One of the best fall/winter birds

Oklahoma Mesonet indicated that precipitation for the past seven days was recorded at 1.70 inches.

Payne County rare birds for the same time frame include deceased Grasshopper Sparrow at Oklahoma State University’s Theta Pond and a female Eastern Towhee at the west end of the south bridge near the disc golf area of Boomer Lake.

That’s all, folks! Nationwide/rare birds list the ongoing Steller’s Sea-Eagle of Newfoundland and the triplets in Texas-Mottled Owl, Cattle Tyrant, and Brown Jay.

Quebec tagged Black-throated Gray Warbler, while British Columbia discovered Black-throated Blue Warbler and Painted Bunting, nice finds for this time of year.

Florida shared Chestnut-collared Longspur, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, and Broad-billed Hummingbird, as Texas located Red-footed Booby.

Oregon found a lovely Cocos Booby, Washington State penciled in Rustic Bunting, and Alaska’s Yukon chimed in with Eurasian Bullfinch and a Broad-winged Hawk reverse migrant in Valdez.

I was waiting for a ride last week, and just had to smile, as I heard a Killdeer in the dark, which really prompted me to think about our resident fall birds and migrants, making it a warm feeling.

One of the best fall and winter birds is the Brown Creeper. During fall migration writer encountered three of them on one tree at Boomer Lake.

They tend to move in a fairly rapid circular motion as they seek small insects to feed upon and these birds were hungry after most likely having just temporarily ceased their migration.

Generally, most people will only see one or two in a lifetime, and usually never even hear their high pitched call. One was encountered during its call while attending Christmas Bird Count when we were in the Sooner Lake area, and

DEB HIRT

one of the people I was with was having trouble seeing it, let alone hearing it.

For those that would like to know about their nesting behavior, it builds its nest in the hollow trunk or branch of a tree, where a limb has broken off or where squirrels or woodpeckers have wrought out an entrance, as nature has not provided them with the means of excavating one. It’s interesting natural behavior, especially since if one is in the north country, they know exactly where to seek out a nest now.

Boomer Lake added Canada and Cackling Geese, Mallard, Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Ring-billed Gull, Horned Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Yellow- shafted Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, American Crow, European Starling, Northern Mockingbird, Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Killdeer, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Redhead, Bufflehead, American Coot, Bald Eagle, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolin Chickadee, Caroline Wren, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eastern Bluebird, Ring-necked Duck, Mourning Dove, American Herring Gull, Pied-billed Grebe, Belted Kingfisher, American Robin, House Sparrow, American Pipit, Harris’s and Song Sparrows, Eastern Towhee, red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle.

Lake Carl Blackwell tagged Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Common Goldeneye, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Bonaparte’s and Franklin’s Gulls, Common Loon, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed, Downy, and Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-shafted Northern Flicker, Taiga Merlin, Eastern Phoebe, Tufted Titmouse, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White- and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Northern House and Sedge Wrens, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Field, Red Fox, White-crowned, LeConte’s, Chipping, Lincoln’s, Swamp, and White-throated Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Common Yellowthroat, Pine Warbler, Green-winged Teal, Least Sandpiper, American White Pelican, Turkey Vulture, and Downy Woodpecker.

Keep your eyes on the ground and your head in the clouds.

Happy birding! Deb Hirt is a wild bird rehabilitator and photographer living in Stillwater.

A Brown Creeper.

VJANDERSON, CC BY-SA 4.0 , VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS