state, especially the large white-headed gulls.

American Herring Gull (Larus argentatus smithsonianus.) Location: Lake Hefner, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; road that runs atop the northern levee (Hefner Drive, Road,??); Time of visit: January 23,2009, 15:15 to 15:48; Conditions: 98% overcast, winds NW15-18 mph, gusts around 25; very light drizzle lasting less the five minutes.

The individual gull was initially seen approximately 125 meters off of the levee. The gull was at rest on the relatively calm water. Because of the proximity of the area to the levee the water was shielded from the wind. Waves were not a problem on this side of the lake, and allowed for more relaxed viewing than further south on the water. Ring-billed (45 indiv.)and Herring Gulls (15+) were present along the two and a half miles of the levee road. Most birds were observed cruising low (around thirty-fourty feet) and at varying distances, but in close proximity to the levee. This made for easy observation of individuals on the wing. Some individuals would cruise past and then circle back again a couple hundred meters, and then proceed to follow the same general eastward path they were originally on. On occasion, birds would dive and capture fish of an unknown species.

The individual Herring Gull that this account is based upon stood out to me for a number of reasons. The first observation, and what drew me to this particular individual, was how much darker the mantle appeared to be from other adult Herring Gulls in the same general vicinity, a full shade darker. I did take the time to watch its activities to be sure that the shading of the mantle was not due to light conditions. Numerous times, both on the wing and at rest, the bird was seen next to or very near other individuals of the same species, and approximately 80% of the time I felt sure that the dark mantle tone was in fact true and not due to conditions. Although the photo is poor (150 meters, bad light conditions) , you can see a generally darker mantle in the individual to the left, both birds are Herring Gulls .
Other field marks that were noted for this particular individual included a large bill with a red subterminal spot, a pale eye, and typical (but dark) mottling from the top of the breast around the nape and over the rest of the head, all of which are key identification points for Herring Gull (Howell and Dunn 2007, Pierotti and Good 1994). The bird appeared slightly larger than many of the other Herring Gulls present. Maybe this could be due to the fact that male individuals are usually larger than females in Larus species ( Howell and Dunn 2007).

White "windows" were visible on Primaries 9 and 10. The remaining primaries were tipped with white, as well as the secondaries. Unfortunately I never got a great look at just the scapulars, but from a photo not posted here, they look to be typical for Herring. Underparts where pale, including the under-wing, and the gull had the pink legs typical of this species.

So what was gained from this little adventure into the Herring Gull? 1: I realized that I have a very long way to go with gull identification. 2: From reading some ID books and species accounts I don't feel so bad about getting things a little confused at times, gulls may in fact be some of the most difficult species to identify (at least for me). 3: Work on the common birds and understand all of their characterisitics, that way the unusual characterisitics stand out.

Some of the other species seen while at Hefner included Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, 97 Common Goldeneye, A smattering of Horned, and Pied-billed Grebes, and a few more common waterbirds.

Literature Cited

Beck EJ, Reinking DL, Husak M. 2008. Oklahoma's first winter bird atlas project produces two new Mew Gull records. Bulletin of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society 41:10-11.

Howell, S.N.G. and J. Dunn. 2007. Petersons Refrence Guides: Gulls of the Americas. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York.

Pierotti, R. J. and T. P. Good. 1994. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu.bnaproxy.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/124
doi:10.2173/bna.124

Canton and Beyond

2009-01-19T22:17:00.000-06:00

Well it sounds like everyone in the Oklahoma birding community did well this weekend. Multiple people paid visits to the White-tailed Kite in Lawton. Sounds like the usual assortment of loons are present at Tenkiller Lake, including Oklahoma's second Yellow-billed Loon for the season; and don't forget the Pacifics in Stillwater. Fortunately I can add a little bit more excitement to the weekend.
Saturday afternoon I made it to Canton Lake just around 4:15 pm, which gave me plenty of time to check the gulls and ducks that were feeding pretty closely to the dam. After about fifteen minutes I located a 1st year Thayer's Gull, in a light plumage. Unfortunately no photo, but I did have lengthy looks at it from about75 yards and took down many notes. But just before the gull I forget to mention that there was a Rock Wren along the dam, just above the boat ramp along the west side of the parking lot (if you're following me!). I did get a photo of this guy, only one and I'm not happy with it at all.

I chased gulls for about 45 minutes along the dam, and then headed north along the west side of the reservoir, making stops every chance I could hoping to find a new gull or something fun. Patience paid off and a Townsend's Solitaire flew beside the truck. I chased this bird around for about ten minutes before it finally gave me a chance to try and photograph it. Take a look, can you see the white eye ring and the white-outer retrices? I can, but not easily! I couldn't have asked for a better time,

throw around 4K Common Mergansers and a smattering of other common waterfowl and I call it class A birding. I still haven't solved the problem with birds being too far out on the lake, I'm not even sure a boat would help; they are especially weary about boats and humans and move off a good distance if approached. I moved on north and west to Woodward.

Sunday was spent primarily at the Selman Ranch IBA. I did make a short trip to Ft. Supply Lake but never found anything there. It was especially quite, that is until the fire sirens. Apparently a prairie fire north of Ft Supply needed tending to. By the time I made it to the top of the hill on the west side of the spillway, the sky was filled with smoke. Later I heard that the fire burnt a swath 3x5 miles large. You could see the smoke from at least a county away!

Later that day and evening at the Selman Ranch I would come across a a few more species including Northern Bobwhites, dark phased Red-tailed Hawk, and finally a single Lesser Prairie Chicken (mind you that's not the whole list!). That made the day for me! As much time as I spend in the region I still don't expect to see Prairie Chickens, and when I do its very exciting.

Today was also spent at the Selman Ranch it was beautiful and relatively quiet. Along the Cimarron and Buffalo Creek Salt Flats I located three Greater Yellowlegs. Apparently this winter has been mild enough that many have decided to hang about. I've heard that many were reported this year on CBC's around the state. A handful of Loggerhead Shrikes were waiting about for unsuspecting American Tree , White-crowned, Field,

and Song Sparrows, or maybe something a little bigger...apparently they take Cardinals in Northeast Oklahoma! I left the Selman Ranch around three thirty and finished up the count there with a Ferruginous Hawk.

Back to Canton and Gulls! I made it back to the dam about 4:30 again... The gulls were feeding along the dam with the large group of Common Mergansers again. There were 5 Bald Eagles in the mix, two adults. I located a Thayer's again, I'm inclined to think it was the same individual. Shortly there after I found a 1st year Glaucous Gull and got the photos this time. There are loads of gulls on the lake, equal amounts Herring and Ring-billed it seemed. I wouldn't hesitate to have the notion that there's probably a whole lot that I missed!

2009-01-16T16:59:00.001-06:00

Success finally! After five pursuits and many hours of searching I was able to locate the White-tailed Kite (Elanus luecurus) that has been reported since early December '08, just SW of the Wichita Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.

Let me ask? Is it excusable for a student of Ornithology to chase birds between classes. I say yes, and especially this superb and photogenic individual. I located it NW of the corner of 267th and NW Carlson, on the 16th of January. This is reasonably close to the locations it has been spotted before. I was able to watch it from varying distances, and on one occasion only 15 yards! I was also able to get some identifiable shots, but someone with a real camera could have done considerably better. The bird stayed in the viewable area for approximately 30 minutes.
It's hunting style was very interesting to watch. My description of it would be a hovering/swooping action. Fortunately for me it got closer with every swoop. I did observe it perched as well, but far off on both occasions.
This is species is considered a rare migrant and winter visitor (Tyler, 2005). I've lived in Lawton for 5 years and this is the first in the state that I have seen. I added it to both my life (?, haven't bothered to tally it yet) and state list (319).

Oh yeah #318 for the state was four Trumpeter Swans in NE Comanche County. It looks as though there are still two life birds hanging around Oklahoma though, according to reports. The Yellow-billed Loon and White-wing Crossbills are only an hour a way.......hmmmm. Stay tuned they'll be some more to come from NW Oklahoma later this weekend.

Oh the Red-shouldered Hawk was one that I found while searching for the kite. The western distribution of these birds has been a thread on the Oklahoma bird listserve for a while now, so I thought some might be interested. Not a great shot though!

Mark a Fence-Save a Bird

2009-01-11T11:24:00.000-06:00

Come out and help ensure the continuing survival of the Lesser Prairie Chicken in Woodward Oklahoma in April 2009. By marking barbed wire fences in the home range of LPCH we can help reduce mortalities caused by fence collisions. The Sutton Avian Research Center has shown that fences (particularly in Oklahoma, due to the extraordinary fence densities in the NW region) contribute significantly to mortality rates in this species. The pie-charts are from the Sutton Center and they show quite well the problems these birds are facing.
Raptor and Mammal caused mortalities contribute, but they are part of the natural cycle of life . What LPCH's can't afford are the large black slices of the pies. You can find a whole lot more at http://www.suttoncenter.org/LPCH.html . Don Wolfe, who is the senior bilogist on this project since its upstart, has loads of information about this species (and other grouse) and I encourage anyone interested in attending the Woodward LPCH festival to take a look at some of the information available at their web-site. The center has been marking fences (some of which I have helped with) for the past three-four years, and since that time they have yet to find a dead prairie chicken next to a marked fence. What a success rate, I'm sure in the not so far future we will see a publication about their positive findings.

In April the Oklahoma Important Bird Areas program is sponsoring a fence marking weekend (just like last year) at the Selman Ranch. Our goal is to finish marking all of the interior fences on the Selman Ranch IBA. If we run out of fence, we may have a chance to mark on some other properties, but I am still working on this. In any case this conservation action project is very significant and please don't hesitate to visit the Oklahoma Audubon Council website and read more about the upcoming festival!

Oh by the way. I know for a fact that some highly rated bloggers will be at this festival. The "Bird Chick" Sharon Stiteler is our keynote speakerhttp://www.birdchick.com/blog.html ! Debby Kaspari from the blog
"Drawing the Motmot" http://drawingthemotmot.wordpress.com/ and artist extraordinaire will be our featured artist. I also have an notion that the witty and always fun Timothy Ryan from the blog "From the Faraway Nearby" http://www.adventuresoftimtim.blogspot.com/ might make an appearance. Hopefully when he reads this he'll give it more thought!

A Few Days Afield

2008-12-31T21:35:00.000-06:00

Oh the tranquility of having no classes! Providing me time to visit some sites associated with the upcoming Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival in Woodward Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Important Bird Areas program! There'll be more on that later. For now the birds that I encountered and a little about my first visit to the Cimarron Bluffs Wildlife Management Area (WMA) . My first stop was Hackberry Flats WMA in Tillman County, Oklahoma. They just opened a new visitors center and I had hoped to talk to someone about setting up a display for the IBA program when and if Hackberry is recognized as an Important Bird Area within Oklahoma.

The morning started fairly decently, I arrived just before sunrise and was rewarded with nice looks at a single Short-eared Owl pitching and rolling for small mammals. Unfortunately I didn't see the fifteen or so reported a week previously, but I was still happy. The reservoir was loaded with waterfowl. White-fronted, Cackling, Canada, Ross's and Snow Geese were present; ducks were all common for Oklahoma and most, especially the Mallards, were present in high numbers. In all there were probably upwards of ten thousand or more Anseriformes on the reservoir. Perhaps the best birds for the site that morning were a single adult male Common Yellowthroat and some fly-over Sandhills that provided me a nice opportunity to change the header photo of this blog!

I also viewed a few mammals in the morning including a few White-tailed Deer, Striped Skunk, Armadillo, and Coyote. The large White-tailed Buck (photo) was seen around 7am crossing into the only unit with water in it just below the visitor center. It startled me while I was picking through sparrows species with my back turned. I heard a loud splash only 30 feet or so behind me, jumped to look around and managed to snap a quick shot while he and two doe were wading through. A really amazing scene, I'm glad I was there to see it!

Shortly thereafter I headed north to Woodward, with a two hour stop at Canton to do a waterbird survey. Canton Lake has been well known to Oklahoma birders for its large gathering of waterfowl and sometimes large and rare gulls. A few of which I have seen over the past couple of years include the Western Grebe, Glaucous Gull, and Thayer's Gull all good birds for Oklahoma. This visit didn't prove to be as thrilling as some of my past, but I still had looks at two adult Bald Eagles harassing a flock of waterbirds, mostly comprised of around 7,000 or more Common Mergansers. There were also plenty of gulls in the flock but they were just too far out to distinguish. Oh well, I think having a sea kayak next time I go would be perfect for getting out there with them. On to Woodward and a good night's rest.

The following morning I ran through a route for a Bird Tour I will be leading in April. First stop was Boiling Springs. A small state park filled with beautiful large Cottonwoods and bubbling natural springs. I was able to find a Barred Owl, and likely two Pileated Woodpeckers. Woodward is about as far west as this species can be found in Oklahoma. My last stop was the Selman Ranch area. I decided to take sometime to check out the new Cimarron Bluffs WMA which was just purchased in 2008 primarily for the Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat present, it borders the Selman Ranch IBA and let me tell you it's nothing but wide open space and scenery. I nearly made it to the Cimarron River before I needed to turn back to ensure I got back to the truck before dark. Perhaps the most exciting event of the evening was finding a decent size marsh, and a pair of marsh wrens to go along with it. I will have to check this location in the spring for rails, it looks ripe!

Lake Texoma Highlights and Thoughts

2008-12-18T14:37:00.000-06:00

Lake Texoma is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to find birds in Oklahoma. I was able to spend the entire day there yesterday and doing so brought back some fond memories of years past on the Oklahoma Winter Bird Atlas project. Over the past two years I was able to make only a few quick stops at the most convenient locations on the lake, due to time constraints and schedules.

Yesterday I was able to spend an entire day devoted to it, and it far exceeded my expectations. My day (and count) began at 8am, after having breakfast in Coalgate, Oklahoma just in case anyone showed up to do the Lake Atoka CBC, which no one did. I really didn't have the time to go out and "shake the bushes" for help. I think there were also some weather issues in the north which may have hindered participation. No matter, it was nice to be out and in the silence, something I've needed for some time!

Lake Texoma is Oklahoma's largest conservation storage lake, but it comes up second in surface area to Lake Eufala, therefore not receiving top honors as "Oklahoma's Largest Lake". All of this according to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. I began my survey at the dam and worked my way north and mostly west, finishing near the Hickory Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Visibility was at about 150 yards in the morning, fog lifted in the afternoon and the visibility got up to about a mile in some locations on the largest portions of the lake. Temperatures never really exceeded fifty degrees. My modest total species for the day, 52. There were a few highlights for the day. I had no less than four adult Bald Eagles (blue spots on the map), between the eight locations I stopped at(red dots on the map). Between those locations I counted over eighty Forster's Tern, which don't occur in too many other places in Oklahoma in the winter. Shorebirds were slim but I picked up 8 Least Sandpipers, some Wilson's Snipe, and a Tringa sp. A Merlin late in the day was a welcome and a first for me this season.

Finally the best for last. At 1615 I located two female Long-tailed Ducks at the Hickory Creek Wildlife Management Area. This was only the second time that I had been to this location and each time on subsequent years its proven to be a nice place to find good birds. The area is a little secluded and I think it has some protection from the big winds of the open lake so the water seems to stay relatively calm. The two LTDU's were just off of the southern shore some 200 yards out (and still in Oklahoma boundaries, I might add!). I found them relatively quickly, the facial pattern sticks out pretty well, compared to the rest of our winter waterfowl. I tried digi-scoping them but opted out after much difficulty. Instead I decided to study them for twenty minutes through the scope. They both dove often, more so than the Buffleheads that were floating near by.

Each time I visit Texoma I find something interesting. Unfortunately it is under-birded. Dr. Doug Wood makes visits; I'm sure not as many as he would like, but he gets out there sometimes and usually has a good list when he gets back. Other than that I don't see or hear any reports from the lake. Some do come in from Tishomingo NWR every once in a while, and some of those have been really good, like Fulvous Whistling Duck and Ground Doves in the past! For a few years now I have wanted to take a boat out and really chase some gulls and ducks, but that has yet too happen, maybe next year!

Feeding Time

2008-10-17T22:49:00.000-05:00

The Fed-Ex man, no woman, showed up today with a package marked live animals. My daughters and I quickly ripped the package open to find our vial of Drosophila melanogaster , the Fruit Fly! Instead of buying costly bugs at the pet store we decided to purchase a kit to start our own fruit fly cultures. In the long run it will save alot of money, it also allows me to continue to geek out on our new geckos. If we continue to keep up with them, we should have an endless supply of Fruit Fly cuisine! Lets just hope none escape.....momma might not like it!

Oh Yeah the Geckos love 'em, juicy...wingless....easy prey!

Fall Break and One More Gecko

2008-10-16T21:43:00.000-05:00

Well I can't necessarily call it a break. For a father of two is there really such a thing? Today, obviously was my first day of a four day long fall break. No I didn't spend it birding, although the thought continues to cross my mind. Actually I started working on a presentation I will be giving in a few weeks down at South Padre Island,Texas, at the annual Waterbird Society meeting. Talk about being excited! I'm salivating just thinking of the new birds I may see down there. I am also preparing for a week long visit to my home back in Pennsylvania. I'm not likely to see any life birds there, but can't wait to get back to my old stomping grounds once again. I also have a report to wrap up, as well as some papers I have been wanting to finish, and of course more studying that needs to be done....I'll let you know how all of that goes at the end of the weekend.

The "Turkish" or "Mediterranean"Gecko is still alive and doing well. Having found a home in my daughters aquarium, it seems somewhat content. My wife and I can feel at ease for keeping this wild creature for two reasons....1) it's an invasive species and 2) we have taken to describing the whole scenario as a "science project" Call me cruel if you want, but I'd like to see you explain to a three year old as to why "Joe" has to be let go! Not wanting to leave "Joe" all alone in the much too large enclosure I took a late night post at our front door a few nights ago. About a week after we found the first gecko, my wife saw two more. I thought it was only appropriate to find Joe a friend. So finally after a late night studying and checking the front porch my patience paid off at 1:30 am. Now Joe has a friend! For which we have no name. So here is my challenge, think of a name and email it to me. On Sunday the 19th I will announce the winning name, of course I am the sole judge, and I will be sure to let everyone know who it was that came up with it. Cheers....

A Gecko in Oklahoma.....?

2008-09-25T22:53:00.000-05:00

Tonight we decided to go out for Ice Cream and before we got in the car my wife noticed a gecko on our front porch. I know Herps a little, I was actually amazed by them my entire youth and had quite a collection in my bedroom. I think I had a total of seventeen reptiles at one point. Needless to say no else dared to enter my room! That said, I was never previously aware of any Geckos in Oklahoma. After a little searching I finally found a website that had decent photos of the few Geckos that can be found in our region. You know me, I was hoping for some strange southwestern gecko, one that hadn't been reported before in Comanche County, or maybe even Oklahoma. Alas, my notions of grandeur were tossed aside when I located the photo of the non-native Mediterranean Gecko. Sure enough that's what we had found. More on it tomorrow.......

Success at the Feeder

2008-09-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

About a week ago my daughter and I got to work on getting our long last hummingbird feeders hung. We moved into a new house over a year ago, and the final boxes are finally empty! Of course the feeders were in one of those boxes. No matter, this was a great chance for me to do something fun with Walden. She has always been just a little too small to actually mix the sugar solution, just for fear of getting hummingbird food all over the place. Well, she had a great time of mixing (and tasting) the food this time and made the process more fun than it has ever been for me! Unfortunately it was nearly dark before we got the feeder hung so there were no birds that day. I spent the following day at school, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Walden had spotted the first hummingbird at the "new" feeder, while I was gone. It couldn't have worked out any better, makes a father proud! She described it for me with all the excitement you could imagine, and then we watched the feeder together for a while and I finally got a glimpse of one as well. Needless to say we have at least three hummingbirds (all Black-chinned) coming to the feeder every day now.........till the next time!

More from Western Oklahoma

2008-09-21T11:07:00.000-05:00

Saying good-bye is hard to do. This weekend I had to say good-bye to my favorite field truck! This was well over due though, and I am once again driving my GMC (blah!). The grey- Toyota had been through two marshbird seasons and one winter bird atlas season. Needless to say it needed a break. The G.M. Sutton Avian Research Center agreed to provide me with this truck over a year ago, my personal vehicle is two-wheel drive, and in my line of work four-wheel drive is required. I haven't figured out what I'm gonna do for future situations in my pickup, but I'm sure something may present itself.

I drove north on Rt-54 through Weatherford and the large wind power farm there. What makes me happy about these windmills is that many of them are on plowed fields for agriculture, not too many are on native prairies like the enormous farm in Harper/Woodward Counties. Some people just never get it! As if our native prairies aren't being eaten up fast enough by encroaching Red cedar. Anyway. There was also a traditional Tee-pee set up very close to the towers, which provided a classic shot of the American prairie!

I also managed to check a few locations on this quest to recover my long lost vehicle. Making time to stop and check Doby Springs, a few playa lakes in northern Laverne, as well as a few ponds. Doby Springs was pretty slow in the bird category, but it provided some nice butterflies and skippers including Monarch (left), Dun Skipper (below), Checkered White, and a lifer Western Pygmy-Blue (below right). The woodpeckers were out and about, and a surprise Philadelphia Vireo presented a great opportunity for study, no photo though.

A spring fed pond north of Laverne produced the most birds of the trip. It was chocked full of dabbling ducks, American Avocets, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, as well as a myriad of other flying friends. I had a good conversation with a landowner that I know, discussing the algal bloom in the pond. If you look closely in the avocet photo you will notice a deep green tone to the water. A light juvenile Swainson's Hawk flew over, after it became fed up with my presence. On the way home I stopped at Canton reservoir and found an adult Sabine's Gull a few hundred meters out in the water! I chased it for a while trying to get a better view but never located it again before the sun went down. I wouldn't even mention the bird if I wasn't completely sure that it was there. Hopefully someone else can confirm again today or tomorrow. I won't be able to get back up there. I watched the sunset over the lake and then headed home,

satisfied that I had finally taken care of the trucks and caught a few good species along the way. Another beautiful weekend in western Oklahoma!.....Cheers

Okie-birder-of-the-month!

2008-09-15T21:58:00.000-05:00

It really is a great privilege to be bestowed the OKie-Birder-of-the-Month for September 2008 http://www.adimview.com/Birder_Eric_Beck.html. That is considering I'm an infiltrating! The only regret I have about this whole thing is the photo I gave Cindy and Phil, jeez it looks liked I crawled out of the backwoods of Pennsyltucky! Yep, that was me at the last meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society/Association of Field Ornithologist meeting in Mobile, Alabama. Oh well!

Just in case you missed my report from the meeting http://okwba.blogspot.com/2008/05/meeting-of-ornithologist-in-mobile.html
I was really surprised by all of this when Cindy contacted me, and certainly honored after sifting through some of the past recipients. I've met a good many of those past honorees and a few like Berlin Heck, John Sterling, and Kurt Meisenzahl were the first to invite me out "birding" in Southwest Oklahoma for a day. You should have heard Berlin when he saw the little pair of Bushnells I was carrying at the time. Hey what can I say, I was a broke ,soon to be father, college student....wait a second, nothings changed! Well.....all except for my equipment.

But hey, isn't that what it's all about?

Quick trip to the Wichita's

2008-09-13T09:06:00.000-05:00

After an exam yesterday in Zoology, the first of the year for me, I decided to make a break for some calm and quiet. I walked Burma road in the Wichita Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in hopes of finding some migrants, unfortunately there were none to be found. I still had a good time though. I came up with three Black-capped Vireo's still on territory and calling. This caught me by surprise because I had figured they were out of here by now. When I got home I checked the late date in Jack Tyler's (2005) book and found that the 20th of September was the latest report for them, but the average late date he reports is the 9th of September. So I remained satisfied with naming them the birds of the day. The remainder of birds were mostly summer breeders still hanging about. The butterflies were really out and about and I came up with a few species, I'm still just learning these guys so I missed more than I identified. It was overcast and temperatures were mild, elk were bugling all over, it was nice day to be out.

The Birds

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Pied-billed Grebe,

Red-tailed Hawk, Bewick's Wren, Killdeer,

White-eyed Vireo, Black-capped Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch,

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Tufted Titmouse,

Carolina Chickadee, Rock Wren,

Northern Cardinal, Canyon Wren,

Downy Woodpecker, Great Blue Heron,

Wood Duck, Red-headed Woodpecker,

Barred Owl, Canada Goose,

The Butterflies

Pipevine Swallowtail

Monarch

American Snout

Goatweed Leafwing

Hackberry Emperor

Cloudless Sulphur

Finally Back!

2008-09-08T18:25:00.000-05:00

Wow! I know, I know it's been a while. A friend gave me some advice a while ago (Doc Revels, she probably doesn't remember telling me this, what with old-age kickin' in!), it was to not let the blog take precedence in my life. Allow it ebb and flow that way I keep myself up to-date with my work. I'm finally getting semi-caught up and am taking the opportunity to fill everybody in on my travels of late. Okay so I'm not really caught up at all, but I'll never get anything posted if I wait any longer!

Last weekend I took the opportunity to head to my favorite portions of Oklahoma, the northwest and panhandle. My goals; fix my personal truck that has been sitting in Laverne for a year, visit a few marshes and look for new ones to add in far western Oklahoma for next year's marshbird season, and visit the Selman Ranch IBA and Cimarron Bluffs WMA to get data on Lesser Prairie Chicken fence marking. Goals in place I moved out and arrived in Laverne Saturday mid-afternoon.

My truck wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind when I got there. Actually it was to go and check a few marshes and playas before the sun went down. I quickly scoured the Laverne lagoons which usually provides something (the best being a Western Grebe a few years back), and then moved on to a slough just east of Laverne. For some reason both locations were pretty slow and uneventful, not one to give up so easily I headed north. Precisely seven miles north to a small pond (the same pond that I found American Avocets nesting at this year...can you say new county record!). This little hot spot gave me plenty to look at, including Wilson's Phalaropes, Black Tern, numerous species of duck, both species of Yellowlegs, some Least and Semi-palmated Sandpipers and a few other odds and ends, much better than the last two stops. Satisfied I headed back to Laverne where I dined at the local pub ("The Rusty Bucket") and then found myself slipping into my sleeping bag at the Prairie Chicken station for some much needed rest!

The morning came around and I ignored it for a short time, and then got busy getting my truck running. It was actually much better off than I had figured. A tank of new gas, some gasoline additive, air in the tires, and a quick jump and the old beast was running again. Not bad considering it hadn't been started in at least a year! Well it was almost a winning situation, I had forgotten to get my tags renewed, so a little bummed I moved on, with nothing but birds and marshes on my mind. Onward and West to the panhandle I traveled.

I spent a great deal of time checking possible marsh locations on the map, mostly in Texas and Cimarron Counties, I have a pretty good handle on the spots in Beaver County. Fortunately many of the playas are full at the moment so of course I couldn't pass those by. I still have yet to find a rail in a playa or bittern for that matter......it would probably make a pretty good study for some Master's student though. Even the very large playas were full. I got fooled into watching a Stilt Sandpiper for a while, thinking for a moment that it could have been a Curlew Sandpiper but good light finally put that quest to rest. Probably my best playa bird were two dowitchers, one a good looking Short-billed still in breeding plumage, very worn, but the golden tones along the scapulars and wings were a sure thing, the second bird never moved and had it's head resting along it's back so I never felt good about a positive on it.

White-faced Ibis were abundant my total for Texas Co. was 13, Cimarron held approximately 27+ that I know of and judging by the amount of water there were probably many more scattered throughout the county. I spent the evening in Kenton after I had received a phone call from Berlin Heck telling me about a Calliope, and Rufous Hummingbirds at a feeder, both good birds for the state. I stayed at the hitching post, which gave me a good opportunity to follow a semi-dry stream bed for a couple of miles. There were plenty of cattails but I'm not sure that it was dense enough cover. Birds were slow around the mesa and my efforts to find really suitable habitat around northern Cimarron county fizzled out, which means I probably won't survey there next year.

Monday morning after a nice breakfast I started my way back to Lawton but not before I got a call from Steve Metz, Kim Wade, and Dan Robinson who were checking playas east of Boise City, I joined them for a couple visits and picked up my lifer Western Wood-Pewee at a small abandoned farmstead turned fallout zone. After that I put my foot down on the gas, arrived at the Selman Ranch three hours later, got my fence marking data, checked out the new Cimarron Bluffs WMA for a short while and then got back to Lawton at 1am. Just in time to get enough sleep for Chemistry class at 8 am!

The Blues Heron Express

2008-06-14T23:24:00.000-05:00

No these guys aren't blue herons, they're Blues Herons. Why you ask, well they live in the backyard of some longtime friends of mine. Danny and Felicia Dupree. Some folks from the Lawton Area may have heard of Danny's band the Brothers Dupree, a get down and dirty blues/jazz band. Honestly these guys are by far the best blues/jazz group that I have heard in Oklahoma. Actually I've seen a fair amount of blues shows, mostly on the east coast, these guys would definitely be tops over there as well!

Just as I mentioned a few weeks ago, when I took photos of the adults, this is the second time they have nested in the Dupree's backyard. Come to find out it is most likely the third. Yellow-crowned Night Herons typically prefer shady swamps or forested areas near water ( finally got to use this photo from three years ago!), I suppose an older portion of town with mature trees and a decent amount of shade works as well. This particular family of heron is nesting about thirty five to forty feet high in a Pecan Tree. They chose the exact same branch to nest as they did last year, fortunately in plain view which allows for decent photo opportunities. There is also a second nest positioned just above and about fifteen feet to the right of the active nest. Until recently everyone thought it had been abandoned, but just a few days ago we noticed new vegetation in it and a couple of eggs that had fallen out of the nest and had landed on the ground just below.

The five young of varying ages are all very active, and walk about the large branches. The more mature ones of the group usually venture a little further and forage along the main branches. Upon close investigation using a field scope it looked as though all primary feathers on the more mature birds were complete, and correspondingly these individuals are constantly flapping and stretching, probably working up to the moment of their first flight (hope I'm there). Well that's it for now, I'll keep everyone informed of how things turn out and hey, if you're in Lawton on a good weekend you should look for the Brothers Dupree they won't disappoint!

Gallinule, Bitterns, and Moorehens Oh My! Gallinules, Bitterns, and Moorhens Oh My......

2008-06-12T22:19:00.000-05:00

My surveys for the Slough didn't really begin until Monday (9th) morning, and then they were abruptly held up by torrential downpours in the evening. The totals in Broken Bow were 3+; I think the Red Slough got a little over an inch. Beck base camp was nearly torn to shreds by high winds. Even though my tent is pretty much expedition weight, it was only tied down with a few strings; had it been on the ground, I would have been alright. The winds were able to get under the floor and nearly turn it into a kite. Had David A. not had his knife handy, I would probably still be picking up the pieces in the marsh! Needless to say I spent the night at the Microtel in Broken Bow. A friend made a comment about hippies never sleeping in hotels, I feel good in saying this was a first in two field seasons of marshbird surveys. I mean I even got to take a shower, no late night dips in the slough for me.

After a good night's sleep, I hit the Slough Tuesday morning for a survey route that runs past Bittern Lake on the north side. My first broadcast point held three King Rails, the second point three more (and I could still hear the others from the last point); the remaining points produced Purple Gallinules, Common Moorehens, four American Bitterns, and a handful of Least Bitterns (click on the picture below and try to find the Least Bittern that is hidden!). It's not easy keeping track of all those birds in such a small area, trying to make sure you don't count the same bird twice, and deciding whether or not the American Bitttern that flew past you is the same from five minutes ago, possibly returning to or from the nest with some goodies for its little ones.

After the route I headed over to another location to check on some Virginia Rails that I had located on the previous visit. I had two associating adults, unfortunately I wasn't able to locate them again. Although I feel pretty confident that these guys bred at the Slough, I will probably have to wait another season before I get some solid evidence like a nest. But you never know, maybe we will see some young down there this year. After the check-up, I headed to Pintail lake for a lengthy (and tiring) session of nest searching. My goal was to map as many nests, and get egg counts when possible, for the entire lake.

Four hours later, and multiple trips back and forth across the lake, produced a total of four nests. Three with eggs and one which I came across while the female was building it. She was just getting to the point where the nest was starting to rise out of the water. The three active nests held 12, 10, and 9 eggs respectively, all of which were Common Moorehens. Only a single active nest for Pied-billed Grebe was located, unlike when I checked the lake two weeks prior, where only four grebe nests were found.

Pintail Lake is shaped much like a square; so in order to cover as much of the lake as possible, I criss-crossed its entire length. Not not just once, but enough times to exhaust myself. I tried to keep the intervals at aproximately 75 Meters, anything past that and I couldn't feel comfortable with saying that I found more nests than I missed. There are a few locations in the interior portion of the lake where I can't really get to in my canoe; there are so many downed trees and large, live willows that I end up getting pinned in, and waste lots of time retracing my steps. I have yet to find any nests in this portion of the lake, and that includes Pied-billed Grebes. David Arbour and I spoke about this a little, and we both suspect that close proximatey to trees and perching sites allows for higher predation rates (pure speculation of course).

Upon returning to my truck, I found a yellow slip of paper wedged into the door, surely not a ticket? No, a note from David asking me to check out a nest that Herschel Raney and he had located. His description was: two small white eggs, unmarked, postitioned in a willow treee about a foot off of the water. Instantly Least Bittern came to mind, I quickly hopped in the truck and drove to the location of the nest. As soon as I approached, a female Least Bittern flew out of the nest. I was right! I waded out about waste deep and took a few photos of the nest (yes, there is a nest in the photo on the left), and while I was there the female came flying around again only about ten feet from my head! How exciting! A few minutes later, I left the nest and then located a male foraging along the edge of a large patch of rushes (which is the bird in the first photo, if you can find him!). Soon after the excitement, I met up with David and Herschel and then proceeded to go to Pappa Poblano's for a nice late lunch/early dinner with David. Five hours later I was home, cleaning the kitchen and putting my girls to sleep, whew what a day!

*****One note this is all part of a research project I am working on, please do not try to relocate any of these nests that are mentioned in this blog. When I'm out I do my best to keep from disturbing the birds as much as possible, please practice restraint.....! Not that I think anyone would actually do such a thing.******

Moore from the Slough!

2008-06-11T14:08:00.000-05:00

Another night at the Red Slough, fortunately this evening I am sharing the deck and a late evening meal with a green tree frog. I am munching on some almonds and raisins; the frog, an assortment of mayflies, multi-colored beetles, and spiders. We both agree that it couldn’t get much better. There’s a nice light breeze and the mosquitoes aren’t much of a bother.

It has been a very long two days. Yesterday was spent helping the Nickel Preserve do its annual breeding bird count; it’s always a treat to see my good friend Doc Revels, who helps with organizing it. This was my first visit to the preserve and I enjoyed it thoroughly (except for a nasty message from a disgruntled bird watcher when I got a chance to check my email!), even though I had managed to get only three hours of sleep the night before (no I was not partying!). Basically, just a late night drive followed by uncomfortable sleeping arrangements in the cab of the pickup. I met up with Jean and Martin B. and rode with them to the preserve. The count included a few highlights such as a pair of Scarlet Tanagers, a Blue-winged Warbler, and a very nice look at a Snowy Egret foraging in a small woodland stream. I am used to seeing them in large water impoundments or man made wetlands; it was a nice break to see one in truly natural habitat, and me without a charged camera…..duh! Following the count we traveled back to Tulsa and had a lengthy Oklahoma Important Bird Area meeting until around 12:30 ‘ish, and then finally a good nights sleep.

The drive from Tulsa to the Slough was long and uneventful, except for a biker gang that happened to be taking a break at a rest stop. I played the ever watchful observer, and wondered if I could ever be that much of a bad-ass. I mean these guys weren’t your latte’ drinking weekend warrior bikers, they were serious and just their presence demanded attention. Silently I moved on, as if watching an American Bittern foraging for its early morning meal, hoping not to disturb. Onward to the Slough I pushed.

Upon arriving I made the turn onto the road that takes you past Otter Lake, and then over to Pintail and Lotus Lakes, the site of Beck Base-camp for the next couple of days. The first bird or at least my first observation was of a Great-horned Owl cruising past the truck and over unit 37, all the while being mobbed by very unhappy Red-winged Blackbirds. It found a perch in a Willow tree; I snapped a shot and then moved on. The rest of the evening was spent nest searching for about an hour and a half, most of which took place in the dark. I located a single Common Moorhen nest with nine eggs on Lotus Lake (not the same nest from my last visit, this was a few hundred yards further down the levee to the south). I was also able to take a photo of a Purple Gallinule on Pintail Lake before the sun set.
Looking for nests in the dark is not exactly easy. It can be a little unnerving when ever there are two big, orange gator eyes staring at you from less than a hundred yards away in the dark. I would check his position ever five minutes or so, I think it was as wary as I was because it eventually moved out of sight. You know all those years of watching scary movies about attacking gators and sharks doesn’t help you feel at ease in the dark on open water in gator country. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to locate any nests on Bittern Lake, so my tally stayed at one for the evening after having located a Moorhen nest on Lotus Lake with 9 eggs.

My evening companion has shown back up, presumably after a short hunt on the backside of my tent. A bit of a unnatural setting for the guy, but I think he has been pretty successful with his novel approach and use of a man made structure as hunting grounds. That’s it for now, on to bed.

Just a note, this was written at the Slough, I couldn't find any oppurtunity to post it until now. The next post should be very interesting including many shots of various marshbird nest and some fun stories to go along..stay tuned

Out of My Territory but Still Interesting

2008-06-03T11:25:00.001-05:00

I had this one whittled down to White Checkered or Common Checkered Skipper, thanks to everyone who filled me in on it. It is a Common. I am still new to butterflies, but I felt there was to much white on the FW to be a Common. Shows what I know.

An Egg Mystery

2008-06-03T00:05:00.000-05:00

This egg was one of three, all of which were likely from the same species. They measured 46-48 mm, were off white to buff white in color, non-glossy, and had no speckling of any sort. Duck species that were present were Redhead, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, also present was an Eared Grebe. I am leaning torwards Blue-winged. I also suspect that they are infertile, which may explain them being layed randomly along the mudflat in three distant locations, with no nest in sight. Interesting, feel free to leave some remarks or comments. Good Luck!

A Day in My Favorite Region

2008-06-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

My first experience in the NW/Panhandle region of Oklahoma began a few years ago working on the Sutton Center's Lesser Prairie Chicken project. From that moment I pretty much fell in love with the region. I just love the smell of Sandsage on a cool morning with a light breeze. But, before I go and get all poetic about it, I'll get to the story. I spent the evening last night driving to Beaver County, and finally arrived at the Cimarron River at about 1 am, put the tent up, blew up my air mattress and snuggled down to some light reading. Bent's Life Histories of North American Marsh Birds, specifically the section on Black Rails, preparing myself mentally for the morning.

A few hours of sleep (about 4) and I was up and making my way to the first calling point. The morning progressed and unfortunately no calling Black Rails. I didn't let that get me to dissapointed, the marsh was drier than I have seen in past years and sometimes birds don't always do what you expect. Still I managed to located a pair of Virginia Rails, and a single Least Bittern, and that is where the story turns almost comical.

I had finished my survey and was walking back to the location where the Virginia Rails were detected, in hopes of securing hard evidence for breeding. I like to confirm breeding in every county with a nest, and have still manged to miss a Viriginia Rails (VIRA) in Beaver County. The presence of associating adults is pretty much a sure thing for breeding VIRA evidence however, this is not always adequate for record keepers. While walking back to that location I heard a familiar call, but just one. I stopped and listened and failed to hear anything else, but felt sure that a Least Bittern was lurking about somewhere. I walked around a small pond and caught a glimpse of something moving, sure enough there it was, a single Least Bittern stalking along the edge pf the pond. Finally something exciting for the morning, nearly making up for the missing Black Rails!

It was still early in the morning and cool, so I decided to do a little nest searching. I placed my gear on the ground and headed into the marsh with my binoculars and camera. I worked my way to the edge of the pond where I saw the bittern, and that's were things began to get a little messy. Before I knew it I was over knee deep in water, I took another step trying to get myself released from the muck on the bottom, and then it dropped off a little more. There I was standing nearly chest deep in water with the muck up to my knees keeping me from moving any further. When I looked down my Nikon Monarch's were completely submerged and my camera only an inch away from the end of its existence. I took them off my neck and held them high and proceeded to use my other hand to pry my legs out of the bottom of the pond. Five minutes later I worked myself out, and managed to take a picture while being only knee deep. My binoculars made it through the ordeal, and never fogged up (thank goodness!). I searched for a nest for another hour but never located anything. I also missed out on the VIRA's, but hey still a good and exciting morning.

After that I took the next few hours to check a few of my favorite spots in the region, including a small pond north of Laverne in Harper County. Much to my surprise there were four American Avocets hanging about. Using my scope I spotted a single bird sitting on what appeared to be a nest. After getting permission to enter the private property I walked out to confirm and was pleased to find it with three eggs. I left quietly and waited a hundred yards away and watched the female return and settle down.

Even without the presence of Black Rails I was pleased with the morning. I have a little reading to do, but from some early conversations with Dan R. at the Sutton Center the Avocets seem to represent a first breeding record for Harper County. The Least Bittern may represent a first record for the Panhandle but that requires some checking. Well for now that's about it.......till next time.

Red Slough..part two

2008-05-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

Even though I am out concentrating efforts on marshbirds (bitterns and rails, ect.), I do take note of other birds that I see while I'm out, and I picked up a few good species while out there. Take these two Willets (photo directly left) that were hanging around on Sunday, they spent most of the day on the Otter Lake levee. Another interesting species on Otter Lake were the Neotropical Cormorants. Its always fun to see a species like this, you get nearly sick of seeing there cousins the Double-crested Cormorant, so getting some good looks at three individuals of the former species is always fun. Even better getting to see both species together, which provided a nice photo as well as a good chance to compare the two (the smaller bird on the right is the Neotropic).

I suppose I should mention the marshbirds, since that was my purpose for the trip. Lets

just say there were plenty to go around. Least Bitterns are pleantiful there, and if you need this bird for your life list this is the place to pick them up. I had over twenty throughout my four day stay. Most of them I heard, but I did get to see about eight or so, either cruising low over the marsh, or making a quick exit when I spooked one. This is by far the most I have seen anywhere. I didn't really look for a nest, I will probably do that the net time I visit. A few other species were the American Bitterns, a couple of Soras, and the pair of Virginia Rails that I mentioned in my last post.

As mentioned before there were also Common Moorhens around (photo on the right). What I forgot to mention were the Purple Gallinules, which already have a nest which David A. had located well before my arrival. This is the only place in the state where this bird is known to occur, I think it's likely that there a marshes that are close to the slough that probably hold a few individuals, but these are all on private property. I wish I
had a good photo of these guys, I'll have to work on that, they really are in impressive species.

So it was a really great trip, I picked up a couple Oklahoma birds including Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Willow Flycatchers. I will be heading back there in a couple weeks and will have to find some nests and try to get better photos, to share with everyone. So until the next time....talk to ya' later.

Oh, don't forget you can click on the pictures for a larger view!

Marshbird Surveys at the Red Slough...part one

2008-05-21T00:43:00.000-05:00

So I have been at the Red Slough in McCurtain COunty Oklahoma for 4 days, which is why I haven't posted anything. Unfortunately the accomodations at Beck Basecamp were laking an electric plug and internet service(see photo). They weren't short on bugs at night or birds during the day though. Actually the observasation platform was a great place to camp, and it kept me up and away from those ferocious little fire ants. Unfortunately it's a place that is not open to public camping. I was given special permission to camp there while doing my surveys. But don't let that stop you from going to check this place out. The more time I spend there, the more I like it. So for those of you that don't know. McCuratain County, Oklahoma is down in the far south-eastern corner of the state, it shares a border with both Texas, and Arkansas. Its far enough in to the "deep south" that it actually has alligators!

Alligators were constantly on my mind this weekend, but I'll save that for later. Beck basecamp was actually very comfortable and enjoyable. Fortunately it was a beautiful weekend and I slept without the rainfly on my tent, which was nice when viewing the stars, and catching a soft southern breeze. But, one evening it did start to drizzle, which is why the rainfly ended up on the tent by the end of the weekend. Oh, well. I enjoyed the view and the breeze while it lasted. Sounded nice though didn't.

My surveys are in the morning and evening, so a couple of the days I spent a few hours sitting and counting birds on the two lakes that I was camping between, Pintail and Lotus. This was actually also very productive in that I gathered a great deal of information and better uunderstanding on the movements of the Common Moorhens and American Coots, and yes these are rails also, between the two lakes. So during my time hanging at my own personal deck party I did see some really fun birds. Highlights from those day time counts included approximately 300+ Black Terns all feeding on Lotus Lake. They would skim around the surface picking up midges and other things I suspect. After a while they would all start circling skyward, clumping into one large drifting dark cloud of beauty. Oh, it was wonderful. Even better when I was out searching for nests on the lakes in my canoe and I found myself among the mass of feeding individuals, now that was cool!

Yes I did try to get photos of these guys while in my canoe, unfortunately I am not a photographer. Other fun birds where Anhingas, Neotropical Cormorants, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, and the occasional Least Bittern either heard or seen to the east of my camp in one of the units packed solid with Spike Rush. On the story goes!

Saturday while searching for nests on Pintail I felt like getting some sun, so off came the t-shirt. Bad Idea! Ouch, can you say nasty sunburn. Yeah I know.....sun screen was invented for a purpose. Mom I know you are reading this, and I can picture you saying exactly that at this moment! Sunburn aside it was a productive couple hours, unfortuntaly I only located a couple of Pied-billed Grebe nests (photo on the left), which would total six by the end of the weekend. This is no big deal. They are actually pretty easy to spot, a floating mass of vegetation that sometimes resembles a nest. The only rail nest that I actually got a good look at was this Common Moorhen (right photo) nest that David Arbour pointed out to me. He had located it a few days prior. If you look at the eggs, you can see how different they are from the Pied-billed Grebe, which has no spotting, and is a completely different color, unless the egg has been stained by the wet vegetation in the nest (so the spots you see on the left are nothing but staining or pieces of dried vegetation, you can see the difference when compairing the two photos). Good things to know when you're out looking for specific species, and their nests.

Nests were on my mind alot this weekend. There are a couple of species that have never been found nesting in McCurtain County or the Red Slough. Hopefully I will be able to locate them and add to the knowledge of these species ranges. One such species is the Virginia Rail. I did find two adults birds, that were associating with one another. David and I looked for a nest for a little while but came up empty. I'll be back down in a week or two and should be able to locate the nest then...hopefully. David described our search as looking for a needle in haystack, so that gives you some idea as to the difficulty. Another rail that I am looking for nests for is the American Coot. I know that sounds crazy, but there has never been a confirmed nest at the Red Slough. I searched in vain for a while, but never found one. This maybe due to the fact that the vegetation in the lakes is still very short. Reference books say they like alot of cover to conceal their nest, right now the Slough doesn't have that much of it in their lake units. But soon enough they will, and then look out.

Well I've rambled on enough I suspose. I'm home and have errands to get to. I'll get some more of the story posted later. Bye for now.

School Is Out and Birds Are In

2008-05-10T09:57:00.000-05:00

I can't begin to express the sense of relief I am fealing. The 2 1/2 month long summer break is here. I don't have to worry about classwork, and I only have to concentrate on two things! My family and the marshbird project! Oh the beauty of it. We have started getting our new garden in shape on the south side of the house, and I've been working on the brick walkway. We have had the house for a year, and things are finally getting settled enough that we are getting to do some gardening.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about getting to work in the garden (besides the stress relief factors), is the chance to see the spring migrants come through, or watch the residents dig through the freshly tilled soil. The American Robins are especially tame, and don't mind dropping in while I'm still in working only a few feet away. A few of my better yardbirds this year thus far would be the Catbirds, Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Great Crested Flycatcher, and the Western Kingbirds that have come back to take advantage of the bee-hive in our yard.

I am going to do my best to get a few videos of these guys catching bees. It would be very interesting to find out what there success rate was. From what I've seen it's probably pretty high. Unfortunately the little buggers aren't nesting in my yard. I think they live across the street. Speaking of not nesting in my yard, I do know of a few nesting birds in the neighborhood.

Take for instance a pair of Yellow-cowned Night Herons nesting in my friends backyard. This is the second year in a row and it's probable that these are the same pair from last year. In fact there were a couple other birds gathering early in the breeding season and I suspect it could have been some of last years young. Pure speculation. So I've taken a few photos and I thought I might keep track throughout the summer and see how things progress.

These first few photos were taken on 8 April 2008. The two individuals were in the midst of a lackadasik round of struttin'. I was only able to get a few decent shots of the head and back plumage, only for the reason that they would put on a show for very brief periods.

One good thing about taking photos around sunset is that every once in a while you catch some realy pretty light. Which is what the next picture is in the post for, I love the pink hues that the sunset added to this shot, and it helped that the bird was posed pretty nicely. Not only a good photo oppurtunity but it just so happened that this particuliar evening I was fortunate enough to catch their copulatory routine as well. How exciting, right?

After the excitement the male bird dozed off, which speaks highly for most male vertabrates. My friends and I had a pretty good laugh after that. The next time that I made it over to my buddies, they had finished their nest and had begun to lay eggs. I picked up half of a shell that had fallen out of the tree before the nest was finished. This nest photo, which isn't that great was taken on the 23rd of April, same day of the egg.

I'll be keeping my eye on the couple and the outcome of their nesting attempt. I am also going to check some of my resources to see if this is in fact a first nesting attempt for the county (probably not). That's it for now!

A Meeting of Ornithologist in Mobile, Alabama

2008-05-03T20:31:00.000-05:00

I am taking a short break from studying for my finals, and thought I would try and ketchup on some of my latest adventures. The weekend after the Boots, Buckets, and Chickens event was spent schmoozin' with other bird nerds. From the 16th through the 19th I was presenting a poster on my Marhbird research at the joint meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society and the Association of Field Ornithologists in Mobile, Alabama. This was my first large national ornithological meeting, from what I hear it doesn't even compare to the AOU meeting. But hey, I had a really great time, and learned a great deal.

First, my poster! Basically it was a bit of general information about the project, and then I added some highlights from the preliminary season (last spring/summer'07). Unfortunately we had so much rain last year most of my season was flooded out, however I still managed to find some goodies out there in the marshes of Oklahoma. The poster session was Friday evening, and I had some people come by and talk rails. Which I could do for hours. Its really interesting to run into people that are doing similiar research. You can share stories, bounce ideas off of one another, and just have a really good time with a complete stranger.

It was funny to see the reaction from people when they realized this work was being done in Oklahoma. It's definitely not a coastal state, and that's were most marsh bird research is happening. It gets even better when you tell them about the possible Black Rail populations in the state. Who would have thought, Oklahoma! Anyhow..good fun.

On with the story. So I have to admit. Yes, I did skip a few sessions to go out to Daphin Island to do some birding. Fortunately the crew from OSU (Andy George, Vic Cavaleri) were down with it as well. The three of us got in a hot, fierce birding battle with Tim O'Connell and Paul Rodewald from Ohio State. Some how those two old guys managed to bag a few more species than we did. You know it's probably age catching up with them, when you start going blind your bound to see good birds! Even though we were defeated by ten species we still managed to scrap up 101 for the day.

Perhaps the highlights for me were a handful of lifers that we happened upon. I picked up one of my nemesis birds, the Blackburnian Warbler. Actually the warbler was a lifer for Andy as well, so I didn't feel so ashamed. Having lived in the northeast, traveled through the smokies, and checked numerous hot beds of warblers I've never managed to get this bird, until that weekend. Boy what a looker! Two more lifers were a Sandwich Tern, and a Gull-billed Tern. Then there's the Reddish Egret which provided me with a nice little video of it's crazy prey catching technique, also a lifer. Which I will post as soon as I figure out how to attach videos to this thing!
Oh, and then finally there's the Clapper Rails. Yeah I wish my birds were as easy to spot as those guys down in Alabama are. They were out walking around mid-day, swimming, klakking, and making noise, it was great! I managed to get baptised by a saltmarsh, fully submerging my feet in about thigh high muck. Actaully, I have to admit. I really love getting dirty in a new marsh; I know, I know, that sounds really crazy, but it's true!

Anyhow it was a lot of fun, and the meeting, papers, and posters were exceptional!

I can't wait to return

Report on the Boots, Buckets, and Chickens Weekend

2008-04-08T18:56:00.001-05:00

Well at long last I am taking a little bit of time to get something posted to the blog for those of you who have been keeping an eye waiting for something new; my apologies, here it is, finally!

It has been a couple weeks since Oklahoma Important Bird Areas (IBA)took a first shot at getting some volunteer work acomplished, aimed at benifiting Oklahoma's first designated IBA The Selman Ranch, in Harper County, northwestern Oklahoma. The weekend started on Friday evening with most of the crowd arriving throughout the night, and me bringing up the rear at around 10pm. Fortunately Sue(Selman, ranch proprietor) and two fellows from Denmark put the blinds up earlier in the day, after a quick chat about birds and a descicion on the deaprture time, we were all off to bed.

The early morning came quickly, especially if you bring a summer sleeping bag and the night is around fourty or so degrees, it tends to get kinda chilly at four in the morning. Everyone was up and blurry eyed at around 6'ish, some a little later than others, and by 6:30 we were on our way to the blinds at the Prairie Chicken lek. By 6:50 Dwayne Elmore and I were standing at the trucks waiting to hear the first sounds of booming on the lek. When they came, Dwayne went on his way intending to find more leks on the ranch, and I went on mine, bound for Laverne and fence marking material.

When I found my way back, the eight individuals who had been in the blinds were estatic, they had been treated to a wonderful show. A total of thirteen bird were on the lek, four of them female, and from the stories it was a rather active morning, including a visit from three species of raptor; a Prairie Falcon had been circling over head, a Northern Harrier buzzed them, and a Cooper's Hawk attempted to make one of the Prairie Chickens an early morning snack, it actually hit one of them! Everybody was shinning after that experience.

After a great brunch (cooked up by Sue), most everyone followed me to the salt flats at the convergence of Buffalo Creek and the Cimarron River. There we enjoyed extended looks at Snowy Plovers, Baird's, and Least Sandpipers, as well as an assortment of waterfowl, and a handful of other more common species.

Following the short tour we moved back to the ranch were we presented Sue with an IBA plaque, and then followed it up with a short presentation by yours truly on fence marking for Lesser Prairie Chickens. We then split into two groups and proceeded to mark some fences for about two hours. I can't tell you how nice it was to see everyone enjoying themselves so much, by doing a little good for the birds.

We finished marking fences, with a few grumbles because I hadn't anticiapted such enthusiasm, and failed to bring enough markers to satisfy everyone's taste for volunteer work! That said, we moved back to Sue's place for dinner, and a follow up presentation from Dr. Dwayne Elmore from OSU, on the ecology of the Lesser Prairie Chicken and it's habitat.

The following day was much of the same, people that had missed the lek visit Saturday were able to see them on Sunday morning, from what I understand it wasn't as thrilling of a show as Saturday had been. However, things were good enough for Steve Metz to get a few great shots of the birds from the blind (all LPCH photos in this post are from Steve). Another visit to the Salt Flats to pick up a Semipalmated Plover, as well as a bunch more of the same stuff from the previous day and that was pretty much it.

Thanks to all of the volunteers that made an effort to get out to western Oklahoma for this oppurtuntiy, also to Sue Selman for putting up with all of the crazy birders for the weekend, and everyone else that contributed to the whole experience.

What To Do On a Rainy Day?

2008-03-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

Paint! Yep, I'm getting myself mentally prepared for an eight hour painting session. Oh the agony!!!! I suppose I should look at the bright side of things and remind myself how happy my wife will be when the entire house is finally finished (on the inside). Not only that but the fact that I will have my own little sanctuary, full of bird books, nature art, and a nice, comfy antique chair that I bought last year at an estate sale. A place to sit and read Thoreau, Darwin, and lots of good neo-ornithology literature.

Speaking of Thoreau I just whipped through a short essay of his entitled "Walking".
I've been reading Thoreau since I was around thirteen or fourteen. What inspired my first jump into his writing was the fact that I spent allot of time in Maine, visiting aunts and uncles while on summer break. My first book of his was entitled "Maine Woods", a pretty good read, and one that I should probably pick up again seeing that it has been fifteen years or so. In any case I thought I would share some thoughts and a few of my favorite lines from this essay. It's a great read and short enough to break up the monotony of the day.

If your not familiar with this book, you may be familiar with one of Thoreau's most famous lines that comes from it. " In wildness is the preservation of the world..", I don't think anyone could put it more simply, and eloquently than he did so long ago. If only we had headed his words! Perhaps my favorite line, the former aside is a little earlier in the essay. I quote "we should go forth on the shortest walk, perchance, in the spirit of undying adventure...", I was pleased to find this. I do my best to think this way before I head out for a hike, or even before doing my research. I mean that's what I got into all of this for in the first place. Undying adventure, my nature cries for it, and I would be a miserable man if I had continued painting houses, and what not.

To step into a marsh before sun-up so anxious that there's no need for coffee, knowing that at some point something interesting and inspiring is about to happen. No matter how small, or large. Be it a short glimpse of a Black Rail that only last five seconds, but seems like five minutes, or watching a male and female Virginia Rail slink through the marsh, circling you. When you are only able to get a glimpse of them every few minutes or so, and that glimpse may only be the orange bill, or a rump, but you know that they are there because there is a constant pig like grunt emanating from only a few feet in front of you, completely closed off by a thick stand of sedge...Wooo!

Now I'm ready to paint!

Spring Break is for the Birds

2008-03-17T09:12:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's spring break at Cameron University. Fortunately and unfortunately I have to many obligations to actually enjoy it. I was supposed to be in Bartlesville today at the Sutton Center putting a mountain of data in to the computer for the winter atlas project, but I had to call and ask permission to push it back two weeks. Luckily I have a boss, who understands my position at the moment. So what will I be doing my very first day of spring break? Ripping out an old kitchen to make room for my office, woo hoo!

Even though I'm mostly working inside I am still able to see a few birds. The House Sparrows are busy filling every cavity (one male posed pretty nicely for me)in my backyard with a nest. I am doing my best to cope with this, I can only hope to get a Carolina Wren or something else sooner or later. Knowing that these birds are now genetically different from there European counterparts, I guess I have to accept them, but I would still love a little more diversity. Two good yard birds yesterday were a small flock of Cedar Waxings and a Cooper's Hawk.

Oh, we have a bee hive about three feet from the ground, and yesterday for the first time I got tangled up with one. He landed in my hair, and I couldn't get him out, by the time I did he was pretty well pissed off. To let me know about it, he landed on my fore-arm and let me have it. I've been stung before so I wasn't to worried,I pulled the stinger out and jumped around a bit and then got back to work. Everything seemed fine, well this morning I awoke to a large red welt. Fortunately no red lines to my heart as of yet, but it is very sensative to the touch. I've never had a reaction like this, I can only hope that they aren't Africanized!

Well I need to get to work, my office awaits!

What's in the Name?

2008-03-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

Something has been bothering me for the past few days. I was talking with Mike H. the other day and we were discussing the name Prairie Chicken, and whether or not it deserves a name change. This was something that the AOU had considered at some point, but never agreed upon it (i'm still looking for the paper). So here is something to consider. Does the name Prairie Chicken give these birds the full respect that they deserve amongst the wild species of the world? I say no! I need to research it a bit more, but I imagine that this was a name that people used to call them and it just stuck.

The reason I am bringing this up is the fact that I have experienced the confusing nature of this name first hand. My first week working on the Sutton Center's LPCH project I was dirving back and forth from Woodward to the Laverne area in NW Oklahoma. I was staying at a hotel until my wife and I could find a place closer to the research site. A particuliar evening I was enjoying a beer and a game of pool at the hotel bar, when someone asked me what I did. I explained that I was working with Prairie Chickens, and there response was, "well what is that?" So I told the guy, and he still replied, "so you mean that you are studying chickens that got loose and have become a wild population?". I attempted to explain one more time, still he failed to grasp the concept.

So let me ask a few simple questions. Would people think more of these species if there particuliar name was "Prairie Grouse"? I mean that's what they are. Would it be less confusing for people if they name where changed? Why are we calling something a chicken, when it is a grouse and doesn't live on a farm? I honestly think that a name change for these birds would be beneficial for there future.

Well, stay tuned I'll be tackling these questions in future posts. Later for now....

Give it up for the Lesser Prairie Chickens

2008-03-13T20:27:00.000-05:00

I have a special place in my heart for Lesser Prairie Chickens. They were my first real job working with birds. This was actually not so long ago, three year this month to be exact. To say the least it was exciting and I will never forget it. From that time on I have been on the soap box here and there, giving a presentation or standing up for them at a meeting, but I never felt like it was enough. Honestly, I'm not sure if I ever really reached that many people with all of it. Well, finally a little public involvement and some much needed attention is just around the corner.

Oh, if your not up on the whole Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPCH) scoop, I can say a quick word or two about the situation. Basically LPCH's are a non-migratory game bird(currently no open season in Oklahoma) , grouse to be exact (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). They are cousin to the late Heath Hen (Extinct), and those Attwater's Prairie Chickens that are just hanging on by a thread(critically endangered), as well as the more numerous, but still not safe Greater Prairie Chicken. The LPCH is fairing no better in the world currently than the Heath Hen did not so many (less than 100) years ago. Constricted to pockets in NW Oklahoma,the Texas panhandle, east central New Mexico, and western Kansas. There numbers have dropped dramatically, and I think most avian biologist would agree that these birds are one of the most critically in danger species in North America. Most of the blame for the drop in there numbers can be linked to habitat fragmentation of one kind or another. So without going any further in depth, there you have it. If you want more check out the Sutton Center's website at www.suttoncenter.org, I'll leave it at that before I put my foot in my mouth!
So back to this whole public involvement thing. The Oklahoma Important Bird Areas Program and the Oklahoma Audubon Council are organizing a Boots, Buckets, and Chickens weekend! Sounds fun doesn't it? Basically the weekend of April 5th we will be holding the event at the Selman Ranch in Harper County. There will be Prairie Chickens, good eats, some volunteer habitat improvement opportunities, and who knows what else could happen. Oh, a bird tour Sunday morning by yours truly. So if your interested check out the link to the right(Oklahoma Audubon Council) , there you will find a RSVP form (very important so we now what to expect), as well as some more tidbits about the weekend. Listen, this is a great opportunity to really see the ground zero in the fight to preserve this species (don't get me wrong there are a lot of people involved in this effort, it just sound more intense if you call it ground zero), (well now I've totally blown the whole mystery around it!), if your not able to come, please find a way to support this cause and these birds, they really are truly unique.

Thanks to Steve Metz once again for his wonderful photographs of the LPCHs! http://stevemetzphotography.com/