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.

 

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.

Christmas Bird Count

It was a COLD and windy bird count day. You can tell by the water color it was a cloudy grey day. Here is a list of what we saw. Please understand that our area is a very rural area with farms and scattered houses. Not a lot of places to stop and watch for birds.

 

11 American Crows  

11 Northern Cardinals

4 Northern Mockingbirds

13 Blue Jays

1 Carolina Wren

10 Dark-eyed Juncos

51 Cedar-Waxwings

10 Yellow rumped warbler

3 Tufted Titmouse

2 Road Runner

30 Ringed-necked Duck

12 Canvasback

1 Great Blue Heron

2 Ring-billed gull

27 Canada Geese

8 Common goldeneye

20 Gadwall

25 Mallard

20 Bufflehead

8 Coot

5 Redhead

16 Grackle

23 Goldfinch

10 Bluebirds

2 Downy Woodpecker

3 Red-bellied Woodpecker

5 House Finch

 



A little bit of yellow

I took a little walk in the woods.

 A place to sit.

 

Everyone needs a rest.

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.



Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

I can't tell you how much I love seeing the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers!

 

Here in Oklahoma we start seeing the at the end of March.

 

 

This evening...as the sun sets

Beauty

This is one of my favorite shots of the day.

Good night

Cute and Quick

 

Here is a Tufted Titmouse eating and caching some nuts and seeds.

 

 

The White-breasted Nuthatch and Chickadee are also customers.

 

 

It is interesting to see how differently the Nuthatch and the Chickadee eat.



Great Blue Heron

Here is yet another Great Blue Heron.

This photo was taken last Saturday at Arcadia Lake (here in Oklahoma).

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!

Some Oklahoma Woodpeckers

Here is a Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.

A pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers.

Another look at the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

A sweet little Downy Woodpecker.

Red-bellied Woodpecker.

A Northern Flicker



A Cardinal at nightfall

Yep, It's a Cardinal.

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.