The Eastern Bluebirds of Oklahoma

Who doesn't love the Eastern Bluebird? They are full of energy and are not shy. The great thing about the Bluebird is that they're here in Oklahoma year round...Rain, heat, or snow you can see them.

 

Sandhill Cranes

I took a quick trip up to Illinois and Wisconsin. While in Wisconsin we saw Sandhill Cranes....beautiful birds. We see them here in Oklahoma during spring and fall migration.

We were at Horicon Marsh when we saw these awesome birds. I love visiting Horicon Marsh. The birds that you can see are amazing...Plus it was a nice 72 degrees. You can't beat that when it is 90 degrees at home.

Painted Buntings, Cardinals, and snakes

Here is a Painted Bunting I saw while watching a snake in a Cardinal nest.

The Bunting came in, as well as a Mockingbird and an Oriole...As if they wanted to help. The poor Cardinal pair we really going crazy. I felt really bad for the Cardinals.

 

Here is the snake. The upper 1/4th of the snake was in the nest. The snake was a bit lumpy so I am assuming it was full of chicks.

Poor Cardinals.

 

 

A perfect place to sit

While out birding one time I came across this perfect bench. I see it every time I'm out....It's a great tree.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Most beautiful bird! It is the state bird of Oklahoma. They are still here in Norman (OK). Migration is in full swing. The Juncos and Yellow-rumped Warblers have arrived. Hummingbirds are making their way south. The Scissor-tails will gather together and migrate within a week or two.

Perfect reflection......

 

This cute Killdeer was on the hunt for treats and eats. It was at the archery range at the lake (Lake Thunderbird). Often times I will see butterflies at the puddles taking in the sodium and minerals that the male will then pass to the females...

I was hoping to see a Bunting today...but alas, it was not in the cards.

Goose is Goose!

There are cute little ones.....

A couple of broods together....

And there they go....



Oklahoma sunset

Its late spring....Moving into summer.

I can never pass up a chance to take that shot

that is back lit by the sun.



Roadrunner

We saw this cute Roadrunner today at the lake.

 

I love how the light makes it's feathers look green (ish).

 

 

Gotta goooooooo.......

Best bird of the weekend

The best bird of this weekend was the Bald Eagle.

We went to Arcadia Lake here in Oklahoma.

There were a lot of birds around.

It was a fantastic weekend!

Cedar Waxwings

It was a great birding day!

We were seeing lots of Robins, they were everywhere.

 And alas, we saw the Cedar Waxwings.

The Waxwings were eating on the same tree as the Robins.

I am figuring by tomorrow all the fruit will be gone....and we got to see it today!

Hawk it up!

There have been a lot of hawks here in and outside of town. I see them while driving to work, out birding and even in my backyard.

They are amazing birds. 

So silent in their flight, a whisper in the wind.

Bufflehead and Goldeneye

Here is a Bufflehead and a Common Goldeneye. I love the contrast of these birds against the gray of the water.

A curious Wren

 

This little wren is munching on this cylinder feeder. It is full of nuts and wrens love it.

 

 

He's just checking things out.

 

 

Wrens can be hard to photograph because the are always moving around....flit, flit, flit.

Great Blue Heron

This is a Great Blue Heron in a tree. It was an amazing sight, though not rare at all. It was a great find.

 

 

We are always looking up in hopes of seeing an owl.

There has been a lot of herons around lately. Of course they are here year round.

Roadrunner, if he catches you you're through.

Check out this roadrunner! Here is some trivia for you.....The roadrunner has black skin. On chilly mornings they fluff up the feathers, exposing their skin, which will absorb the heat from the sun. They can run ~18 mph. Roadrunners are in Oklahoma year round. Roadrunners are pretty interesting birds.

White-breasted Nuthatch

 

The White-breasted Nuthatch is here in Oklahoma year round.

 

They can be hard to photograph because they move fast and do not stay in one place for long.

 

They have a very distinctive call that you can hear even when they are not close. The nuthatches are a cute little birds.

Photos from the Christmas Bird Count 2013.

 

So I was able to add photos. The Christmas Bird Count day was a chilly one, and a bit windy.

 

 Our area was a 15 square mile area for the count. We saw 26 different  types of birds...for a total of 511 birds in all.

 

Half this pond was frozen. We saw a lot of water fowl. There were hundreds we could not id because most were on private property.

 

 

 

 

 

Painted Bunting in the winter....What?

So look what my friend saw on her feeder the other day. It is a Painted Bunting....IT'S WINTER! That is snow next to that bird. WOW! Holy smokes I could hardly believe it. She keeps White Millet in this feeder. Usually we see buntings only in the spring, summer, and into fall. Thank you Diana, for letting me post your photo.

Carolina Chickadee, your go to bird

 This Chickadee is 4.75"-5".  In Oklahoma they are here year round.

 

Where there are Chickadees you will often see the Tufted Titmouse. On the day this photo was taken....yesterday...there were Tufted Titmice hang with them.

 So what do Chickadees eat? They eat a variety of food including seeds (they love black oil sunflower seeds), nuts, fruits, insects and will even visit your suet feeders.

So when it comes to cute birds....Chickadees are your go to bird!