Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from The Oklahoma Birding List > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Friday, March 12 at 12:44 PM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Dunlin,©Julie Zickefoose

12 Mar Friday Swallows [Bill Carrell ] 12 Mar Re: Common Grackles [Bill Diffin ] 12 Mar Bridgestone preserve info [Jimmy Woodard ] 12 Mar Re: Common Grackles [Berlin Heck ] 12 Mar Common Grackles [Bill Diffin ] 12 Mar white-winged doves central Edmond [David McNeely ] 11 Mar Red Slough today [David Arbour ] 11 Mar Inca Doves/Norman [jwoodard ] 11 Mar Tulsa Audubon Update - Jack Curran, Field Trip Rescheduled [John Kennington ] 10 Mar Red Slough today [David Arbour ] 10 Mar FW: eBird Report - Lake Durant , 3/10/10 [Doug Wood ] 10 Mar Re: Purple Martins [RENANNE BAKER ] 10 Mar tanglewood motel phone number correction [Doug Wood ] 10 Mar Future Volunteer Event for Fence Marking [Eric Beck ] 10 Mar Purple Martins [Mark Cromwell ] 10 Mar Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher [Alex James ] 10 Mar OOS Spring Field Meeting Announcement [Doug Wood ] 10 Mar Re: Red Slough Bird Survey - Mar. 09 [Doug Wood ] 10 Mar Re: New Photos added to PBase site [Mark Cromwell ] 9 Mar Red Slough Bird Survey - Mar. 09 [David Arbour ] 9 Mar Re: New Photos added to PBase site [Jim Arterburn ] 9 Mar Re: New Photos added to PBase site [John Fisher ] 9 Mar Re: New Photos added to PBase site [Mark Cromwell ] 9 Mar jacket [Sue selman ] 8 Mar Fence Marking Event Wrap Up [Eric Beck ] 8 Mar Volunteer Event in NW Oklahoma [Eric Beck ] 8 Mar Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans [trumpeterwatch ] 8 Mar White winged scoter [Ben Holt ] 8 Mar Re: Norman area and Lake Hefner, Saturday [Angie Holt ] 8 Mar Re: Norman area and Lake Hefner, Saturday [CJ Metcalf ] 8 Mar Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans ["J. Hale" ] 8 Mar Norman area and Lake Hefner, Saturday [Bill Diffin ] 8 Mar Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans ["J. Hale" ] 8 Mar Re: Rejected posting to OKBIRDS@LISTS.OU.EDU [CJ Metcalf ] 8 Mar Re: Norman Airport, Wichita Mtns, Hackberry Flat, Tuesday [Bill Diffin ] 8 Mar Re: Birding Oklahoma [Bill Diffin ] 8 Mar Fence marking weekend at Selman Ranch [Larry Hancock ] 8 Mar From the Arkansas Bird Listserve [David Arbour ] 8 Mar Re: Rejected posting to OKBIRDS@LISTS.OU.EDU [Brian Davis ] 8 Mar Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans [Lindell Dillon ] 8 Mar Fwd: Rejected posting to OKBIRDS@LISTS.OU.EDU [CJ Metcalf ] 7 Mar Birding Oklahoma [Paul Roisen ] 7 Mar Re: Fence Marking for the Lesser Prairie Chickens - WOW!!!!!!! [John Kennington ] 7 Mar Birding Oklahoma [Paul Roisen ] 7 Mar Fence Marking for the Lesser Prairie Chickens - WOW!!!!!!! [TR Ryan ] 7 Mar Summit lake trumpeter swans ["J. Hale" ] 7 Mar Fish Crows [Bill Carrell ] 7 Mar Loon [Berlin Heck ] 7 Mar New Photos added to PBase site [Jim Arterburn ] 7 Mar Re: spring? [Sue selman ] 7 Mar Short, early fencing marking report and paying our way ["john.polo" ] 7 Mar LPC's/Mtn Bluebirds/Harper County [jwoodard ] 7 Mar Re: Foot fungus? [Steve Schafer ] 7 Mar Re: spring? [Mark Cromwell ] 7 Mar Re: FOS Gray Catbird [Doug Wood ] 7 Mar American Woodcocks Pontotoc Ridge [Doug Wood ] 6 Mar Re: Foot fungus? [CJ Metcalf ] 6 Mar Tulsa Area [Terry Mitchell ] 6 Mar Pine Warblers [Paul Ribitzki ] 6 Mar FOS Gray Catbird [Mike Ludewig ] 6 Mar South jenkins [Richard Gunn ] 6 Mar Re: Paying our way [David McNeely ] 6 Mar Re: Paying our way [David McNeely ] 6 Mar Saturday A. M. [Bill Carrell ] 6 Mar Re: Paying our way [Gayl Wells ] 6 Mar Re: spring here..in Edmond ["M. S. Harris" ] 6 Mar Re: spring here..in Edmond [Patrick Baker ] 6 Mar spring here..in Edmond [Terri Underhill ] 6 Mar barn swallow [Doug Wood ] 6 Mar Re: ID on leucistic dove [Steve Schafer ] 6 Mar Re: Foot fungus? [Steve Schafer ] 6 Mar Foot fungus? [Warren Williams ] 6 Mar Fwd: ID on leucistic dove [Lindell Dillon ] 6 Mar Re: Live Eagle cam at Sooner Lake [Lindell Dillon ] 6 Mar ID on leucistic dove [Lindell Dillon ] 6 Mar Live Eagle cam at Sooner Lake [Nancy Vicars ] Subject: Friday Swallows From: Bill Carrell <okdragonhunter AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:44:46 -0800 Hello All,                   This morning at Lake Yahola, saw seven Tree Swallows and one Barn Swallow sitting on the power lines. Also saw two Martins at one of the houses across from Maxwell Park.                                                                     Good Birding,                                                                     Bill Carrell                                                                   Tulsa, OK Subject: Re: Common Grackles From: Bill Diffin <WilliamDiffin AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:43:30 EST Berlin, Please accept my apology -- I'm still laughing. Thanks for sustaining our Common Grackles through the hard times. They mostly disappear from NW Oklahoma City during the winter. From just a few observations, I believe they gather in flocks like other blackbirds and rove the countryside looking for concentrations of waste grain to the south of here. Here in the neighborhood, their little song is sort of fascinatingly atonal. It provides a nice contrast with the other birdsongs such as we have. Compared to the whine of the Eurasian Collared Doves, it is positively musical. So here's to the Common Grackles and their kind, if not entirely willing, wintertime supporters. Bill Subject: Bridgestone preserve info From: Jimmy Woodard <Jimmy.Woodard AT UNIVARUSA.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:38:16 -0800 I've noticed that recently a couple of fences have been put up at the entrance to the Bridgestone preserve at SW15th and Council. There are two fences. one at the parking area along SW 15th is short and just goes for about fifty yards but it blocks you from parking a car in the lot, although the metal gate here is usually closed anyway. The second fence is about an 1/8th of a mile south of the intersection and runs perpendicular to the road. The fence goes as far as I can see to the east thru the field and trees and toward the east boundary fence near the giant landfill mound. I can't see that far but I would guess it goes all the way to the east side of the preserve. This may be the south boundary of the preserve. I believe the plan is to build a new Western Heights school here on the property between the preserve and the old Bridgestone/Dayton Tire Plant further south. There is still walking access into the preserve around the fence and there are no signs precluding entry. I will attempt to try and find a contact person at the city to inquire further about continued access, if I can. One additional note, there is construction at the east end of SW 15th near the landfill entrance. There is lots of heavy equipment so I wouldn't try and drive to the east end of the preserve at this time. Thanks, Jimmy Woodard Univar---Oklahoma City Subject: Re: Common Grackles From: Berlin Heck <baheck AT PINE-NET.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:18:35 -0600 Glad to know this--maybe it means that they are migrating from my feeders to look for greener pastures farther north! Alfred Hitchcock should have used Blackbirds when he made his movie "The Birds". I am now insane because of those birds--ask anyone who knows me. They may be unaware of the birds but they should agree concerning the rest. Berlin Heck Broken Bow On Mar 12, 2010, at 10:46 AM, Bill Diffin wrote: > Had the first Common Grackle "go beek" songs of the spring in my > neighborhood yesterday. There were several of the birds around. Subject: Common Grackles From: Bill Diffin <WilliamDiffin AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:46:08 EST Had the first Common Grackle "go beek" songs of the spring in my neighborhood yesterday. There were several of the birds around. Subject: white-winged doves central Edmond From: David McNeely <mcneely4 AT COX.NET> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:30:47 -0600 Two White-winged Doves in my yard in central Edmond this week. Been a couple of years since I've seen these here in the middle of town. DMc Subject: Red Slough today From: David Arbour <arbour AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:26:54 -0600 Notable birds seen/heard today at Red Slough while working: American Bittern - calling in Bittern Lake. Black-crowned Nightheron - 1 juv. Common Moorhen - 1 (Bittern Lake) Purple Martin - 1 near Haworth Also: American Alligator - 2 Fragile Forktail - 2 (first odonates of the year!) Bobcat - 1 David Arbour De Queen, Arkansas Visit the Red Slough Website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/natural-resources/redslough/ Personal Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/sloughbirder Subject: Inca Doves/Norman From: jwoodard <j.woodard AT COX.NET> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:06:33 -0600 Jerry Vanbebber, Max Fuller and I located a probably pair of Inca Doves coming to a yard in Norman. The yard is located near SW 24th and Boyd. Other birds seen were Sharp-shin Hawk, White-wing Dove, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler and Lincoln's Sparrow. Hopefully, this pair of Incas will produce more Incas later this year. Jimmy Woodard Mustang, OK Subject: Tulsa Audubon Update - Jack Curran, Field Trip Rescheduled From: John Kennington <johnkennington AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:38:55 -0600 *Tulsa Audubon Society Update *Please visit www.tulsaaudubon.org for more information on our activities or contact John Kennington , 918-809-6325 ------------------------------ March Monthly Meeting *Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River" with Jack Curran *Tuesday, March 16th, 7:00 p.m. for snacks, program at 7:30 p.m. Tulsa Garden Center , 2435 South Peoria, Tulsa Jack is an artist, photographer, and author from Arkansas. He will be presenting beautiful and exciting photographs of Sandhill Cranes on their famous staging area in Nebraska. He will bring copies of his book *Jack Curran'a World of Books* and donating a portion of the sales to TAS. *Note Dinner Location! *Please join us for dinner at 5:15 at Jason's Deli, 1330 E. 15th St. (just east of Peoria) ------------------------------ *Other Upcoming TAS Events * *Mar. 16, Tue. Society Meeting, Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River with Jack Curran*. Jack is an artist, photographer, and author from Arkansas. He will be presenting beautiful and exciting photographs of Sandhill Cranes on their famous staging area in Nebraska. He will bring copies of his book *Jack Curranç—´ World of Books* and donating a portion of the sales to TAS. *Mar. 21, Sun. Afternoon Outing. *A short visit to a local birding area. Meet 4:00 p.m. at the Tulsa Garden Center. Contact John Kennington, 918-809-6325.* **This outing was originally scheduled for Mar. 14. **Mar. 27, Sat., Field Trip - Redbud Valley Nature Preserve.* 10:00-Noon. Contact Gail Storey, gailstorey AT sbcglobal.net. Subject: Red Slough today From: David Arbour <arbour AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:06:42 -0600 Here are a few notable birds seen today while working at Red Slough: American Bittern - 1 (Bittern Lake) Green Heron - 1 Bald Eagle - 2 Common Moorhen - 1 (Bittern Lake) Purple Martin - 1 male (South of Haworth) Ran into 3 birders today; one from Maine, one from Wisconsin, and one from Georgia. David Arbour De Queen, Arkansas Visit the Red Slough Website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/natural-resources/redslough/ Personal Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/sloughbirder Subject: FW: eBird Report - Lake Durant , 3/10/10 From: Doug Wood <DWood AT SE.EDU> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:23:05 -0600 Took ornithology class to Lake Durant this afternoon. Very slow. No swallows or martins. Nice afternoon once the thunderstorms cleared the area. Doug. -----Original Message----- From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org [mailto:do-not-reply AT ebird.org] Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 5:20 PM To: Doug Wood Subject: eBird Report - Lake Durant , 3/10/10 Location: Lake Durant Observation date: 3/10/10 Number of species: 31 Ross's Goose 2 Gadwall 12 Pied-billed Grebe 1 American White Pelican 3 Double-crested Cormorant 27 Great Blue Heron 1 Black Vulture 3 Turkey Vulture 11 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Coot 20 Rock Pigeon 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Eastern Phoebe 3 Blue Jay 4 American Crow 8 Carolina Chickadee 3 Tufted Titmouse 1 Eastern Bluebird 5 Northern Mockingbird 3 European Starling 10 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 13 Field Sparrow 4 Savannah Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 5 Eastern Meadowlark 3 American Goldfinch 2 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Re: Purple Martins From: RENANNE BAKER <rabbit12 AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:30:18 -0800 The past 2 years my scouts have arrived Feb 27th,28th. None so far this year. Will have to evict the current tenants soon. Nan /Baker Little City,Ok. Marshal county --- On Wed, 3/10/10, Mark Cromwell wrote: From: Mark Cromwell Subject: Purple Martins To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 10:49 AM Howdy, The Scout Arrival Page at The Purple Martin Conservation Association AT purplemartin.org reports scouts in Oklahoma. Lindsay, Hayworth, Tulsa report sightings yesterday. First report was Blanchard on February 28th. So, time for me to get my house up - today. We bought a new aluminum house to replace one of the old wooden houses. Hopefully, the PM will take to it. Mark Cromwell Enid/Perkins Subject: tanglewood motel phone number correction From: Doug Wood <DWood AT SE.EDU> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:45:22 -0600 Hi All. An astute observer contacted me about the phone number listed for the Tanglewood Motel in Frederick. The correct phone number is 580-335-7557, not 580-335-5211 (which is there fax number). Apologies for the error. Doug. Doug Wood, Ph.D. PMB 4068 1405 N. 4th Ave. Associate Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, OK 74701-0609 580.745.2272 dwood AT se.edu Subject: Future Volunteer Event for Fence Marking From: Eric Beck <oklahomaiba AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:14:27 -0600 Hello All, Because our work weekend was such a huge success, which you can read a little about at www.afieldinoklahoma.blogspot.com I though I would let everyone know about the upcoming events. As John Kennington mentioned we will be doing some fence work during the Prairie Chicken Festival, I would welcome anyone that would like to come up and do fence work, but didn't want to be a part of the festival. However I will say you should really consider attending, it is great fun. The next planned event will be on the weekend of May 15th. It looks as though this may be a much larger gathering than this past weekend so please provide me with some notice. I will also mention that if any group is interested in coordinating their own weekend devoted to LEPC conservation please let me know and we can begin to work on the dates and logistics. Any group is welcome, from church groups to Boy Scouts to the Sierra Club. We are wide open and welcome anyone willing to contribute their time to this effort. That said I have been approached by some about finacial donations torwards this project. Some people are unable to attend but want to contibute to the weekends in that manner. If that is the case please send me an email and we can discuss the options. Hope to see many of you at one of the events! Eric Beck State Coordinator Oklahoma Important Bird Areas Program ebeck AT audubon.org oklahomaIBA AT gmail.com Subject: Purple Martins From: Mark Cromwell <mark.cromwell01 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:49:22 +0000 Howdy, The Scout Arrival Page at The Purple Martin Conservation Association AT purplemartin.org reports scouts in Oklahoma. Lindsay, Hayworth, Tulsa report sightings yesterday. First report was Blanchard on February 28th. So, time for me to get my house up - today. We bought a new aluminum house to replace one of the old wooden houses. Hopefully, the PM will take to it. Mark Cromwell Enid/Perkins Subject: Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher From: Alex James <ivorybill15 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:14:02 -0800 While working outside in the failing light yesterday evening, a very agitated Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher flew into a nearby bush and started making its buzzy calls at me. First one of the season! Alex James Jenks, OK Subject: OOS Spring Field Meeting Announcement From: Doug Wood <DWood AT SE.EDU> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:31:44 -0600 Hello OKBIRDERS. The OOS spring field meeting will be at Hackberry Flat and the Wichita Mountains. We have some great field trips lined up and it should be great. The meeting is fast approaching, so mark the dates on your calendar. The meeting will be April 30-May 2. I have posted the meeting announcement below in this email. You can print out the email and mail in your registration. The announcement will also be in print form in the upcoming Scissortail. We will also be posting it on our web page (okbirds.org) soon. I strongly encourage all members who are able to attend to join us. The spring meeting is a lot of fun and we will see and learn about a lot of different Oklahoma birds. This is also a nice opportunity to expand our membership. Feel free to invite someone to attend you think might be interested in birds! If you have any questions about the meeting, feel free to contact me at any time. Doug. OOS SPRING MEETING 2010 Frederick, OK, Friday April 30 through Sunday May 2, 2010 Load up the car and join us for the Spring 2010 meeting at Hackberry Flat WMA and the very birdy expanses of southwestern Oklahoma. We have exciting field trips planned for shorebirds and waders at Hackberry Flat WMA; exploring the Red River area in Jackson County for Verdin, Black-crested Titmouse, and other southwestern feathered friends; a visit to a prairie dog town for Burrowing Owls; and to the Wichita Mountains NWR for the Black-capped Vireo and other passerines. The Friday afternoon/evening registration, mixer, picture sharing, and the Saturday evening presentation will all be held at the Hackberry Flat Center. The center is a gorgeous new facility that fosters environmental education at Hackberry Flat WMA. This will be an exciting field meeting during the height of spring migration. We hope to see all of you there. This is a fantastic opportunity to watch and learn about the birds of southwestern Oklahoma. It is also a wonderful time to see old friends and make new ones. Please consider bringing along folks who might be interested in joining OOS as this is a great showcase for our organization. We look forward to seeing you there! CONFERENCE MOTELS *We strongly recommend making reservations early. Other motels/hotels are located in Lawton. Tanglewood Motel Scottish Inns Primitive camping is available at 1123 S. Main St. 1015 S. Main St. Hackberry Flat as well. Frederick, OK Frederick, OK 580-335-5211 580-335-2129 Tanglewood AT pldi.net Scottish has fewer rooms Tanglewood has the most rooms MEETING SCHEDULE FRIDAY 5:00-7:00 PM Registration table opens at Hackberry Flat Center. (http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hackberry_flat.htm) 6:00-7:00 PM OOS Executive Board meeting at Hackberry Flat Center Evening Options A. 7:00-9:00 Join us for a social mixer after you register. In addition to the ability to socialize inside or outside the center, a projector will also be provided to show any photos from recent bird trips. This is a fun way to look at exciting birds from near and far and interact with fellow OOS members. B. 8:00-? There will also be a nocturnal birding trip to find owls, nightjars, and other nocturnal critters at Hackberry Flat WMA. Meet at Hackberry Flat Center Parking Lot. SATURDAY Morning Field Trip Options A. 8:00-Noon Option A is a morning field trip at Hackberry Flat WMA that will focus on shorebirds, waders, and other birds of local interest. Meet at 7:45-8:00 at the Hackberry Flat Center parking lot. Trip will leave at 8AM. B. 7:30-afternoon Option B is a full day field trip to Jackson County for southwestern bird species that occur along the Red River. Will also visit other birding locations in the area. Meet at 7:30-7:45 at the Hackberry Flat Center parking lot. Trip will leave at 7:45AM. Strongly encourage you to bring sack lunch, snacks, and water. Noon-1:30 Sack lunch at your leisure or various places to eat in Frederick. 2:00-5:00 Afternoon field trip at Hackberry Flat WMA and to local prairie dog town for Burrowing Owls. Meet at Hackberry Flat Center parking lot at 2PM. 5:00-7:00 Catered dinner at Hackberry Flat Center. We will have a catered dinner which participants can pay for on your registration form. Please pay in advance so we can tell the caterer how many meals are needed. Cost is $10. 7:00-8:15 Kelvin Schoonover, the Manager and Wildlife Biologist for Hackberry Flat WMA, will be our evening speaker and give an interesting presentation about the origin and management of Hackberry Flat WMA. 8:30-? Student mixer at Hackberry Flat Center front room. All students welcome to attend. Professors, please encourage your students to attend. SUNDAY 9:00-noon Field trip to Wichita Mountains NWR for Black-capped Vireo and migrants. Meet at the Visitor's Center at Wichita Mountains NWR at 9AM. You may register in advance (preferred) by completing this form and mailing it, with your payment, to the address listed below. Please note that to qualify for the early registration discount, mailed applications must be postmarked no later than April 22, 2010. You may also register on-line by visiting www.okbirds.org. The registration fee helps cover our costs for organizing the meeting. Prices are per person. Registration Fees Early (4/22/10) On Site Quantity Total . Student $10 $20 _______ _______ Member $20 $30 _______ _______ Non-member $30 $40 _______ _______ Catered Dinner $10 Pay in Advance _______ _______ NAME (S)_________________________________________________________________________________ AFFILIATION_____________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS________________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL______________________________________________ PHONE_______________________ Send form with check made out to OOS to: Nadine Varner, 7845 NE 18th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73141. Doug Wood, Ph.D. PMB 4068 1405 N. 4th Ave. Associate Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, OK 74701-0609 580.745.2272 dwood AT se.edu Subject: Re: Red Slough Bird Survey - Mar. 09 From: Doug Wood <DWood AT SE.EDU> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:59:09 -0600 David, Berlin et al. Ross and I also picked up a Yellow-headed Blackbird in large flock of blackbirds at southwest end of the WMA. Other interesting observation was that one of the Double-crested Cormorants was banded. Anyone know of any bander working with cormorants? Doug. From: okbirds [mailto:OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU] On Behalf Of David Arbour Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 9:03 PM To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Subject: Red Slough Bird Survey - Mar. 09 Berlin Heck and I surveyed birds today at Red Slough and found 63 species. It was clear, warm (70's), and extremely windy making it difficult to find small passerines and look through a scope. We ran into Doug Wood and his student Ross Anderson who were there making plans for their research projects with Tree Swallows and Willow Flycatchers. We also ran into personnel from the Sam Noble Museum who were down surveying herps. Highlight today was finding a pair of Mottled Ducks in the flooded ditch along Appleberry Lane next to unit 15. Also, we had two Minks chasing each other in the road by the middle parking lot. Here is a list of all found today: Ross's Goose - 1 Canada Goose - 8 Wood Duck - 11 Gadwall - 530 Mallard - 8 Mottled Duck - 2 (unit 15) Blue-winged Teal - 17 Northern Shoveler - 73 Northern Pintail - 27 Green-winged Teal - 310 Ring-necked Duck - 140 Hooded Merganser - 8 Ruddy Duck - 3 Pied-billed Grebe - 27 Neotropic Cormorant - 1 (Pintail Lake; seen by Doug Wood.) Double-crested Cormorant - 76 Great Blue Heron - 13 Great Egret - 1 Green Heron - 1 Black Vulture - 6 Turkey Vulture - 43 Bald Eagle - 4 Northern Harrier - 7 Cooper's Hawk - 1 Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 9 American Kestrel - 1 Common Moorhen - 1 (Bittern Lake) American Coot - 1000 Killdeer - 5 Greater Yellowlegs - 30 Least Sandpiper - 17 Dunlin - 3 Long-billed Dowitcher - 40 Wilson's Snipe - 100 Ring-billed Gull - 1 Mourning Dove - 1 Belted Kingfisher - 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 Hairy Woodpecker - 1 Northern Flicker - 3 Pileated Woodpecker - 2 Eastern Phoebe - 2 Loggerhead Shrike - 5 American Crow - 12 Fish Crow - 1 Tree Swallow - 12 Carolina Chickadee - 1 Tufted Titmouse - 3 American Robin - 2 Northern Mockingbird - 6 European Starling - 3 American Pipit - 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler - 6 Pine Warbler - 3 Savannah Sparrow - 10 Song Sparrow - 2 White-crowned Sparrow - 23 Northern Cardinal - 9 Red-winged Blackbird - 500 Eastern Meadowlark - 48 Brewer's Blackbird - 8 American Goldfinch - 2 Herps: Mississippi Mud Turtle Red-eared Slider Diamond-backed Watersnake Graham's Crayfish Snake Blanchard's Cricket Frog Cajun Chorus Frog Spring Peeper Southern Leopard Frog Bullfrog Mammals: Mink - 2 (chasing each other.) Good birding! David Arbour De Queen, Arkansas Visit the Red Slough Website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/natural-resources/redslough/ Personal Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/sloughbirder Subject: Re: New Photos added to PBase site From: Mark Cromwell <mark.cromwell01 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:54:32 -0600 Jim, Home now and itching to see what's going on. May head up to Sooner and search for that elusive White-tailed Kite. The best Harrier picture I have was taken on a shallow slough in the south Drummond north of Lacey area trying for ducks and coots and this Harrier just popped over the cattails and flew straight at me. Wonder if one could camo up and sit in a working field? With their eyesight the better the job of coverup, then more likely a successful photo shoot. Mark Cromwell Enid/Perkins On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 6:02 PM, Jim Arterburn wrote: > Mark, > > > > I had actually been sitting in my car photographing a harrier when I looked > up and saw this eagle coming my way so I photographed him out the window as > he continued towards me and when he was directly overhead I got out of the > car to photograph him some more and he saw me and proceeded to circle back > over me and take a look before he continued on his way. I have several > raptor species that sometimes get curious and will circle over me a time or > two or come back close before flying off. > > > > Glad that you like the Bonaparte's series. I was amazed that I actually got > four sequential shots in focus. Also I was surprised at how far underwater > the Bonaparte's Gull actually dives when feeding. > > > > Are you back at home for a while? > > > > Jim Arterburn > > Tulsa, Oklahoma > > www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder > > > > *From:* okbirds [mailto:OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU] *On Behalf Of *Mark Cromwell > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 09, 2010 5:23 PM > *To:* OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU > *Subject:* Re: New Photos added to PBase site > > > > Great set of photos Jim. Enjoy seeing what you are finding and shooting. > Hard to say which I like the best - but I never seem to get under a Bald > Eagle - however the Bonapart's Gull series is exciting. Congrats, Mark > > On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Jim Arterburn > wrote: > > OKBirds, > > > > I have added several photos to my PBase website. They can be seen at - > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/recentbirds. I have added a few more > photos of the White-tailed Kite as well as some photos of a very cooperative > Short-eared Owl sitting on a fence post, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, > Red-tailed Hawk and a sequence of four photos of a Bonaparte's Gull diving > into the water for food. The Bonaparte's photos can be seen starting at > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/image/122558515 and include the next > three photos. > > > > Cheers, > > > > Jim Arterburn > > Tulsa, Oklahoma > > www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder > > > > > Subject: Red Slough Bird Survey - Mar. 09 From: David Arbour <arbour AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 21:02:34 -0600 Berlin Heck and I surveyed birds today at Red Slough and found 63 species. It was clear, warm (70's), and extremely windy making it difficult to find small passerines and look through a scope. We ran into Doug Wood and his student Ross Anderson who were there making plans for their research projects with Tree Swallows and Willow Flycatchers. We also ran into personnel from the Sam Noble Museum who were down surveying herps. Highlight today was finding a pair of Mottled Ducks in the flooded ditch along Appleberry Lane next to unit 15. Also, we had two Minks chasing each other in the road by the middle parking lot. Here is a list of all found today: Ross's Goose - 1 Canada Goose - 8 Wood Duck - 11 Gadwall - 530 Mallard - 8 Mottled Duck - 2 (unit 15) Blue-winged Teal - 17 Northern Shoveler - 73 Northern Pintail - 27 Green-winged Teal - 310 Ring-necked Duck - 140 Hooded Merganser - 8 Ruddy Duck - 3 Pied-billed Grebe - 27 Neotropic Cormorant - 1 (Pintail Lake; seen by Doug Wood.) Double-crested Cormorant - 76 Great Blue Heron - 13 Great Egret - 1 Green Heron - 1 Black Vulture - 6 Turkey Vulture - 43 Bald Eagle - 4 Northern Harrier - 7 Cooper's Hawk - 1 Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 9 American Kestrel - 1 Common Moorhen - 1 (Bittern Lake) American Coot - 1000 Killdeer - 5 Greater Yellowlegs - 30 Least Sandpiper - 17 Dunlin - 3 Long-billed Dowitcher - 40 Wilson's Snipe - 100 Ring-billed Gull - 1 Mourning Dove - 1 Belted Kingfisher - 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 Hairy Woodpecker - 1 Northern Flicker - 3 Pileated Woodpecker - 2 Eastern Phoebe - 2 Loggerhead Shrike - 5 American Crow - 12 Fish Crow - 1 Tree Swallow - 12 Carolina Chickadee - 1 Tufted Titmouse - 3 American Robin - 2 Northern Mockingbird - 6 European Starling - 3 American Pipit - 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler - 6 Pine Warbler - 3 Savannah Sparrow - 10 Song Sparrow - 2 White-crowned Sparrow - 23 Northern Cardinal - 9 Red-winged Blackbird - 500 Eastern Meadowlark - 48 Brewer's Blackbird - 8 American Goldfinch - 2 Herps: Mississippi Mud Turtle Red-eared Slider Diamond-backed Watersnake Graham's Crayfish Snake Blanchard's Cricket Frog Cajun Chorus Frog Spring Peeper Southern Leopard Frog Bullfrog Mammals: Mink - 2 (chasing each other.) Good birding! David Arbour De Queen, Arkansas Visit the Red Slough Website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/natural-resources/redslough/ Personal Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/sloughbirder Subject: Re: New Photos added to PBase site From: Jim Arterburn <jimarterburn AT COX.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 18:02:23 -0600 Mark, I had actually been sitting in my car photographing a harrier when I looked up and saw this eagle coming my way so I photographed him out the window as he continued towards me and when he was directly overhead I got out of the car to photograph him some more and he saw me and proceeded to circle back over me and take a look before he continued on his way. I have several raptor species that sometimes get curious and will circle over me a time or two or come back close before flying off. Glad that you like the Bonaparte's series. I was amazed that I actually got four sequential shots in focus. Also I was surprised at how far underwater the Bonaparte's Gull actually dives when feeding. Are you back at home for a while? Jim Arterburn Tulsa, Oklahoma www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder From: okbirds [mailto:OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU] On Behalf Of Mark Cromwell Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 5:23 PM To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Subject: Re: New Photos added to PBase site Great set of photos Jim. Enjoy seeing what you are finding and shooting. Hard to say which I like the best - but I never seem to get under a Bald Eagle - however the Bonapart's Gull series is exciting. Congrats, Mark On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Jim Arterburn wrote: OKBirds, I have added several photos to my PBase website. They can be seen at - http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/recentbirds. I have added a few more photos of the White-tailed Kite as well as some photos of a very cooperative Short-eared Owl sitting on a fence post, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and a sequence of four photos of a Bonaparte's Gull diving into the water for food. The Bonaparte's photos can be seen starting at http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/image/122558515 and include the next three photos. Cheers, Jim Arterburn Tulsa, Oklahoma www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder Subject: Re: New Photos added to PBase site From: John Fisher <rgs455 AT COX.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 18:37:26 -0500 Mark, You don't really want to get under a bald eagle - unless you like getting pooped on. If you do, figure on getting some new duds. Getting nailed with a good shot of used, exceedingly, dead fish from an Eagle is almost as bad as getting barfed on by a buzzard. :-O John ---- Mark Cromwell wrote: > Great set of photos Jim. Enjoy seeing what you are finding and shooting. > Hard to say which I like the best - but I never seem to get under a Bald > Eagle - however the Bonapart's Gull series is exciting. Congrats, Mark > > On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Jim Arterburn wrote: > > > OKBirds, > > > > > > > > I have added several photos to my PBase website. They can be seen at - > > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/recentbirds. I have added a few more > > photos of the White-tailed Kite as well as some photos of a very cooperative > > Short-eared Owl sitting on a fence post, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, > > Red-tailed Hawk and a sequence of four photos of a Bonaparte's Gull diving > > into the water for food. The Bonaparte's photos can be seen starting at > > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/image/122558515 and include the next > > three photos. > > > > > > > > Cheers, > > > > > > > > Jim Arterburn > > > > Tulsa, Oklahoma > > > > www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder > > > > > > Subject: Re: New Photos added to PBase site From: Mark Cromwell <mark.cromwell01 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 17:23:20 -0600 Great set of photos Jim. Enjoy seeing what you are finding and shooting. Hard to say which I like the best - but I never seem to get under a Bald Eagle - however the Bonapart's Gull series is exciting. Congrats, Mark On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Jim Arterburn wrote: > OKBirds, > > > > I have added several photos to my PBase website. They can be seen at - > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/recentbirds. I have added a few more > photos of the White-tailed Kite as well as some photos of a very cooperative > Short-eared Owl sitting on a fence post, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, > Red-tailed Hawk and a sequence of four photos of a Bonaparte's Gull diving > into the water for food. The Bonaparte's photos can be seen starting at > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/image/122558515 and include the next > three photos. > > > > Cheers, > > > > Jim Arterburn > > Tulsa, Oklahoma > > www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder > > > Subject: jacket From: Sue selman <selmanranch AT WILDBLUE.NET> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 15:10:12 -0600 I hope you all don't mind me mentioning this but someone left a camo fleece at my house this weekend. I would mail it to you. Sue Subject: Fence Marking Event Wrap Up From: Eric Beck <oklahomaiba AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 22:14:23 -0600 Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the fence marking event this weekend in Harper County, Oklahoma. Tim Ryan and Dale Burchett deserve a special thanks, without their hard work prior to festival we would not have had nearly as much material to mark fences with! You guys truly made this weekend a success and I couldn't tell you how much I appreciate your work....thank you so much! You can read about the event and see many photos at www.afieldinoklahoma.blogspot.com , photo contributions are from a few fabulous Oklahomans: Sue Selman, Jay Pruett, and Larry Hancock. Thanks to all of the volunteers who endured the hard work but seemed as happy as could be to be out and making a difference. Sue Selman donated her lodge and cooking skills to the endeavor which all of us enjoyed thoroughly. Let it be known that Oklahoma birders do make a difference and impact the land. Nearly 2000 acres of prime prairie chicken habitat were impacted this weekend. If anyone should want more information concerning the weekend or future events please feel free to contact me. I'll let my blog speak for the event! Thanks! -- Eric Beck State Coordinator Oklahoma Important Bird Areas Program ebeck AT audubon.org oklahomaIBA AT gmail.com Subject: Volunteer Event in NW Oklahoma From: Eric Beck <oklahomaiba AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 21:54:19 -0600 A successful event in NW Oklahoma. Read about the weekend at www.afieldinoklahoma.blogspot.com , and think about attending an upcoming one in the near future! If you should want more information please contact me. Enjoy the wonderful photos provided by many of the event attendees and a few from yours truly! -- Eric Beck State Coordinator Oklahoma Important Bird Areas Program ebeck AT audubon.org oklahomaIBA AT gmail.com Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans From: trumpeterwatch <trumpeterwatch AT TRUMPETERSWANSOCIETY.ORG> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 20:27:07 -0700 We are very keen on END DATES for any of these regular swans, so if someone has time to check, great! We now have 11 locations for Oklahoma with good data for this winter! For any new locations, we really appreciate photo back-up. Thank you all who have shared your images. These are best sent to peg AT trumpeterswansociety.org. Peg Abbott The Trumpeter Swan Society, Plymouth, MN _____ From: okbirds [mailto:OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU] On Behalf Of Lindell Dillon Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 4:49 AM To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans Summit Lakes is a housing addition in SE Norman and the birds are on the largest neighborhood lake. They were there yesterday. Go East a short distance from the intersection of Alameda and 24thSE, turn south across the stone bridge into Summit Lakes. Go to the end of the road in the townhouse section. Most of the time the swans are behind the last town house. You won't be able to see them from your car. I don't know how long they will be there. I suspect they will be leaving soon. I'll check later in the week if you'd like. It's not far from where I live. LD Norman On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 8:13 PM, J. Hale wrote: Hi all, I will be passing through norman this weekend and would like directions from I35 to summit lake. Also if anyone goes looking for these birds please post to okbirds. Thanks in advance. John Hale, College Station, Tx Subject: White winged scoter From: Ben Holt <benholtiii AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 21:35:06 -0600 Hi all, Angie and the girls and I had just enough time to make a direct run to Sooner Lake and back on Sunday. We had hoped to see the white tailed kite, but no luck. We did however see a white winged scoter that was mixed in with a very large flock of goldeneyes at Sooner Lake - we recorded it as a female, but by the time it landed we could barely tell which bird it was in the group. If anyone else sees it, let us know if we got the gender right. Pretty much every waterfowl species you could reasonably hope to see at this time of year was present, including our first of season blue winged teals. Also several rough legged and ferruginous hawks - the red tailed numbers have really dropped from a month ago. Thanks to Bill for taking Paul from Iowa out. We would have liked to help out on Saturday, but it's not always easy to plan around the kids (and for some odd reason they want to go birding every Saturday). We were glad to hear he had a great trip! Ben Subject: Re: Norman area and Lake Hefner, Saturday From: Angie Holt <awhnorman AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 14:57:18 -0600 Sounds like you gave Paul the red carpet treatment in Oklahoma birding, thanks for sharing the adventure! Angie Holt Norman On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 12:44 PM, Bill Diffin wrote: > A birder from Iowa, Paul Roisen, asked to accompany any birders in the > Oklahoma City area on Saturday. I had until 3 pm free so decided to see > what help I could give the self-described avid lister. Friday evening, Paul > had used the Tulsa Audubon Oklahoma Bird Guide to find 45 species around > Oklahoma City, so it was going to be a bit of a challenge to find many new > birds for his list. We started Saturday morning, 7 am at the longspur field > near 24th and Tecumseh in Norman. We only managed to kick up a single > Smith's Longspur, but Paul found a LeConte's Sparrow as well. Eastern > Meadowlarks and Savannah Sparrows were plentiful. > > Our next stop was South Jenkins. Parking near the lease road gate south of > the firing range, we left the vehicles to the sound of Red-shouldered Hawk > calling energetically and watched it fly out of sight behind a big cedar. > Up the road were White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern > Cardinals, a Downy Woodpecker, a Tufted Titmouse and a Carolina Chickadee. > Carolina Wrens were singing. A couple of Wood Ducks flew over the swamp, > and then a group of five landed in it. As we were exiting the gate, first > one and then another Pileated Woodpecker flew east over Jenkins. We drove > down to the Green Gate and started walking toward the marsh, when Dick Gunn > appeared from north along the creek. We observed Gadwall, Northern Shoveler > and American Coot in the slough and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in a shrub. A > Song Sparrow was working along the base of the reeds. Among the upper stems > at least half a dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers were foraging. Dick walked us > across Jenkins to observe the ducks in a big mud puddle behind a locked gate > to which he has a key. He had already identified the ducks from afar as > American Wigeon, but we got close enough to see individuals in the large > flock. The intensely colored Eastern Bluebirds that inhabit South Jenkins > were decorating the wire fence, and a Red-shafted Flicker flew off a tree. > Walking back north along Jenkins, the only birds to put in an appearance > were the ever present Meadowlarks. We met up with Eivind back north along > Bittern Marsh. There was an unusual call there that no one recognized. We > found an overflying Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vultures and Killdeer, but not > the maker of the call. It finally became clear that some kind of frog was > singing in the marsh, but we never could see one despite a solid effort. > > At Summit Lake, it was nice to still be able to see the Trumpeter Swans. > Ring-necked Ducks and American Wigeon were swimming along the eastern > shore. At least four Northern Mockingbirds were flying around and calling > noisily, putting on a display of mockingbird behavior for Paul who doesn't > see much of them in Iowa. A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks was flying and > perching west of the lake. American Crows were making their croaking call. > For small passerines we had Harris's, White-crowned, Song and House Sparrows > as well as House Finches. > > At Lake Thunderbird, North Sentinel and Sailboat proved to be birdless > except for Chickadee calls at N Sentinel and some Coots at Sailboat. The > Indian Point Marina had the usual collection of Ring-billed Gulls and > domestic ducks. The Little Sandy Beach area was a much better story. We > had gone there to see Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Paul did manage to see > one. But the real show was the White-breasted Nuthatches. There was a > group of at least five, maybe six, noisily calling and chasing around the > area, so thoroughly involved in what they were doing that they paid little > attention to us. A Brown Creeper seemed to be loosely associated with the > group as well. Add to the area a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, > a couple of Downy Woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadees, a Tufted Titmouse, E > Bluebirds and Am Robins and the scene was pretty mesmerizing. > > At Lake Hefner's Prairie Dog Point, we couldn't spot the Yellow-billed Loon > anywhere, but Eivend found a good candidate for the Western Grebe in his > scope to the northwest. We proceeded around the dam to the that corner of > the lake to get a good look at the grebe, and immediately became focused on > the YB Loon which was about 40 yards away near a pair of Common Loons. As > the loons swam out toward the center of the lake, Eivind's scope found the > Western Grebe. Other birds seen at Hefner were, Pied-billed Grebe, Gadwall, > Bufflehead (ponds), Lesser Scaup (ponds), Great Blue Heron, Mute Swan, > Double-crested Cormorant, Ring-billed Gull and Am Coot. Paul added 33 > species to his Oklahoma list during the day. > > Bill Diffin, OKC > > > Subject: Re: Norman area and Lake Hefner, Saturday From: CJ Metcalf <cjobraymetcalf AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 13:31:36 -0600 Wow, Bill - you covered a lot of territory for one quick day - I bet Paul is hugely grateful for your help! Fun narrative; thanks for sharing! CJ cj.metcalf AT coldwellbanker.com On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 12:44, Bill Diffin wrote: > A birder from Iowa, Paul Roisen, asked to accompany any birders in the > Oklahoma City area on Saturday. I had until 3 pm free so decided to see > what help I could give the self-described avid lister. Friday evening, Paul > had used the Tulsa Audubon Oklahoma Bird Guide to find 45 species around > Oklahoma City, so it was going to be a bit of a challenge to find many new > birds for his list. We started Saturday morning, 7 am at the longspur field > near 24th and Tecumseh in Norman. We only managed to kick up a single > Smith's Longspur, but Paul found a LeConte's Sparrow as well. Eastern > Meadowlarks and Savannah Sparrows were plentiful. > > Our next stop was South Jenkins. Parking near the lease road gate south of > the firing range, we left the vehicles to the sound of Red-shouldered Hawk > calling energetically and watched it fly out of sight behind a big cedar. > Up the road were White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern > Cardinals, a Downy Woodpecker, a Tufted Titmouse and a Carolina Chickadee. > Carolina Wrens were singing. A couple of Wood Ducks flew over the swamp, > and then a group of five landed in it. As we were exiting the gate, first > one and then another Pileated Woodpecker flew east over Jenkins. We drove > down to the Green Gate and started walking toward the marsh, when Dick Gunn > appeared from north along the creek. We observed Gadwall, Northern Shoveler > and American Coot in the slough and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in a shrub. A > Song Sparrow was working along the base of the reeds. Among the upper stems > at least half a dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers were foraging. Dick walked us > across Jenkins to observe the ducks in a big mud puddle behind a locked gate > to which he has a key. He had already identified the ducks from afar as > American Wigeon, but we got close enough to see individuals in the large > flock. The intensely colored Eastern Bluebirds that inhabit South Jenkins > were decorating the wire fence, and a Red-shafted Flicker flew off a tree. > Walking back north along Jenkins, the only birds to put in an appearance > were the ever present Meadowlarks. We met up with Eivind back north along > Bittern Marsh. There was an unusual call there that no one recognized. We > found an overflying Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vultures and Killdeer, but not > the maker of the call. It finally became clear that some kind of frog was > singing in the marsh, but we never could see one despite a solid effort. > > At Summit Lake, it was nice to still be able to see the Trumpeter Swans. > Ring-necked Ducks and American Wigeon were swimming along the eastern > shore. At least four Northern Mockingbirds were flying around and calling > noisily, putting on a display of mockingbird behavior for Paul who doesn't > see much of them in Iowa. A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks was flying and > perching west of the lake. American Crows were making their croaking call. > For small passerines we had Harris's, White-crowned, Song and House Sparrows > as well as House Finches. > > At Lake Thunderbird, North Sentinel and Sailboat proved to be birdless > except for Chickadee calls at N Sentinel and some Coots at Sailboat. The > Indian Point Marina had the usual collection of Ring-billed Gulls and > domestic ducks. The Little Sandy Beach area was a much better story. We > had gone there to see Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Paul did manage to see > one. But the real show was the White-breasted Nuthatches. There was a > group of at least five, maybe six, noisily calling and chasing around the > area, so thoroughly involved in what they were doing that they paid little > attention to us. A Brown Creeper seemed to be loosely associated with the > group as well. Add to the area a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, > a couple of Downy Woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadees, a Tufted Titmouse, E > Bluebirds and Am Robins and the scene was pretty mesmerizing. > > At Lake Hefner's Prairie Dog Point, we couldn't spot the Yellow-billed Loon > anywhere, but Eivend found a good candidate for the Western Grebe in his > scope to the northwest. We proceeded around the dam to the that corner of > the lake to get a good look at the grebe, and immediately became focused on > the YB Loon which was about 40 yards away near a pair of Common Loons. As > the loons swam out toward the center of the lake, Eivind's scope found the > Western Grebe. Other birds seen at Hefner were, Pied-billed Grebe, Gadwall, > Bufflehead (ponds), Lesser Scaup (ponds), Great Blue Heron, Mute Swan, > Double-crested Cormorant, Ring-billed Gull and Am Coot. Paul added 33 > species to his Oklahoma list during the day. > > Bill Diffin, OKC > > > Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans From: "J. Hale" <grandslam2014 AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 13:44:32 -0500 Sorry forgot that it replies to the whole list. John Hale, Texas -----Original Message----- From: J. Hale To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Sent: Mon, Mar 8, 2010 12:28 pm Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans Thanks for your directions. If its not a problem that would be nice. Hopefully they'll stick around till sat. Thanks again. John Hale, Texas -----Original Message----- From: Lindell Dillon To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Sent: Mon, Mar 8, 2010 5:48 am Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans Summit Lakes is a housing addition in SE Norman and the birds are on the largest neighborhood lake. They were there yesterday. Go East a short distance from the intersection of Alameda and 24thSE, turn south across the stone bridge into Summit Lakes. Go to the end of the road in the townhouse section. Most of the time the swans are behind the last town house. You won't be able to see them from your car. I don't know how long they will be there. I suspect they will be leaving soon. I'll check later in the week if you'd like. It's not far from where I live. LD Norman On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 8:13 PM, J. Hale wrote: Hi all, I will be passing through norman this weekend and would like directions from I35 to summit lake. Also if anyone goes looking for these birds please post to okbirds. Thanks in advance. John Hale, College Station, Tx = Subject: Norman area and Lake Hefner, Saturday From: Bill Diffin <WilliamDiffin AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 13:44:09 EST A birder from Iowa, Paul Roisen, asked to accompany any birders in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday. I had until 3 pm free so decided to see what help I could give the self-described avid lister. Friday evening, Paul had used the Tulsa Audubon Oklahoma Bird Guide to find 45 species around Oklahoma City, so it was going to be a bit of a challenge to find many new birds for his list. We started Saturday morning, 7 am at the longspur field near 24th and Tecumseh in Norman. We only managed to kick up a single Smith's Longspur, but Paul found a LeConte's Sparrow as well. Eastern Meadowlarks and Savannah Sparrows were plentiful. Our next stop was South Jenkins. Parking near the lease road gate south of the firing range, we left the vehicles to the sound of Red-shouldered Hawk calling energetically and watched it fly out of sight behind a big cedar. Up the road were White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, a Downy Woodpecker, a Tufted Titmouse and a Carolina Chickadee. Carolina Wrens were singing. A couple of Wood Ducks flew over the swamp, and then a group of five landed in it. As we were exiting the gate, first one and then another Pileated Woodpecker flew east over Jenkins. We drove down to the Green Gate and started walking toward the marsh, when Dick Gunn appeared from north along the creek. We observed Gadwall, Northern Shoveler and American Coot in the slough and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in a shrub. A Song Sparrow was working along the base of the reeds. Among the upper stems at least half a dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers were foraging. Dick walked us across Jenkins to observe the ducks in a big mud puddle behind a locked gate to which he has a key. He had already identified the ducks from afar as American Wigeon, but we got close enough to see individuals in the large flock. The intensely colored Eastern Bluebirds that inhabit South Jenkins were decorating the wire fence, and a Red-shafted Flicker flew off a tree. Walking back north along Jenkins, the only birds to put in an appearance were the ever present Meadowlarks. We met up with Eivind back north along Bittern Marsh. There was an unusual call there that no one recognized. We found an overflying Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vultures and Killdeer, but not the maker of the call. It finally became clear that some kind of frog was singing in the marsh, but we never could see one despite a solid effort. At Summit Lake, it was nice to still be able to see the Trumpeter Swans. Ring-necked Ducks and American Wigeon were swimming along the eastern shore. At least four Northern Mockingbirds were flying around and calling noisily, putting on a display of mockingbird behavior for Paul who doesn't see much of them in Iowa. A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks was flying and perching west of the lake. American Crows were making their croaking call. For small passerines we had Harris's, White-crowned, Song and House Sparrows as well as House Finches. At Lake Thunderbird, North Sentinel and Sailboat proved to be birdless except for Chickadee calls at N Sentinel and some Coots at Sailboat. The Indian Point Marina had the usual collection of Ring-billed Gulls and domestic ducks. The Little Sandy Beach area was a much better story. We had gone there to see Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Paul did manage to see one. But the real show was the White-breasted Nuthatches. There was a group of at least five, maybe six, noisily calling and chasing around the area, so thoroughly involved in what they were doing that they paid little attention to us. A Brown Creeper seemed to be loosely associated with the group as well. Add to the area a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, a couple of Downy Woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadees, a Tufted Titmouse, E Bluebirds and Am Robins and the scene was pretty mesmerizing. At Lake Hefner's Prairie Dog Point, we couldn't spot the Yellow-billed Loon anywhere, but Eivend found a good candidate for the Western Grebe in his scope to the northwest. We proceeded around the dam to the that corner of the lake to get a good look at the grebe, and immediately became focused on the YB Loon which was about 40 yards away near a pair of Common Loons. As the loons swam out toward the center of the lake, Eivind's scope found the Western Grebe. Other birds seen at Hefner were, Pied-billed Grebe, Gadwall, Bufflehead (ponds), Lesser Scaup (ponds), Great Blue Heron, Mute Swan, Double-crested Cormorant, Ring-billed Gull and Am Coot. Paul added 33 species to his Oklahoma list during the day. Bill Diffin, OKC Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans From: "J. Hale" <grandslam2014 AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 13:28:30 -0500 Thanks for your directions. If its not a problem that would be nice. Hopefully they'll stick around till sat. Thanks again. John Hale, Texas -----Original Message----- From: Lindell Dillon To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Sent: Mon, Mar 8, 2010 5:48 am Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans Summit Lakes is a housing addition in SE Norman and the birds are on the largest neighborhood lake. They were there yesterday. Go East a short distance from the intersection of Alameda and 24thSE, turn south across the stone bridge into Summit Lakes. Go to the end of the road in the townhouse section. Most of the time the swans are behind the last town house. You won't be able to see them from your car. I don't know how long they will be there. I suspect they will be leaving soon. I'll check later in the week if you'd like. It's not far from where I live. LD Norman On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 8:13 PM, J. Hale wrote: Hi all, I will be passing through norman this weekend and would like directions from I35 to summit lake. Also if anyone goes looking for these birds please post to okbirds. Thanks in advance. John Hale, College Station, Tx Subject: Re: Rejected posting to OKBIRDS@LISTS.OU.EDU From: CJ Metcalf <cjobraymetcalf AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 12:12:43 -0600 Thanks for all the helpful input. I have responses from several that the larger bird is an eared grebe. Cool. Another one for my life list! The bill definitely seemed too small to me to qualify as a loon, but I couldn't find anything else that fit ('cuz I was looking at photos of the wrong kinds of birds). Now that I compare my photo with these ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/id), it's very clear. I love this listserv! :-) CJ cj.metcalf AT coldwellbanker.com CJ Phone: 405.701.8338 eMail: cj.metcalf AT coldwellbanker.com On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 07:46, Brian Davis wrote: > CJ, > > You're right about the Pied-billed Grebe, but the other is an Eared > Grebe- nice find! Differs from the much more common (around here) > Horned Grebe by the steeply-sloping forehead, very thin bill, and dark > ear (Horned Grebes have a more or less all white face with black > restricted to the cap). > > Brian > > On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 3:52 AM, CJ Metcalf > wrote: > > Berlin, et al: > > > > While I was at Lake Hefner a week ago, I saw the western grebe in > precisely > > the place you described. Tried repeatedly to get a photo, but was > > unsuccessful (s/he seemed to know what I was trying to do, and kept > ducking > > under the water everytime I would raise my camera, only to pop up again > far > > enough away that I would have to re-focus; quite a funny game if you're a > > grebe). > > > > Also saw the two birds whose photos are posted here: > > > http://picasaweb.google.com/cjobraymetcalf/LakeHefnerWaterBirds27feb2010?feat=directlink > . They're > > not good photos - the birds were too far away to get clearer images, > but I > > believe the smaller one is a pied-billed grebe, very similar to one that > > visits Cypress Lake in Norman every year in transit to summer housing. > The > > larger one is more of a mystery - the neck is too short to be a larger > > grebe, the bird is too big to be a PBG. Plumage suggests a Pacific Loon > in > > winter garb. Can anyone verify / clarify? > > CJ > > eMail: cj.metcalf AT coldwellbanker.com > > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 18:56, Berlin Heck wrote: > >> > >> On Friday, while en-route to Selman Ranch to mess with fences that > attack > >> Lesser Prairie Chickens, I drove by Lake Hefner in faint hope that I > might > >> see the Western Grebe and the Yellow-billed Loon. When I got there in > >> gale-force winds, I could have surfed on the waves (had I known how). > >> Neither bird seen. I then went to Selman Ranch for a full, long day of > >> torture, pulling staples from old fences in the Cimarron WMA and then > >> rolling them up. Of course this involved a mechanical fence roller, but > the > >> job was intensive for this young man, with much walking. Today I > returned > >> home, but stopped en-route (once again) at Lake Hefner under more > civilized > >> conditions and still failed to see the Grebe. BUT, I found the Loon > fairly > >> close. Describe the place? Go to the second drive in entrance to the > shore > >> road, just before you start over the dam. Drive down to the shore about > 100 > >> yards, and when you reach the first pull-off, it was in that area. I > also > >> note that the new bird checklists do not include this bird which it > should, > >> in my opinion, because at least one, and in some years two, have been > seen > >> each year since at least 2003. So, like every other year in the past, I > had > >> to write in the Yellow-billed Loon sighting. > >> From the Frontier > >> Berlin Heck > >> Broken Bow > >> I think we consider too much > >> the good luck of the early bird, > >> and not enough the bad luck > >> of the early worm. > >> Franklin Roosevelt > > > > > > > > > > -- > _________________________________________ > > Brian M. Davis > Department of Zoology and > Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History > University of Oklahoma > 2401 Chautauqua Ave. > Norman, OK 73072 > (405) 325-4772 > bmdavi AT ou.edu > Subject: Re: Norman Airport, Wichita Mtns, Hackberry Flat, Tuesday From: Bill Diffin <WilliamDiffin AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 11:23:29 EST Thanks for letting us all know about the Smith's Longspurs near 24th and Tecumseh. Bill Diffin, OKC Subject: Re: Birding Oklahoma From: Bill Diffin <WilliamDiffin AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 11:05:57 EST Paul's random comment about the ticks is in response to my warning him that I found one of the wicked Lone Star species after birding. Bill Diffin, OKC Subject: Fence marking weekend at Selman Ranch From: Larry Hancock <ihanturn AT CABLEONE.NET> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 10:05:33 -0600 First I want to say thanks to Sue for providing all the meals for our group this weekend and putting us up in her bunkhouse. I know Eric has a lot of responsibility with organizing and keeping track of everything that gets done in the field during a weekend like this for the prairie chickens but that provides lots of opportunities to visit with people and work in some beautiful scenic areas while Sue is at home cooking 3 meals in a day for a large group and taking care of her ranch. I left Ardmore Friday morning with high winds to blew me north and helped my gas mileage but dreading having to work removing fence Saturday if the weather stayed the same. Saturday turned out to be beautiful, warm and sunny with light winds. I get up early, around 4 am, as a rule each day and Saturday I woke up at 3:30. When I stepped out of the bunkhouse the moon was shining bright and not a breath of air was stirring. I could not believe how quiet it was. I drove around west of the ranch house for a while listening for what animal activity might be awake and watching the landscape in the moon light. The land rolls in gently swells all around forming low areas that filled with mist around 5:30 am. Owls and killdeer started calling along with coyotes but not much else. While I waited for sunrise I photographed the moon, not many times I can get away from security lights in the wide open clear air like this. About 7:00 Eric showed up with a group to go see the prairie chickens. We got pretty good views of several, a first for me. Back at the ranch for breakfast and to get organized before setting off to the fence work everyone had a chance to visit and get to meet new people. Working on the fence provide opportunities to see several mountain bluebirds and 2 more prairie chickens I flushed from about 15 feet. Sandhill cranes flew over in V formation later in the afternoon, their calls travel an incredible distance being heard long before being able to actually see the cranes. After work time we all went down to the salt flats to watch, photograph or paint the sunset. I didn't take many pictures this weekend but I have some of the sunset and people relaxing around the flats. It was beautiful and a relaxing end to the day before we headed to Selman Ranch for the night. I could keeping going on with lots more details of the weekend but no reason to say more than I had a great time with a great group of people out trying to help the widlife of an area survive hopefully for generations to come. This link is to some for the pictures I took of the prairie chickens and people involved in the weekend, sunset, a couple of harlan's red-tails I saw on the way up and a great horned owl on the way home. Now that I have seen the area I am ready to head back up when spring brings in wildflowers and photograph the landscape on a non-working weekend. http://www.avianfocus.com/selman_ranch_weekend/ It was a pleasure meeting and spending time with everyone this weekend, I got to spend a lot of time with Berlin Heck and finally put a face with the name along with many others. Larry Hancock Ardmore, OK __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4924 (20100308) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com Subject: From the Arkansas Bird Listserve From: David Arbour <arbour AT WINDSTREAM.NET> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 08:42:09 -0600 Subject: Birds in Art From: Bill Shepherd Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 15:50:41 -0600 Arbirders: If you take pleasure in good bird art, as I do, you may be interested in seeing a traveling exhibit of bird art that is scheduled to open Tuesday, March 9, at the Museum of the Red River in Idabel, OK, and to remain there through May 15. http://www.museumoftheredriver.org/exhibits.html Most importantly, the exhibit will still be open in Idabel when the Arkansas Audubon Society meets in Hope, April 30-May 2. The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum of Wausau, Wisconsin, has long specialized in bird-themed art and puts together a new exhibit titled "Birds in Art" every fall. The exhibit is shown first in Wausau, where I saw it in October of 2009. Then it goes on tour. The curator of the Museum of the Red River served on the jury that selected the pieces for the 2009 show; thus the Museum of the Red River is one of the stops on the current tour. At least 100 pieces of art were included in the 2009 show. Sixty of them are touring. Most of them are paintings in various media, but several are sculptures. If memory serves me well, only living artists are represented in the show. For more about the Woodson Museum and its annual "Birds in Art" show, click on http://www.lywam.org/birdsinart/ As many of you know, Idabel is the city closest to Red Slough and is located in extreme southeastern Oklahoma. And some of you may be planning to visit Red Slough anyway while you are in Hope, which is located in southwestern Arkansas. But you might not be welcome in the museum if you showed up in muddy boots after a visit to Red Slough. So you may need to plan to make two trips from Hope to Idabel. In any case, you can take it from me that the exhibit is outstanding and well worth a drive over to McCurtain County in the "Indian Nation." Bill Shepherd Bill Shepherd 2805 Linden, Apt. 3 Little Rock, Arkansas 72205-5964 Stoneax63 AT hotmail.com (501) 375-3918 Subject: Re: Rejected posting to OKBIRDS@LISTS.OU.EDU From: Brian Davis <bmdavi AT OU.EDU> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 07:46:56 -0600 CJ, You're right about the Pied-billed Grebe, but the other is an Eared Grebe- nice find! Differs from the much more common (around here) Horned Grebe by the steeply-sloping forehead, very thin bill, and dark ear (Horned Grebes have a more or less all white face with black restricted to the cap). Brian On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 3:52 AM, CJ Metcalf wrote: > Berlin, et al: > > While I was at Lake Hefner a week ago, I saw the western grebe in precisely > the place you described.  Tried repeatedly to get a photo, but was > unsuccessful (s/he seemed to know what I was trying to do, and kept ducking > under the water everytime I would raise my camera, only to pop up again far > enough away that I would have to re-focus; quite a funny game if you're a > grebe). > > Also saw the two birds whose photos are posted here: > http://picasaweb.google.com/cjobraymetcalf/LakeHefnerWaterBirds27feb2010?feat=directlink. They're > not good photos - the birds were too far away to get clearer images, but I > believe the smaller one is a pied-billed grebe, very similar to one that > visits Cypress Lake in Norman every year in transit to summer housing.  The > larger one is more of a mystery - the neck is too short to be a larger > grebe, the bird is too big to be a PBG. Plumage suggests a Pacific Loon in > winter garb.  Can anyone verify / clarify? > CJ > eMail: cj.metcalf AT coldwellbanker.com > > > > > On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 18:56, Berlin Heck wrote: >> >> On Friday, while en-route to Selman Ranch to mess with fences that attack >> Lesser Prairie Chickens, I drove by Lake Hefner in faint hope that I might >> see the Western Grebe and the Yellow-billed Loon.  When I got there in >> gale-force winds, I could have surfed on the waves (had I known how). >>  Neither bird seen.  I then went to Selman Ranch for a full, long day of >> torture, pulling staples from old fences in the Cimarron WMA and then >> rolling them up.  Of course this involved a mechanical fence roller, but the >> job was intensive for this young man, with much walking.  Today I returned >> home, but stopped en-route (once again) at Lake Hefner under more civilized >> conditions and still failed to see the Grebe.  BUT, I found the Loon fairly >> close.  Describe the place?  Go to the second drive in entrance to the shore >> road, just before you start over the dam.  Drive down to the shore about 100 >> yards, and when you reach the first pull-off, it was in that area.  I also >> note that the new bird checklists do not include this bird which it should, >> in my opinion, because at least one, and in some years two, have been seen >> each year since at least 2003.  So, like every other year in the past, I had >> to write in the Yellow-billed Loon sighting. >> From the Frontier >> Berlin Heck >> Broken Bow >> I think we consider too much >> the good luck of the early bird, >> and not enough the bad luck >> of the early worm. >>      Franklin Roosevelt > > > -- _________________________________________ Brian M. Davis Department of Zoology and Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History University of Oklahoma 2401 Chautauqua Ave. Norman, OK 73072 (405) 325-4772 bmdavi AT ou.edu Subject: Re: Summit lake trumpeter swans From: Lindell Dillon <reddirtbird AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 05:48:39 -0600 Summit Lakes is a housing addition in SE Norman and the birds are on the largest neighborhood lake. They were there yesterday. Go East a short distance from the intersection of Alameda and 24thSE, turn south across the stone bridge into Summit Lakes. Go to the end of the road in the townhouse section. Most of the time the swans are behind the last town house. You won't be able to see them from your car. I don't know how long they will be there. I suspect they will be leaving soon. I'll check later in the week if you'd like. It's not far from where I live. LD Norman On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 8:13 PM, J. Hale wrote: > > Hi all, > > I will be passing through norman this weekend and would like directions > from I35 to summit lake. Also if anyone goes looking for these birds please > post to okbirds. Thanks in advance. > > > John Hale, > College Station, Tx > Subject: Fwd: Rejected posting to OKBIRDS@LISTS.OU.EDU From: CJ Metcalf <cjobraymetcalf AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 03:52:48 -0600 Berlin, et al: While I was at Lake Hefner a week ago, I saw the western grebe in precisely the place you described. Tried repeatedly to get a photo, but was unsuccessful (s/he seemed to know what I was trying to do, and kept ducking under the water everytime I would raise my camera, only to pop up again far enough away that I would have to re-focus; quite a funny game if you're a grebe). Also saw the two birds whose photos are posted here: http://picasaweb.google.com/cjobraymetcalf/LakeHefnerWaterBirds27feb2010?feat=directlink. They're not good photos - the birds were too far away to get clearer images, but I believe the smaller one is a pied-billed grebe, very similar to one that visits Cypress Lake in Norman every year in transit to summer housing. The larger one is more of a mystery - the neck is too short to be a larger grebe, the bird is too big to be a PBG. Plumage suggests a Pacific Loon in winter garb. Can anyone verify / clarify? CJ eMail: cj.metcalf AT coldwellbanker.com On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 18:56, Berlin Heck wrote: > On Friday, while en-route to Selman Ranch to mess with fences that attack > Lesser Prairie Chickens, I drove by Lake Hefner in faint hope that I might > see the Western Grebe and the Yellow-billed Loon. When I got there in > gale-force winds, I could have surfed on the waves (had I known how). > Neither bird seen. I then went to Selman Ranch for a full, long day of > torture, pulling staples from old fences in the Cimarron WMA and then > rolling them up. Of course this involved a mechanical fence roller, but the > job was intensive for this young man, with much walking. Today I returned > home, but stopped en-route (once again) at Lake Hefner under more civilized > conditions and still failed to see the Grebe. BUT, I found the Loon fairly > close. Describe the place? Go to the second drive in entrance to the shore > road, just before you start over the dam. Drive down to the shore about 100 > yards, and when you reach the first pull-off, it was in that area. I also > note that the new bird checklists do not include this bird which it should, > in my opinion, because at least one, and in some years two, have been seen > each year since at least 2003. So, like every other year in the past, I had > to write in the Yellow-billed Loon sighting. > > From the Frontier > > Berlin Heck > Broken Bow > > *I think we consider too much* > *the good luck of the early bird,* > *and not enough the bad luck* > *of the early worm.* > * > * > * Franklin Roosevelt* > Subject: Birding Oklahoma From: Paul Roisen <roisenp1950 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 19:34:29 -0800 First of all a hugh thank you to Bill Diffen who so graciously guided my wife and I around SE Norman area and then back up through Lake Hefner (we were fortunate to see the Yellow-billed Loon at decent distance and the Western Grebe).  Thanks also to Eivind (Stavanger, Norway) for the use of his scope. Tulsa Audubon Society--what a marvelous site you have.  Great info on birding areas and the butterfly site is really cool also (will have to come back when it is a little warmer.   No ticks so far.  Wichita Mountain area is beautiful.  Rain and cold prevented good coverage.  Did not hit the Altus or Eldorado areas but added 16 species today Swamp Sp, March Wren, the three Mergs (only females of Hooded and Common but lots of Red-breasted), Canvasback, Eastern Phoebe 2, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Harrier, Wild Turkey, Brewer's and Rusty Blackbirds, Mountain Bluebird, Loggerhead Shrike, Greater Yellowlegs 1, and a Burrowing Owl on a fence post along a secondary highway. Total for Oklahoma in the last 48 hours was 93   Oklahoma hoped for but missed:   both Longspurs, Yellow-head Blackbird, Rufous-capped Sparrow, ALL the geese (except Canada) which I thought I might see at least as fly-overs, "Bay"wick's Wren , Canyon and Rock Wrens, Cedar Waxwings, Road Runner, siskins, and the Black-crested Titmouse. Ladder-backed and Gold-fronted WP's, both Eagles, Broad-winged Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, and Prairie Falcon, all the owls except the LUCKY find on the Burrowing. This means we MUST come back through SW OK and maybe up to Tulsa the last week of March. What a great state and what nice people.  THANK YOU  Oklahoma! God Bless, Paul Roisen Sioux City, IA Woodbury County 712-276-0371(H) 712-301-2817(C) Subject: Re: Fence Marking for the Lesser Prairie Chickens - WOW!!!!!!! From: John Kennington <johnkennington AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 21:21:35 -0600 I'm sure glad to see all these wonderful reports. I was very disappointed a prior commitment prevented me from being there also, but at least I can experience it vicariously. I know Eric worked very hard in planning to make this weekend a success. For those who could not make it (and even those who did) your next chance to help with fence marking will be during the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival, April 16-21. It is definitely not too late to sign up! See www.okaudubon.orgfor more information, registration forms, and photos from last year. Besides seeing the chickens and the other field trips, a new event will be an all day field trip to the Selman Living Lab, including a trek through the Selman cave system, lead by Drs. Bill Caire and Gloria Caddell. There are not too many chances to see this ecosystem from this unique perspective. And Jimmy Woodard will be leading a 3 day extension field trip to Black Mesa for those who have some extra time after the weekend. We have folks registered from eight states so far, including California, Wisconsin, Washington DC and Georgia. I hope to see many of you in Woodward this Arpil. John Kennington On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 8:36 PM, TR Ryan wrote: > I’d like to pass on enormous thank you to Eric Beck and Sue Selman for > one of the most amazing Oklahoma weekends in what must be the complete > history of Oklahoma weekends. It was enough just to be there for the Lesser > Prairie Chicken but when you throw in a 70 degree day on the prairie with > not a hint of wind, a mountain lion sighting, the rolling hills of > Oklahoma’s most stunning county flush with mountain bluebirds and booming > chickens, Sue Selman’s incredible cooking, Debby Kaspari’s banjo playing and > the fellowship of some the finest naturalists in our state and then add the > mother of all sunsets to boot. Wow. Wow. Wow. It was an incredible > experience and I hope those that had to miss it can join the next one. > Nothing is more powerful than when our birding community comes together for > a greater good. Congratulations Eric and thank you for putting together an > amazing experience! Your hard work and dedication is inspiring. It’s a > pleasure to meet someone who walks the talk. Please sign me up for the next > one. > > > On 3/7/10 4:24 PM, "Jim Arterburn" wrote: > > OKBirds, > > I have added several photos to my PBase website. They can be seen at - > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/recentbirds. I have added a few more > photos of the White-tailed Kite as well as some photos of a very cooperative > Short-eared Owl sitting on a fence post, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, > Red-tailed Hawk and a sequence of four photos of a Bonaparte's Gull diving > into the water for food. The Bonaparte's photos can be seen starting at > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/image/122558515 and include the next > three photos. > > Cheers, > > Jim Arterburn > Tulsa, Oklahoma > www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder > > > > Subject: Birding Oklahoma From: Paul Roisen <roisenp1950 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 19:06:38 -0800 First of all a hugh thank you to Bill Diffen who so graciously guided my wife and I around SE Norman area and then back up through Lake Hefner (we were fortunate to see the Yellow-billed Loon at decent distance and the Western Grebe).  Thanks also to Eivind (Stavanger, Norway) for the use of his scope. Tulsa Audubon Society--what a marvelous site you have.  Great info on birding areas and the butterfly site is really cool also (will have to come back when it is a little warmer.   No ticks so far.  Wichita Mountain area is beautiful.  Rain and cold prevented good coverage.  Did not hit the Altus or Eldorado areas but added 16 species today Swamp Sp, March Wren, the three Mergs (only females of Hooded and Common but lots of Red-breasted), Canvasback, Eastern Phoebe 2, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Harrier, Wild Turkey, Brewer's and Rusty Blackbirds, Mountain Bluebird, Loggerhead Shrike, Greater Yellowlegs 1, and a Burrowing Owl on a fence post along a secondary highway. Total for Oklahoma in the last 48 hours was 93   Oklahoma hoped for but missed:   both Longspurs, Yellow-head Blackbird, Rufous-capped Sparrow, ALL the geese (except Canada) which I thought I might see at least as fly-overs, "Bay"wick's Wren , Canyon and Rock Wrens, Cedar Waxwings, Road Runner, siskins, and the Black-crested Titmouse. Ladder-backed and Gold-fronted WP's, both Eagles, Broad-winged Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, and Prairie Falcon, all the owls except the LUCKY find on the Burrowing. This means we MUST come back through SW OK and maybe up to Tulsa the last week of March. What a great state and what nice people.  THANK YOU  Oklahoma! God Bless, Paul Roisen Sioux City, IA Woodbury County 712-276-0371(H) 712-301-2817(C) Subject: Fence Marking for the Lesser Prairie Chickens - WOW!!!!!!! From: TR Ryan <trryan AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 20:36:28 -0600 I¹d like to pass on enormous thank you to Eric Beck and Sue Selman for one of the most amazing Oklahoma weekends in what must be the complete history of Oklahoma weekends. It was enough just to be there for the Lesser Prairie Chicken but when you throw in a 70 degree day on the prairie with not a hint of wind, a mountain lion sighting, the rolling hills of Oklahoma¹s most stunning county flush with mountain bluebirds and booming chickens, Sue Selman¹s incredible cooking, Debby Kaspari¹s banjo playing and the fellowship of some the finest naturalists in our state and then add the mother of all sunsets to boot. Wow. Wow. Wow. It was an incredible experience and I hope those that had to miss it can join the next one. Nothing is more powerful than when our birding community comes together for a greater good. Congratulations Eric and thank you for putting together an amazing experience! Your hard work and dedication is inspiring. It¹s a pleasure to meet someone who walks the talk. Please sign me up for the next one. On 3/7/10 4:24 PM, "Jim Arterburn" wrote: > OKBirds, > > I have added several photos to my PBase website. They can be seen at - > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/recentbirds. I have added a few more > photos of the White-tailed Kite as well as some photos of a very cooperative > Short-eared Owl sitting on a fence post, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, > Red-tailed Hawk and a sequence of four photos of a Bonaparte's Gull diving > into the water for food. The Bonaparte's photos can be seen starting at > http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/image/122558515 and include the next three > photos. > > Cheers, > > Jim Arterburn > Tulsa, Oklahoma > www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder > > Subject: Summit lake trumpeter swans From: "J. Hale" <grandslam2014 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 21:13:01 -0500 Hi all, I will be passing through norman this weekend and would like directions from I35 to summit lake. Also if anyone goes looking for these birds please post to okbirds. Thanks in advance. John Hale, College Station, Tx Subject: Fish Crows From: Bill Carrell <okdragonhunter AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 17:01:21 -0800 Hello All,                 This morning at Oxley, saw (and heard) two Fish Crows flying along Bird Creek.                                                                           Good Birding,                                                                           Bill Carrell                                                                         Tulsa, OK     Subject: Loon From: Berlin Heck <baheck AT PINE-NET.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 18:56:15 -0600 On Friday, while en-route to Selman Ranch to mess with fences that attack Lesser Prairie Chickens, I drove by Lake Hefner in faint hope that I might see the Western Grebe and the Yellow-billed Loon. When I got there in gale-force winds, I could have surfed on the waves (had I known how). Neither bird seen. I then went to Selman Ranch for a full, long day of torture, pulling staples from old fences in the Cimarron WMA and then rolling them up. Of course this involved a mechanical fence roller, but the job was intensive for this young man, with much walking. Today I returned home, but stopped en-route (once again) at Lake Hefner under more civilized conditions and still failed to see the Grebe. BUT, I found the Loon fairly close. Describe the place? Go to the second drive in entrance to the shore road, just before you start over the dam. Drive down to the shore about 100 yards, and when you reach the first pull-off, it was in that area. I also note that the new bird checklists do not include this bird which it should, in my opinion, because at least one, and in some years two, have been seen each year since at least 2003. So, like every other year in the past, I had to write in the Yellow- billed Loon sighting. From the Frontier Berlin Heck Broken Bow I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird, and not enough the bad luck of the early worm. Franklin Roosevelt Subject: New Photos added to PBase site From: Jim Arterburn <jimarterburn AT COX.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 16:24:08 -0600 OKBirds, I have added several photos to my PBase website. They can be seen at - http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/recentbirds. I have added a few more photos of the White-tailed Kite as well as some photos of a very cooperative Short-eared Owl sitting on a fence post, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and a sequence of four photos of a Bonaparte's Gull diving into the water for food. The Bonaparte's photos can be seen starting at http://www.pbase.com/oklahomabirder/image/122558515 and include the next three photos. Cheers, Jim Arterburn Tulsa, Oklahoma www.PBase.com/oklahomabirder Subject: Re: spring? From: Sue selman <selmanranch AT WILDBLUE.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 11:22:11 -0600 Well just rub it in Mark! Have fun for me too. Sue On Mar 7, 2010, at 10:03 AM, Mark Cromwell wrote: > Hey sue. Glad to see the end of this winter too! Spring is just around the corner. We need to come see you! > In Guatemala this week and seeing warblers & tanagers & hummers. > > Mark Cromwell > > On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 3:24 PM, Sue selman wrote: > Has spring sprung? While enjoying the great outdoors on my patio today I saw several groups of Sandhill Cranes fly over. Also, I saw a Yellow-headed Blackbird and several Pine Siskins. Oh and a honest to goodness > honey bee! > > Sue Selman > Buffalo > Subject: Short, early fencing marking report and paying our way From: "john.polo" <jpolo AT MAIL.USF.EDU> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 11:02:49 -0600 Greetings List, As a participant in in the fence marking and removal project I want to start by saying THANKS to Eric and Sue and ODWC. This wouldn't have worked as well as it did without the leadership of those folks. There were lots of good people out there to help and I got to put faces to names for some of the well-known folks on this list. This was a two-day event, my girlfriend and i only worked Saturday, so there is still work going on right now! Mike (sorry didn't catch the last name), Fumiko from the Sutton Center, Berlin, Larry from ODWC, Larry Hancock, and I worked on fence removal while many other folks covered a lot of ground around Cimmaron Bluffs WMA placing markers on the fences that were going to be left standing. I have a picture of the removal team from Saturday taking care of our last bit of wire. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/trailwind/OKFenceMarking/ODWCFenceMarking031.jpg While I was fidgeting with camera for this, Sandhill Crane calls started to creep into my consciousness. I wasn't quite sure at first, but yelled over to everyone else to make sure I wasn't crazy. Larry H. was the first to spot them. The following picture is approximately half of the flock that flew over us, so there was quite a few! A much smaller assemblage came by moments later. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/trailwind/OKFenceMarking/ODWCFenceMarking038.jpg I won't make you guys go blind by trying to zoom the couple of LPC (lifers of course for Brandy and i) pictures I have, but if someone wants to see them, email me. (Thanks to Jimmy Woodard for letting us see them through his scope.) Or wait for Larry Hancock to post a few of his. If anyone got a decent pic of the ones we saw Sat. morning, it was him. [Talk about camera lens envy. ;)] In the meantime, I did get a decent picture of a Mountain Bluebird. They were quite numerous during our endeavor: http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/trailwind/OKFenceMarking/MBluebird.jpg It didn't occur to me at first to think about the fence marking material. So, in case other people are wondering, I have a shot of the vinyl life savers in action: http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/trailwind/OKFenceMarking/ODWCFenceMarking066.jpg I'm sure other participants have stories to share, so I'll let bird reports and other details unfold from them. Thinking about the "paying our way" discussion, I wanted to add one thing. Around Tampa, Florida, there was a Friends of the Park group that helped collect funds for the county (or was it city?) parks and provided volunteers to help with various projects. (I always left a couple of dollars in their donation boxes. Same with National Parks I have visited.) While I would support the legislation that Berlin and other have informed us of, relying on the feds to fix local or state problems might not always be our best solution, especially when likelihood of the legislation's successful passage is low. Using the regional organizations we already have are probably key to addressing our concerns. Best regards, john polo stillwater Subject: LPC's/Mtn Bluebirds/Harper County From: jwoodard <j.woodard AT COX.NET> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 10:59:15 -0600 There was a large turnout for the fence marking event at Cimarron Bluffs WMA in Harper County north of Woodward. We headquarted out of the Selman Ranch. Some of us found about six LPC's displaying at a lek near the ranch yesterday. Also, we saw lots of Mountain Bluebirds yesterday just about everywhere we went. I saw several groups of 20-30 birds during the fence marking at the WMA. Jimmy Woodard Mustang, OK Subject: Re: Foot fungus? From: Steve Schafer <steve AT FENESTRA.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 11:31:12 -0500 On Sat, 6 Mar 2010 20:27:09 -0600, you wrote: >Speaking of strange things attached to birds.....I'm guessing this isn't >normal plumage for mallards or hybrids: > >http://picasaweb.google.com/cjobray/FluffleheadedDucksCypressLake20100306?authkey=Gv1sRgCOWWpfql09WmJg&feat=directlink > >What the heck is going on here? Breeders do some weird things with "ornamental" plumage in chickens, pigeons, canaries, etc., and also domestic ducks. Except for Muscovies, all domestic ducks are descended from Mallards, and so they freely interbreed with wild Mallards in city parks, etc. Ducks having this particular "ornament" are known as "Crested Ducks," which is a little confusing because there is a genuine wild species in South America that's also known as Crested Duck. Apparently, a skull deformity leads to the weird feathering. The gene that causes the deformity is dominant and homozygous lethal, which means that the offspring of a pair of such "Crested Ducks" will be 1/4 normal, 1/2 crested, and 1/4 never hatching. The pale buffy duck in your photos that has a more upright stance than normal suggests that one of its ancestors was an "Indian Runner," whose legs are set further back than normal, forcing it to stand more upright to avoid falling over. -Steve Subject: Re: spring? From: Mark Cromwell <mark.cromwell01 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 10:03:33 -0600 Hey sue. Glad to see the end of this winter too! Spring is just around the corner. We need to come see you! In Guatemala this week and seeing warblers & tanagers & hummers. Mark Cromwell On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 3:24 PM, Sue selman wrote: > Has spring sprung? While enjoying the great outdoors on my patio today I > saw several groups of Sandhill Cranes fly over. Also, I saw a Yellow-headed > Blackbird and several Pine Siskins. Oh and a honest to goodness > honey bee! > > Sue Selman > Buffalo Subject: Re: FOS Gray Catbird From: Doug Wood <DWood AT SE.EDU> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 09:39:54 -0600 M and M. Good find and thanks for posting it. Occasionally, a Gray Catbird lingers for the winter, although it is fairly rare. Steve Gast, Luke Bell, and I had one on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve CBC back in 02 or 03. I remember seeing them in Mississippi in winter also. They winter along the Gulf Coast too, so could be an early migrant or just a "lingerer". Either way, always nice to see a Gray Catbird. Doug. ________________________________ From: okbirds [OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU] On Behalf Of Mike Ludewig [m.b.ludewig AT NETZERO.COM] Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 5:03 PM To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Subject: FOS Gray Catbird Yesterday, at the Rogers State Conservation Area, Merry saw a FOS Gray Catbird -- it's quite early according to the April 17 arrival date for NE OK. I don't remember the exact year, but about 2-4 years ago, I remember seeing a Gray Catbird in our yard in early March. Perhaps the date guide listing for this species needs to be revisited? Mike & Merry Ludewig Claremore ____________________________________________________________ Senior Assisted Living Put your loved ones in good hands with quality senior assisted living. Click now! Subject: American Woodcocks Pontotoc Ridge From: Doug Wood <DWood AT SE.EDU> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 09:39:32 -0600 Hi All. Went out last night listening for frogs (Cajun Chorus Frog, Gray Treefrog, Strecker's Chorus Frog, Dwarf American Toad were calling) with Jona Tucker, Bill Carter and Mike Duggan at Pontotoc Ridge. The wet meadows had strong numbers of woodcocks peenting and displaying. It was cloudy and a bit windy, but they were up displaying. Not sure if these are displaying while migrating or possibly staying to attempt nesting, but we are going to see if any linger awhile. Had them in both the Pontotoc and Johnston county sides of the preserve. We also saw a Red-headed Woodpecker near the HQ. First one observed there in some time, glad to see at least one back. Yours in timberdoodling, Doug. Subject: Re: Foot fungus? From: CJ Metcalf <cjobraymetcalf AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 20:27:09 -0600 Speaking of strange things attached to birds.....I'm guessing this isn't normal plumage for mallards or hybrids: http://picasaweb.google.com/cjobray/FluffleheadedDucksCypressLake20100306?authkey=Gv1sRgCOWWpfql09WmJg&feat=directlink What the heck is going on here? CJ eMail: cj.metcalf AT coldwellbanker.com On Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 11:27, Steve Schafer wrote: > On Sat, 6 Mar 2010 10:21:16 -0600, you wrote: > > >After getting this shot of a titmouse yesterday > >http://www.pbase.com/wwphoto/image/122512835 , I noticed what looks to > be a > >fungus on its feet. As a novice birder, I'm always surprised when close up > >photos reveal abnormalities in birds; deformed beaks, skin conditions, > etc. > >Maybe the bird banders could comment on how common this is. > > It's not something that you notice much while out birding, but it's > fairly common to see when you're banding, and have the birds in your > hands. It's hard to be sure without a close-up examination, but the > particular symptoms evident in your photo are often caused by mites. > > You also get to see lots of other ectoparasites and such while banding, > such as ticks, feather mites, and hippoboscid flies (known as "flat > flies," they have extremely flattened bodies and live in the spaces > between feathers). > > -Steve > Subject: Tulsa Area From: Terry Mitchell <terry AT PECOT.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 19:27:40 -0600 I birded Oxley this morning with Jerry Vanbebber and Max Fuller who came in from the western frontier. Notable birds we saw. 3-Winter Wrens, 15-Rusty Blackbirds, 1-Purple Finch. Terry. Subject: Pine Warblers From: Paul Ribitzki <lribitzki AT JUNO.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 17:30:12 -0600 I went for a walk around the Corp of Engineers park at Lake Keystone dam this afternoon. Mostly common birds out and about, but did find 2 Pine Warblers singing their little hearts out. Sounded like spring. Paul Ribitzki Lake Keystone Subject: FOS Gray Catbird From: Mike Ludewig <m.b.ludewig AT NETZERO.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 17:03:24 -0600 Yesterday, at the Rogers State Conservation Area, Merry saw a FOS Gray Catbird -- it's quite early according to the April 17 arrival date for NE OK. I don't remember the exact year, but about 2-4 years ago, I remember seeing a Gray Catbird in our yard in early March. Perhaps the date guide listing for this species needs to be revisited? Mike & Merry Ludewig Claremore ____________________________________________________________ Senior Assisted Living Put your loved ones in good hands with quality senior assisted living. Click now! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2241/c?cp=qsjnpn4TWYF6qd80NW_nNwAAJ1HGqrISuf-881ZGIxJauXD7AAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASUQAAAAA= Subject: South jenkins From: Richard Gunn <rgunn1 AT COX.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 15:29:43 -0600 WE hd a bunch of ducks down ther this morning and among them was the first Blue-winged Teal of the SoJe year.Also, we had a whoel slew of Am Wigeon on the mud puddle east of Jenkins in the horse pasture.(a sle beign 50-60 or so) Subject: Re: Paying our way From: David McNeely <mcneely4 AT COX.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 15:15:06 -0600 Sorry I posted this. Ignore it, please. DMc ---- David McNeely wrote: > Gayl, is all of this correct -- including the part about publicly owned and operated shooting ranges? I didn't know there were such. Hmmmm. What I think about that is better left for off list. DMc > > ---- Gayl Wells wrote: > > > > Hello everyone, > > > > > > > > I have been reading several emails lately on paying our way > > I am an ordinary birder and i usually check the box on my income tax return, if I get any, > > i was under the impression that when we buy any fishng gear or any hunting gear you buy, > > a percentage of the tax goes to wildlife. Besides the fishing and hunting license. > > > > The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, better known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, was passed by Congress in 1937. Pittman-Robertson placed a Federal excise tax on hunting equipment of many kinds, including guns and ammo (11 percent tax on sporting arms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and a 10 percent tax on handguns). > > With the overwhelming support of hunters across the USA, this Act directed that money produced by this additional tax on our gear be used to provide funding for the selection, restoration, rehabilitation and improvement of wildlife habitat, wildlife management research, and the distribution of information produced by the projects. It was later amended (1970) to include funding for hunter training programs and the development, operation and maintenance of public target ranges. > > Both hunters and non-consumptive users (like hikers and wildlife watchers) benefit from this tax, while hunters willingly bear the brunt of its cost. This money provides benefits for both hunting and non-hunting folks, such as the public shooting range used for sighting rifles and testing loads. Many non-hunters use that range and others like it every day, while hunters foot a large portion of the bill. > > > > > > Am I misinformed on this?? > > does this also include wild birdseed bought at sporting good stores?? > > I have a friend who said it does. > > > > Gayl Wells > > Subject: Re: Paying our way From: David McNeely <mcneely4 AT COX.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 15:11:47 -0600 Gayl, is all of this correct -- including the part about publicly owned and operated shooting ranges? I didn't know there were such. Hmmmm. What I think about that is better left for off list. DMc ---- Gayl Wells wrote: > > Hello everyone, > > > > I have been reading several emails lately on paying our way > I am an ordinary birder and i usually check the box on my income tax return, if I get any, > i was under the impression that when we buy any fishng gear or any hunting gear you buy, > a percentage of the tax goes to wildlife. Besides the fishing and hunting license. > > The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, better known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, was passed by Congress in 1937. Pittman-Robertson placed a Federal excise tax on hunting equipment of many kinds, including guns and ammo (11 percent tax on sporting arms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and a 10 percent tax on handguns). > With the overwhelming support of hunters across the USA, this Act directed that money produced by this additional tax on our gear be used to provide funding for the selection, restoration, rehabilitation and improvement of wildlife habitat, wildlife management research, and the distribution of information produced by the projects. It was later amended (1970) to include funding for hunter training programs and the development, operation and maintenance of public target ranges. > Both hunters and non-consumptive users (like hikers and wildlife watchers) benefit from this tax, while hunters willingly bear the brunt of its cost. This money provides benefits for both hunting and non-hunting folks, such as the public shooting range used for sighting rifles and testing loads. Many non-hunters use that range and others like it every day, while hunters foot a large portion of the bill. > > > Am I misinformed on this?? > does this also include wild birdseed bought at sporting good stores?? > I have a friend who said it does. > > Gayl Wells > Subject: Saturday A. M. From: Bill Carrell <okdragonhunter AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 13:04:50 -0800 Hello All,              Saw FOY Blue-Winged Teal (5) in the coot pond in the Oxley North Woods. Also seen today, Eastern Phoebes in several locations, Cedar Waxwings in several locations, including 100+ at the apartment complex. Lot's of Yellow-Rumped Warblers flycatching in the North Woods, and another smaller group along Coal Creek at Oxley (possibly some of the same mob seen at Hagerman in TX two weeks ago). Also saw a FOY Vesper Sparrow and a Lincoln's Sparrow from the front porch of the Nature Center, a flock of about 50 Northbound Snow Geese, and a Glaucous Gull at Yahola. Out again this afternoon to look for swallows and Fish Crows.                                                                   Good Birding,                                                                   Bill Carrell                                                                 Tulsa, OK Subject: Re: Paying our way From: Gayl Wells <wells789 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 15:53:48 -0500 Hello everyone, I have been reading several emails lately on paying our way I am an ordinary birder and i usually check the box on my income tax return, if I get any, i was under the impression that when we buy any fishng gear or any hunting gear you buy, a percentage of the tax goes to wildlife. Besides the fishing and hunting license. The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, better known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, was passed by Congress in 1937. Pittman-Robertson placed a Federal excise tax on hunting equipment of many kinds, including guns and ammo (11 percent tax on sporting arms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and a 10 percent tax on handguns). With the overwhelming support of hunters across the USA, this Act directed that money produced by this additional tax on our gear be used to provide funding for the selection, restoration, rehabilitation and improvement of wildlife habitat, wildlife management research, and the distribution of information produced by the projects. It was later amended (1970) to include funding for hunter training programs and the development, operation and maintenance of public target ranges. Both hunters and non-consumptive users (like hikers and wildlife watchers) benefit from this tax, while hunters willingly bear the brunt of its cost. This money provides benefits for both hunting and non-hunting folks, such as the public shooting range used for sighting rifles and testing loads. Many non-hunters use that range and others like it every day, while hunters foot a large portion of the bill. Am I misinformed on this?? does this also include wild birdseed bought at sporting good stores?? I have a friend who said it does. Gayl Wells Subject: Re: spring here..in Edmond From: "M. S. Harris" <mbhsuzy AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 14:01:02 -0600 Haven't found a nest yet, but we're consistently seeing two Carolina wrens together in our backyard in east Bartlesville the past few days. Yesterday, while enjoying the FANTASTIC weather and sitting on the back patio, we listened and watched as one belted out his song to define his territory. For the past 4 or 5 years, we've had at least two pair nest in or near our yard and are looking forward to the same again this year. Suzy Harris Bartlesville From: okbirds [mailto:OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU] On Behalf Of Terri Underhill Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 1:20 PM To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Subject: spring here..in Edmond Hello OKbirders, I found my first nest of the season today. The Carolina Wrens are building their nest on the front porch in my hanging fountain again. They always use the fountain for their first nest and then the next nest will be in the bird bottle a few feet away from the fountain. It must be the same pair since they are so consistent. I just love springJ Good birding and happy spring! Terri Underhill Edmond OK www.okiebirdcam.com Subject: Re: spring here..in Edmond From: Patrick Baker <patngayle AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 11:30:40 -0800 I'm kind of a "lurker" but enjoy the posts. The last three nights here in the south part of Jenks we have been able to crack open our windows and hear the peepers out on the pond. Its almost a sure sign of Spring coming.  :)  --- On Sat, 3/6/10, Terri Underhill wrote: From: Terri Underhill Subject: spring here..in Edmond To: OKBIRDS AT LISTS.OU.EDU Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010, 1:20 PM Hello OKbirders, I found my first nest of the season today. The Carolina Wrens are building their nest on the front porch in my hanging fountain again. They always use the fountain for their first nest and then the next nest will be in the bird bottle a few feet away from the fountain. It must be the same pair since they are so consistent. I just love springJ   Good birding and happy spring! Terri Underhill Edmond OK www.okiebirdcam.com   Subject: spring here..in Edmond From: Terri Underhill <tunderhill AT COX.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 13:20:17 -0600 Hello OKbirders, I found my first nest of the season today. The Carolina Wrens are building their nest on the front porch in my hanging fountain again. They always use the fountain for their first nest and then the next nest will be in the bird bottle a few feet away from the fountain. It must be the same pair since they are so consistent. I just love springJ Good birding and happy spring! Terri Underhill Edmond OK www.okiebirdcam.com Subject: barn swallow From: Doug Wood <DWood AT SE.EDU> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 12:36:17 -0600 Hello all. Driving north of Durant yesterday afternoon, I had a Barn Swallow flying near the turnoff towards Tishomingo. Bit early, but a pleasant surprise. Going to Pontotoc Ridge this evening to see if any woodcocks are around. I think I"m supposed to be helping listen/count frog calls, but it might transmogrify into a bird session... Doug. Subject: Re: ID on leucistic dove From: Steve Schafer <steve AT FENESTRA.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 12:26:58 -0500 On Sat, 6 Mar 2010 09:06:10 -0600, you wrote: >I've had a mostly white dove visiting my yard the past few days. My best >guess is a leucistic Eurasian Collared Dove, but I guess there are some >other possibilities like an escaped Barbary Dove or a Ring-necked Turtle >Dove. I've seen it on the ground with other Eurasians and it's slightly >smaller than them, but larger than the Mourning Doves. A beautiful bird >whatever it is. If it's smaller, then it's probably an escaped domestic dove. -Steve Subject: Re: Foot fungus? From: Steve Schafer <steve AT FENESTRA.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 12:27:01 -0500 On Sat, 6 Mar 2010 10:21:16 -0600, you wrote: >After getting this shot of a titmouse yesterday >http://www.pbase.com/wwphoto/image/122512835 , I noticed what looks to be a >fungus on its feet. As a novice birder, I'm always surprised when close up >photos reveal abnormalities in birds; deformed beaks, skin conditions, etc. >Maybe the bird banders could comment on how common this is. It's not something that you notice much while out birding, but it's fairly common to see when you're banding, and have the birds in your hands. It's hard to be sure without a close-up examination, but the particular symptoms evident in your photo are often caused by mites. You also get to see lots of other ectoparasites and such while banding, such as ticks, feather mites, and hippoboscid flies (known as "flat flies," they have extremely flattened bodies and live in the spaces between feathers). -Steve Subject: Foot fungus? From: Warren Williams <wwphoto3 AT COX.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 10:21:16 -0600 After getting this shot of a titmouse yesterday http://www.pbase.com/wwphoto/image/122512835 , I noticed what looks to be a fungus on its feet. As a novice birder, I'm always surprised when close up photos reveal abnormalities in birds; deformed beaks, skin conditions, etc. Maybe the bird banders could comment on how common this is. Warren Williams Sand Springs Subject: Fwd: ID on leucistic dove From: Lindell Dillon <reddirtbird AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 09:13:47 -0600 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lindell Dillon Date: Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 9:06 AM Subject: ID on leucistic dove To: okbirds I've had a mostly white dove visiting my yard the past few days. My best guess is a leucistic Eurasian Collared Dove, but I guess there are some other possibilities like an escaped Barbary Dove or a Ring-necked Turtle Dove. I've seen it on the ground with other Eurasians and it's slightly smaller than them, but larger than the Mourning Doves. A beautiful bird whatever it is. I put it on my Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/reddirtpics/4410411713/ Anyone think it's anything other than a leucistic Collare Dove? LD Norman Subject: Re: Live Eagle cam at Sooner Lake From: Lindell Dillon <reddirtbird AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 09:06:56 -0600 Thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out. And I second the kudos to Sutton Center. LD Norman On Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 8:49 AM, Nancy Vicars wrote: > Great News!!! The new eagle nest site cameras are up and running this > morning. > > *Thanks so very much* to the Sutton Center for all your efforts to make > this possible. > > Nancy Vicars > > Subject: ID on leucistic dove From: Lindell Dillon <reddirtbird AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 09:06:10 -0600 I've had a mostly white dove visiting my yard the past few days. My best guess is a leucistic Eurasian Collared Dove, but I guess there are some other possibilities like an escaped Barbary Dove or a Ring-necked Turtle Dove. I've seen it on the ground with other Eurasians and it's slightly smaller than them, but larger than the Mourning Doves. A beautiful bird whatever it is. I put it on my Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/reddirtpics/4410411713/ Anyone think it's anything other than a leucistic Collare Dove? LD Norman Subject: Live Eagle cam at Sooner Lake From: Nancy Vicars <nancy.vicars AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 06:49:45 -0800 Great News!!!  The new eagle nest site cameras are up and running this morning. Thanks so very much to the Sutton Center for all your efforts to make this possible. Nancy Vicars