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Learning how winter birds thrive
Oklahoma Mesonet reported 0.80 inches of precipitation (Prior to Wednesday) over the past weekly period.
Payne County rare birds over the same timeframe include Western Kingbird and the usual ongoing injured American Herring Gull at Boomer Lake, as well as Common Loon at Lake Carl Blackwell.
An estimated 224,900 birds crossed Payne County between Monday, Aug. 25, 2025 at 2010 hours and Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 at 0650 hours. Peak migration traffic was an estimated 60,100 birds in flight at an altitude of 1,300 feet and a speed of 15 mph from the WSW.
Expected nocturnal migrants were Western Kingbird, Indigo Bunting, Spotted Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Gray Catbird, Yellow- crowned Night-Heron, Painted Bunting, Least Flycatcher, Yellow Warbler, Black Tern, Dickcissel, Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and Bell’s Vireo.
The nationwide rare/vagrant birds for the week were Newfoundland and Labrador’s Steller’s Sea-Eagle and Delaware’s Curlew Sandpiper.
Florida counted Thick-billed Vireo, as Texas penned in Cattle Tyrant.
Arizona included Berylline and White-eared Hummingbirds, Curlew Sandpiper, with Colorado’s Yellow Grosbeak still holding steady.
Wyoming also added Curlew Sandpiper, while California still checks off Little Stint.
Pete Dunne’s book “The Courage of Birds: And the Often Surprising Ways They Survive Winter,” illustrated by David Sibley, is a must read about the resilience of our winter birds that survive sometimes the harshest of winters and unrelenting storms, including some incredible survival strategies in an accessible way.
The book offers great hope
DEB HIRT
for those desiring to observe some first-hand knowledge in how winter birds thrive, as well as key behaviors to watch for.
Boomer Lake included Canada Goose, Mallard, domestic Mallard, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Spotted Sandpiper, American Herring Gull, Forster’s Tern, Piedbilled Grebe, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Mississippi Kite, Red-bellied, Pileated, and Downy Woodpeckers, Least Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Bell’s and Warbling Vireos, Great-tailed Grackle, Blue Jay, American and Fish Crows, Carolina Chickadee, Barn and Cliff Swallows, Bluegray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Wren, European Starling, Brown Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, House Sparrow, House Finch, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Yellow Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Killdeer, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler, Green Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Purple Martin, Painted Bunting, Western and Eastern Kingbirds, Whitefaced Ibis, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, Rock Pigeon (Feral), White-breasted Nuthatch, Prothonotary and Nashville Warblers, and possible Lazuli Bunting.
Lake Carl Blackwell shouted out Eurasian Collared-Dove, Black Tern, Common Loon, Osprey, Ring-billed Gull, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eastern Wood-Pewee, American Goldfinch, Semipalmated Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Redtailed Hawk, yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Bewick’s Wren, Chipping and Field Sparrows, Indigo Bunting, and Blue Grosbeak.
Lake Cark Blackwell—Dam mentioned Red-eyed Vireo.
Cushing Water Treatment Plant (restricted access) included Blue-winged Teal, American Kestrel, and Whiteeyed Vireo.
The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University nailed Orchard Oriole.
Ghost Hollow spotted Least Sandpiper, Little Blue Heron, and Snowy Egret.
Couch Park observed Lark Sparrow.
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.
An Upland Sandpiper.
ANDY REAGO & CHRISSY MCCLARREN, CC BY 2.0
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